Are you seeking innovative games to help new student groups connect and feel at ease with one another? We’ve collaborated with Claire English, founder of The Unteachables Academy, to offer you engaging icebreakers for kids and teens. These activities encourage students to be active, aiding in breaking the ice more effectively!
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Tips for Using Active Icebreakers
With extensive experience in working with teens, Claire English offers insights on making icebreaker activities successful with even the most challenging classes. Explore her guidance to ensure your icebreakers are effective, simple, and enjoyable. Follow her on Instagram (@the.unteachables) for more valuable tips and ideas!
Choose icebreakers intentionally
DO: When selecting an icebreaker, pick one that aligns with the atmosphere and community you wish to foster in your classroom.
“Many teachers find it challenging to balance fostering community and maintaining control at the start of the year,” Claire shared. “Classrooms can become very energetic quickly, making it hard to calm things down afterward. Due to my expertise in classroom management, I seek activities that are fun, engaging, and relationship-building while also supporting routines, structure, emotional safety, and classroom tranquility.”
Frame it as a game or challenge
DON’T: Specifically use the term icebreaker.
“That word alone can make kids (especially teens) disengage before you even start,” Claire warns. “If you begin by saying ‘We’re going to try something different’ and dive straight into the activity without over-explaining, most students will participate. The hesitant ones usually warm up by the second or third round once they see their peers involved.”
Ensure activities are safe and inclusive
DON’T: Push students to share more than they’re comfortable with or choose an icebreaker that might be too physically demanding for some.
“It takes considerable courage for students to open up about themselves,” Claire notes. “I find icebreakers are most effective when they allow students to share their opinions and personalities without demanding vulnerability too early.”
Show your enthusiasm
DO: Select icebreakers that you genuinely enjoy and participate enthusiastically when appropriate.
“Remember the most crucial element: YOUR enthusiasm and energy,” Claire emphasizes. “If you’re not interested in doing it, your students certainly won’t be either.”
Best Active Icebreaker: Speed Greetings
Claire’s top choice for active icebreakers, especially for older kids and teens, is Speed Greetings. “It’s one of my absolute favorites for middle and high schoolers, and it works well because it’s low-pressure, can be humorous, is easily adaptable, and really gets students talking without feeling put on the spot,” she explains. “The rotating format means students aren’t stuck in one awkward conversation. They get a fresh start every two minutes, which is ideal for teenagers who find prolonged small talk uncomfortable.”
How to play:
- Divide the class into two equal groups.
- One group forms an inner circle facing outward. The other group forms an outer circle facing inward, ensuring everyone is paired.
- Read out a question or prompt. Students have 30 seconds each to answer and discuss.
- When time is up, the outer circle rotates one space to the left to form new pairs.
- Continue until everyone has returned to their original partner.
“The key is in the questions. Avoid anything that feels like a school survey or typical icebreaker questions,” Claire advises. “Asking ‘What’s your favorite subject?’ is a quick way to lose a skeptical student.” She prefers questions that invite genuine opinions and include humor and imagination, without requiring vulnerability too soon. Here are some of her favorites:
- If all electricity was cut off for a week, what would you do for fun?
- What’s your most controversial food opinion?
- What do you think the greatest movie of all time is? Why?
- If you had to eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- What’s number one on your list of most annoying things?
- Describe your perfect three-course meal: starter, main, and dessert.
- If you could master one skill instantly, what would it be?
- If you could switch places with an adult for a day, what’s the first thing you’d do?
- What’s your favorite thing to do with free time?
- If you could time-travel, would you go to the past or the future, and what would you do?
Tip: Looking for more questions? Our Icebreaker Questions Slides are the perfect resource for this activity! Just follow the link below to get them.
Getting-To-Know-You Active Icebreakers
Use these activities to encourage students to mix and mingle, getting to know more about each other along the way!
Class Bingo
This is a classic active icebreaker for kids. Students move around and interact, looking for people who can sign a free space on their bingo card of get-to-know-you questions. Offer small prizes to those who achieve a bingo within a set time, or see who can fill the most squares before time runs out.
Icebreaker Fishing
Create fish cutouts with icebreaker questions written on them, attach a paper clip to each, then place them face down on the floor. Equip kids with a small fishing rod made from a dowel rod, string, and magnet, and have them “fish” for a question. Once they catch one, they must answer the question on the fish.
Bucket List
Students collaborate in groups to create a bucket list of activities they want to accomplish this school year (or in the final month of the school year). Provide slips of paper for them to write each idea, and give each team a bucket placed a few feet away. As they think of an idea, one student writes it down, crumples it up, and throws it into the bucket. Later, you can review all the ideas to assist in planning.
Nice Snowball Fight
Here’s another opportunity to throw things around the classroom! Students write a positive quote, word of encouragement, or uplifting picture on a white piece of paper. They then crumple their sheet into a “positive snowball.” Then, ready… aim… FIRE! Watch the positivity spread across the room both figuratively and literally. After a minute or two, stop and have each student pick up one random “snowball.” Sit in a circle to open and read the notes aloud. When you’re finished, keep them in the classroom for students to refer to when they need a pick-me-up.
Lines and Blobs
This game involves students moving around freely until the teacher instructs them to get in a line or a blob (small group) according to a category. Some prompts to use:
- Line up in birth order (youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest).
- Line up in birthday order from January to December.
- Line up according to how many siblings you have.
- Gather people who are wearing the same color as you.
- Line up in alphabetical order by last name.
- Gather people who come to school in a car, a bus, and on foot.
- Gather people who prefer reading books, watching movies, listening to music, or going outdoors.
Four Corners
Label four corners or spaces in the room 1 to 4. Then, have students gather according to how they rate themselves on a question or statement. For example, say, “I like to play sports” or “I like spending time by myself.” Kids move to the corner that reflects how much they agree with that statement, 1 being “not at all” and 4 being “very much.”
Beach Ball Toss
Write icebreaker questions on a beach ball. Toss the ball to a student. Have them look at the ball and answer the question closest to their right thumb. Continue tossing and answering until everyone has had at least one turn.
This or That?
Draw a line (or imagine a line) down the middle of the room. Pose a question with two options. Students move to the side of the room they agree with or prefer. Some prompts:
- Hot dogs or hamburgers?
- Ice cream or cake?
- Mountains or beach?
- Hot or cold?
- Fall or spring?
- Winter or summer?
- Airplane or car?
- Pencils or pens?
- College-ruled or wide-ruled notebook?
- Watch the movie or read the book?
Would You Rather?
This icebreaker is similar to This or That, but it uses Would You Rather questions instead. After responding to a question by moving to a side of the room, invite a few from each side to explain their perspective, attempting to persuade others to change their minds and switch sides. The conversation and debate are often hilarious!
Moving Names
This is a fun and active way to learn everyone’s name. One by one, each student says their name and pairs it with a physical motion. The rest of the group repeats their name and mimics the motion. This icebreaker is practical too, as students are more likely to remember names when associated with an action.
Stand Up, Sit Down
Arrange students in a circle. Pose a get-to-know-you question like “I love the color blue” or “I’ve been to another country.” If the answer is yes, students stand up. For no, they sit. For a more active version, have kids sit on the floor; make things a little easier by having them sit in chairs instead.
Keepy Uppy
Provide each child with a small piece of paper and have them write one unique fun fact about themselves (no names!). Fold them up and place each in an uninflated balloon, then blow up the balloons. Start some music and play an exciting game of Keepy Uppy with the balloons for a few minutes. Afterward, each child grabs a balloon of a different color than the one they started with. Take turns popping the balloons and reading the statements aloud. The class works together to guess who the statement describes.
Spell My Name
Kids take turns spelling their name by forming shapes with their bodies. As other students call out each letter, write it on the board for all to see. Get-to-know-you icebreakers like this one encourage kids to not only learn each other’s names but also how to spell and pronounce them.
Three of a Kind
In this active icebreaker, the goal is to form groups of three people and determine what they have in common. For instance, all three kids might discover they all like pineapple on their pizza or speak more than one language at home. After a minute, ask each group to share their common trait, then mix up the groups and repeat. (If your class doesn’t divide evenly by three, try four instead.)
Paper Planes
Each student writes a get-to-know-you question on a piece of paper. (Encourage them to think creatively so you don’t wind up with the same question repeatedly.) Then, they fold the paper into planes and spend a minute throwing them across the room. Afterward, everyone picks up a plane and takes turns answering the question on theirs.
Find Me!
Each student writes an original and unique fact about themselves on a note card. Shuffle the cards and distribute them again, then ask each kid to find the person whom their note card describes. You can repeat this with new facts if you like.
Get-To-Know-You Jenga
Purchase an affordable Jenga set at the dollar store, then write an icebreaker question on each piece. Stack them up so kids can’t see the questions on each block. One by one, students pull a block and answer the question written on it. (If the block tower topples before everyone has answered, re-stack and keep going.)
Switch It
Students sit in a circle for this active icebreaker. Stand in the center and call out a statement like “I’ve been to another country” or “My favorite sport is baseball.” If a student agrees with the statement, they stand up and quickly switch seats with another person who also agrees. One rule: Two students sitting next to each other can’t switch seats. If there’s no available seat for a student, they remove their chair and join you in the center. Keep going until everyone is in the middle!
Icebreaker Charades
Choose a student to go first. Show the whole class an icebreaker question (example: What’s your favorite book?). The student must act out the answer with gestures, without talking at all. The first person to guess the right answer goes next. Show a different icebreaker question for each student, continuing until all students have had a turn.
Team-Building Active Icebreakers
Class Chant
Have your students create a class chant with hand motions or even dance moves. Not only does this instantly bring the group together, but it also gives you a preview of the unique personalities you’ll be seeing all year. Use the chant as a tool to call students in for recess, a call-and-response to signify quiet time, or even just for fun!
STEM Challenge
Group problem-solving is one of our favorite active icebreakers. It supports meaningful learning on a variety of levels, as well as encourages kids to build community by working together. Some popular examples to try:
- Marshmallow tower: Give students 20 marshmallows and 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti, and challenge each group to build the tallest tower possible.
- Jump rope: Make a working jump rope from two plastic grocery store bags and 12 inches of duct tape.
- Domino names: Build domino chain reactions that spell out the name of each member of your group.
Paper Chain
Cut strips from five colors of construction paper, with enough for each student to have one of each color. Using this key, students write their answers on each strip:
- Red: Full name
- Orange: One academic goal for the year
- Yellow: One personal goal for the year
- Green: Something they’re looking forward to this year
- Blue: One fun fact about themselves
Start the chain by having the first student read the answer on their red strip, then form it into a loop and glue or staple it into place. They continue on to their orange, yellow, green, and blue strips, sharing answers and building the chain. Invite the next student to share their answers and add to the chain until all the strips have been added. Hang your finished chain as classroom decor.
Biggest Fan
Each student finds a partner. On the count of three, they play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The winner moves on to the next round, while the loser becomes their Biggest Fan. In the next round, winners face off in another game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, with their Biggest Fan cheering them on. The winner advances, and the loser and their fan join the winner’s fan in a cheering section. Continue until you have two final competitors, each with a big group dedicated to cheering them on.
Link Up
Give students time to think of three to five fun facts about themselves (provide them with some icebreaker questions if they’re having trouble getting started). Call on one student to start. They introduce themselves and share their facts. Call on another student and ask if they have anything in common with the first student, based on their facts. If so, they “link up” with the first, by holding hands, linking arms, or holding onto a piece of rope. If not, continue to another student until you find one that can link up. The second student shares their own facts, looking for a new student who can link up and join the chain. Continue until all students are linked!
Example: Student 1 says they have two brothers, love playing ice hockey, and hate mushrooms on pizza. Student 2 also has two brothers, so they link up and share their facts, e.g., they both went to Disney World over the summer, they like riding horses, and their favorite color is blue. Student 3 also loves blue, so they link up and share their facts, and so on.
What are your favorite active get-to-know-you games and icebreakers for kids? Share your ideas and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook!
Plus, explore all of our Back to School Resources here!
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