I find that ice breaking activities are helpful the first day. Unfortunately, we (teachers) often fail to continue using activities to create group cohesion and togetherness. Imagine if you are in a class that meets once or twice a week. By the time your next class rolls around, you've already forgotten most of the people in class and you may be experiencing apprehension anew. I find that a quick 3-10 minute activity really helps accelerate class cohesion. Doing this for the first two or three class periods streghtens the group. Taking a few minutes out of class is a small thing when we consider the long-term benefit for students.