- Icebreakers -
- Icebreakers -
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On this page, you'll find all kinds of icebreakers you may wish to use with your students. We've noted the ideal group size and estimated time required, so you can find the icebreakers that best fit your needs!
Most of these icebreakers are great for increasing self-awareness and social connectedness in students. Many of them are also easily customizable to get your students thinking on themes like identity, values, or whatever else you're transitioning into!
Do you have any favorite icebreakers you think we should add to the list? Let us know!
Island Life
Group Size: Up to 15Time: 10Island Life
Ask your group members to consider the following scenario:
"You're on a stranded island. Apart from the essentials for survival (food, water, etc.), what three items of your choice would you bring and why?"
Allow students only a minute or two to think, and encourage very brief responses to the prompt.
Tips: This icebreaker can be very entertaining if you encourage creativity. Or, it can be quite serious if you encourage students to focus on things that are most meaningful for them.
Mime Me
Group Size: Any Time: 10 minutesMime Me
Group students into pairs, and instruct them to share something new about themselves to their partner. Here's the twist: the entire communication must be done through motion and gestures!
When both partners have had the chance to "share", bring the group back together. As time allows, have each student introduce their partner to the class using the fact they just interpreted. Allow the partner to share the correct fact if it got lost in translation.
Tips: This activity can be a great preface for themes of communication or relationships.
Make-Believe
Group Size: Up to 10Time: 15-20 minutesMake-Believe
Ask each member of your group one or more of the following questions:
If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?
If you could speak to anyone in the world, living or dead, who would you choose and why?
What would you wish for this year if you knew it would come true?
Tips: This is particularly helpful for new groups. Length of this activity can vary greatly based on group size and how much students wish to share.
Did you know?
Group Size: 10-25Time: 20 minutesDid you know?
Before the group meets, ask each member of the group to write down or send you one fascinating or unusual thing about themselves. Encourage them to make this face as unique or unusual as possible.
Then prepare a sheet with one fact from each individual, leaving room underneath each fact to write someone's name. Give each student a sheet, and instruct them to mill about and find out whose name goes in each blank.
In order to find the answers, students cannot simply ask, "Which fact is yours?" They must instead take guesses by asking, "Are you the one who has broken the same arm three times?" After students find the right person, they must then learn one other new fact about that person before moving on.
At the end of this activity, introduce each student in the group using their unique fact.
Tips: This icebreaker is great for individuals who don't know each other very well, or to test the obscure knowledge of long-standing groups. Consider playing music so that students cannot hear other pairings discuss their facts. You may wish to have a small prize, certificate, or round of applause for the student that gathers all the right answers fastest.
Adjective Aerobics
Group Size: 8-20Time: 15-20 minutesAdjective Aerobics
Gather students into a circle, where everyone can see each other easily. Instruct each student to choose, in their minds, an adjective or describing word that they feel describes themselves. For an added challenge, this adjective must start with the same letter or sound as their first name. Then, they must think of a movement or action that represents this adjective in some way.
Examples include "Goofy Greg" paired with a silly face or pose, or "Analytical Anna", paired with the movement of stroking your chin in a *thinking* gesture.
Ask for a volunteer to start the circle and introduce themselves using just the two words and action. Play continues clockwise, with each student having to first introduce any students that shared before them using the two words and action, then adding on their own, until the last person must introduce the entire circle!
Tips: This game gets harder the bigger the group gets. Also keep in mind that some learning or intellectual disabilities may make this game extra challenging. Be sure to set an environment of encouragement, and allow students to help one another if they get stuck. You may also choose to skip the memory challenge portion, and simply have each student introduce themselves using the adjective and action.
Word Cloud
Group Size: At least 10Time: 5-7 minutesWord Cloud
Create a free account on slido.com if you don't already have one. The process is pretty straight-forward, but here's some instructions to launch a word cloud for your classroom:
After logging in, hover over the green "New Slido" button and select "Present Now". This will create an event code and QR code that your students can use to join. Click "Create" in the bottom left corner, and then select "Word Cloud".
Allow students to submit their answers from their own devices. A word cloud will be created using their responses. Be sure to share your screen so everyone can watch the cloud forming.
Tips: This icebreaker can serve a lot of different purposes, depending on the question you offer. Examples include:
What flavor of ice cream would you be / is your favorite?
What color represents how your week has been?
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Getting-To-Know-You BINGO
Group Size: 25+Time: 20-30 minutesGetting-To-Know-You BINGO
This is a very popular icebreaker. It uses a BINGO-style sheet with a 5x5 grid of personal characteristics.
Give each student a copy of the grid, and instruct them to mill around in search of other students who can "sign off" on a box that applies to them. For example, students may need to ask one another, "do you have more than 3 siblings?"
Students must ask questions about the characteristics on the sheet (cannot just hand the sheet to another student so they can find somewhere to sign), and each name can only be used once per sheet.
Tips: You can download a premade grid here, or create your own in a square grid. You may wish to customize your own if you have a group smaller than 25 or wish to encourage students to focus on certain aspects of their identity, values, or experiences.
Classroom Banner
Group Size: AnyTime: 10 minutesClassroom Banner
Provide students with a piece of paper (ideally colored). Instruct them to draw something on the paper that they feel represents their classroom / group community.
When all students are done drawing, have students share what they drew and add it to a larger banner or collage.
Tips: This activity works best with a group that is familiar with one another. It could be adapted to a new group by instead instructing students to represent what they hope or expect the group community to be like.
Would You Rather
Group Size: Any Time: 10 minutesWould You Rather
Group students into pairs and have them discuss the following would you rather questions together:
Have more time OR more money
Have no internet OR no cell phone
Stay at home all the time OR travel all the time
Tips: This activity can be helpful with groups who do not know each other very well. You may wish customize your own questions. If time allows, you can take a classroom poll on students' responses after pairs have had time to share.
Take What You Need
Group Size: AnyTime: 5-10 minutesTake What You Need
Have each student write down an inspirational quote or message on a small piece of paper. Examples include, "Your best is plenty!", "I'm glad to know you", "Things are tough, but you're tougher", etc.
Once all students have something written, have them read their message to the class and then place it or pin it in a designated location (basket, whiteboard, bulletin board, etc.).
Before students leave the room, have each student take a message (not their own) with them.
Tips: You may wish to provide colored paper and/or markers if you have time and want your students to be able to be creative with these messages. This icebreaker can be a good intro to themes of healthy relationships, mental health and coping, supporting one another, communication, etc.
Snow Ball
Group Size: Any Time: 5 minutesSnow Ball
Have each student write their name on a piece of paper, crumple it up, and throw it into a basket or the center of the room.
Mix up the "snowballs", then have everyone take a mystery snowball out of the pile.
Have each student greet the person whose name is on their new paper.
Tips: This activity can be helpful with groups who do not know each other very well. You may wish to offer some structure for how students can greet one another, such as by answering an icebreaker question with their partner or sharing the highs and lows of their week so far.
D'Ice Breaker
Group Size: Easily adapted for any sizeTime: 10 minutesD'Ice Breaker
This activity requires dice, or you can ask Google or Siri to "roll a dice" for you.
Depending on your group size and ability to "roll a dice", you may wish to have students in pairs, small groups, or all together.
Each student will answer a prompt, determined by the roll of a die:
1 - Identify 3 goals you have for the future
2- Would you rather have more time OR more money?
3- Name one person you trust and why
4 - Name your current emotion and why
5 - One thing I am grateful for
6 - If I could change any one thing, it would be...
Tips: This activity can be easily adapted for any group size and any time constraint. A partners format with only one prompt would only require about 3 minutes. You can also easily customize the prompts to set up discussion on almost any theme!
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