First Day of School Icebreaker: Two Truths and a Lie

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A first-day of school activity I like to do is Two truths and a Lie. The activity is simple: you write two things about yourself that are true, and one thing that is a lie. This is a great way for students to introduce themselves in a fun and light-hearted way. I tell students this is your one chance to lie to me, so take advantage of it. I also tell students to make sure their lie is not too obvious. For example, students will say
I like pizza.
Last year I went to a Dodgers game.
Yesterday I went to China.
When the lie is too obvious, it takes away the challenge of the game.
I write my two truths and lie on the white board so students can read them, and I always say my two truths and a lie before students start writing. I typically write something genius like this
My favorite football team is the Minnesota Vikings
I have traveled to 23 countries
My favorite kind of food is Thai.
Can you guess the lie?
I’ll give you five seconds.
The lie is number two--I have traveled to 22 countries.
hahaha--Gotcha.
Sometimes I tally all the times students trick me and play a game of teacher versus the class. I usually win.
If I am teaching a class with English Language Learners, I like to include sentence stems. I typically use the simple past tense or simple present. I include the following stems:
Simple Past Tense
Yesterday I…
Last year I
Three weeks ago I
Four years ago I
Two months ago I
For the present tense I like to include adverbs of frequency
I sometimes…
I never…
I always…
I often…
I usually
I tell students to be as specific as possible--preferably in a goofy way.
I sometimes eat pizza with my sister on Thursdays.
I often dance after hearing Justin Bieber on the radio.
Overall, two truths and a lie is a great icebreaker to get students talking about themselves and to begin the process of building a fun and positive classroom culture. I have used this activity in three countries with students of various ages and it has worked swimmingly.
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[@marysmemoriesinmotion8537]

I like to play a variation of this game. It can be a lot of fun! 😊

[@CatAndrina7]

Aww...this is a classic game that is a hit in every grade and class. The perfect get to know you game :)

[@TalesFromtheThirdDegree]

I played this game with my third graders-hilarious!! 😁

[@eye2984]

I love that game

[@tolentinoteaching]

Here is the worksheet for this activity! briantolentino.com/two-truths-and-a-lie-includes-worksheet/
Check out our other icebreakers! docs.google.com/document/d/1xQtY7KjImv-vnA7XZqigvP44rRX2gRwcBLXsfptgIig/edit

[@metawires52]

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