Independence Day (and its parallel in other cultures across the world) is a day filled with celebrations in families and municipalities. This icebreaker will help students share their favorite modes of celebration while also getting to know each other’s personalities as they guess who wrote which celebration practice.

Begin by passing out a 3x5 card or colorful sheet of paper and pen to each student. Then explain they are going to share the favorite thing they or their family does to celebrate Independence Day. They need to write two sentences: one that names the practice and one that describes what they like about the practice. For example, they might write: “My favorite way we celebrate is setting off fireworks. It’s my favorite because I like fire!”

If you are not meeting in person, ask students to text them to you or PM you in the chat.

Once the students are done, have them fold the papers and pass them into the leader. The leader should then mix them up and then read each one out loud and ask the students to decide which person wrote each statement. Once the person is revealed, ask them to tell a story about that celebration.