Write each component of a common pair of items (see list below) on small, individual pieces of paper. Put as many pairs as your large group can make in a box and mix up the papers. Have each participant to draw a piece of paper. Ask them, when you say the word go to stand up and find the person with the other half of the pair to find their partner for the next activity.

This method acts as a mini-energizer since the class is getting up, walking around, and finding new seats with a partner. It’s also fun for everyone to hear people walking around the training room saying things like, “I’m Romeo. Where’s my Juliet?”

Collect the papers so you can use them throughout training to make new groups. You could also write the pairs on name tents, name tags, worksheets, etc. If you have the time and resources, use pictures of the items instead of words or physically have the items in the room for participants (for example, salt and pepper shakers).

Here are lists of common pairs, trios, and foursomes you can use to form pairs and small groups:

Pairs
Ball & Chain
Bread & Butter
Front & Center
Ketchup & Mustard
Nuts & Honey
Peaches & Cream
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Rock & Roll
Salt & Pepper
Skull & Crossbones
Sour Cream & Onion
Stars & Stripes
Sugar & Spice
Sweet & Sour
True & False
Yin & Yang
Zig & Zag

Adam & Eve
Batman & Robin
Beauty & The Beast
Bonnie & Clyde
Cain & Abel
Captain & Tenille
Chip & Dale
David & Goliath
Fred & Barney
Gumby & Pokey
Hall & Oates
Hansel & Gretel
Jekyll & Hyde
Joanie & Chachi
Laverne & Shirley
Lewis & Clark
Mario & Luigi
Romeo & Juliet
Samson & Delilah
Sonny & Cher
Starsky & Hutch
Thelma & Louise

Trios
Bacon, Lettuce, & Tomato
Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
The Butcher, The Baker, & The Candlestick Maker (”Rub-A-Dub-Dub” Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme)
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Father, The Son, & The Holy Ghost (The Trinity)
Hook, Line, & Sinker
Larry, Moe, & Curley (The Three Stooges)
Me, Myself, & I
Morning, Noon, & Night
Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria (Christopher Columbus’ ships)
Past, Present, & Future
Peter, Paul, & Mary
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles
Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic
Ready, Willing, & Able
Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle
Red, White, & Blue
Snap, Crackle, & Pop
Stop, Drop, & Roll
Sun, Moon, & Stars
Wynken, Blyken, & Nod (children’s story by Eugene Field)

Foursomes
Earth, Wind, Fire, & Water
John, Paul, George, & Ringo (The Beatles)
Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John (Books of the New Testament)
North, South, East, & West
Pestilence, Famine, War, & Death (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – popular culture)
Summer, Fall, Winter, & Spring