What are good ice breakers for small groups of 6th 7th and 8th graders?

Question

some will know eachother and some wont

Answer 1

The more "fun" you make it the better. I would start by having a pop quiz where each student has to write down as much information about another. (name,favorite color, foods, music, pets, etc.) the one who has the most names and information wins the game. The prize is up to you but at that age anything that appeals to the kids (movie tickets, music gift certificate, free lunch tickets, etc.) will work.

If your goal is to get the students to "Know each other" then you'll need to "Know them". As a teacher you will only get as much out of your students as you are willing to put into them.

Answer 2

Well, I am in the 8th grade and I started school last week. And at first she just let us talk a little bit. And then, she just let us do a greeting where we just did a high five and said good morning. Then really we played games that took our mind off the pressures and we got more comftorable with each other.

Answer 3

I teach at a multiage school and have done icebreakers school wide and the one that seems to get all kids involved is this game called Scattergories - i think similar to the board game.

You have to do some prep work like creating a sheet that has like:

food

restaurant

city

animal

boy name

girl name

etc...

Everyone gets the same piece of paper then you time them like for 10 minutes - actually less and give them a letter like W.  They have to list everything that falls into this category. When time is up, they have to share outloud and whoever gets the most wins a prize - candy or something.