Icebreakers to Reflections: Favorite Group Activities for 8th Graders
An 8th-grade trip isn’t just an educational trip—it’s a chance for students to form friendships and a work ethic, and have experiences that last, well, a lifetime. Students who are engaged on an experiential basis in the process of the trip before, during, and after the trip enjoy the trip more and create a positive and bonded group. Below are tons of fabulous ideas for every stage of a trip:
How to Prepare: Ice Breakers & Preparation Before the Trip
Get excited and unify the squad before you take to the open road. Events that are geared towards students help the students get to know one another and also set expectations for the trip.
- Two Truths and a Lie
- Each student shares two true things and one false thing about himself, and then everyone else tries to guess which thing is made up. The activity teaches everyone interesting things about everyone else.
– Destination Trivia Challenge
– Get creative with trivia cards of facts about where you are going to an even more fun, fancied-up trivia game. This gets students excited to learn about the history, culture, and attractions they will experience during their trip.
– Team-Building Scavenger Hunt
– In preparation for a trip create a list of questions related to trips that students will need to work together to answer.
-Packing List Challenge
-Pack as little or as much as you want, but make it fun: Create a challenge or a competition to see who can come up with the most complete and thorough packing list.
The Journey: Bonding & Engagement
Once the trip is underway, the planned activity engages the students groups them, and reinforces the educational and social aims of the trip.
- Bus Ride Games
-Long bus trips can turn into a fun time with group games like 20 Questions, I Spy, or a group story activity where everyone adds one sentence at a time to a story.
– Photo Challenge
-Challenge students to take photos of whatever best represents a certain category (“most interesting monument,” “group shot” or “funniest moment”) within their experiences. After the trip, students can vote on a winner for the best photos.
– Reflection Circle
-At the end of each day, have students sit in a circle and ask them to share a most memorable incident, a new fact, and a challenge faced on that day.
– Group Challenges
-Divide students into teams and work through a series of fun challenges, like reenacting a historic event at a landmark, creating a skit, or being the first to get a specific marker.
Post-trip: Reflections & Learnings
Students may also gain value through reflective experience during a trip, and bringing back memories that they can reminisce about together when the trip is over.
- Post-Trip Journal Entries
-Write down answers about a memorable moment, a lesson learned, and something that will stick with you, then discuss with the whole class
– Memory Scrapbook or Collage
-Students can add to a group scrapbook of pictures, ticket stubs, or artwork from the trip.
– Thank-You Notes
-Have students write a thank-you note to chaperones, bus drivers, and/or teachers, whose work helped make the trip a success.
– Trip Recap Presentation
– Break students into small groups and have them present highlights from the trip to classmates, parents, or teachers. This gives them the opportunity to take a moment to think about both big and small highlights and to share them with others.
Whether it is building friendships, enriching education, or building lasting memories, these and many more experiences can be integrated before, during, or after an 8th-grade trip. The inclusion of such experiential learning transforms an ordinary school trip into a special trip packed with bonding, self-discovery, and fun!
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