Looking for creative getting-to-know-you games to help new groups of students feel more comfortable with each other? We’ve partnered with Claire English, founder of The Unteachables Academy, to bring you these active icebreakers for kids and teens. They get students up and moving, which can help break the ice more quickly!
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Tips for Using Active Icebreakers
With years of experience working with teens, Claire English has learned how to make icebreaker activities work with even your toughest classes. Check out her advice to make your active icebreakers for kids and teens effective, easy, and fun. Be sure to follow her on Instagram (@the.unteachables) for more terrific tips and ideas!
Choose icebreakers intentionally
DO: When you’re picking an icebreaker, choose one that supports the atmosphere and community you want to establish in your classroom.
“A lot of teachers struggle to strike the balance between building community and maintaining regulation at the start of the year,” Claire told us. “Sometimes classrooms become very high-energy very quickly, and then it can feel difficult to bring the room back down afterward. Because of my background in classroom management, I’m always looking for activities that feel fun, engaging, and relationship-building while also supporting routines, structure, emotional safety, and classroom calm.”
Frame it as a game or challenge
DON’T: Specifically use the word icebreaker.
“That word alone can make kids (especially teens) shut down before you’ve even started,” Claire cautions. “If you lead with ‘We’re going to do something a bit different’ and get straight into the activity without over-explaining it, most students will go along with it. The hesitant ones usually warm up by round two or three once they see their peers engaging.”
Ensure activities are safe and inclusive
DON’T: Push students to share more than they’re comfortable with or pick an active icebreaker that might be too physical for some students.
“It takes so much vulnerability for students to share about themselves,” Claire notes. “I find icebreakers work best when they allow students to share opinions and personality without forcing vulnerability too early.”
Show your enthusiasm
DO: Pick icebreakers that you actually enjoy, and participate willingly when it’s appropriate.
“Don’t forget the most important piece: YOUR enthusiasm and energy,” Claire stresses. “If you don’t want to be doing it, there’s no way your students will want to be doing it.”
Best Active Icebreaker: Speed Greetings
This is Claire’s top pick for active icebreakers, especially with older kids and teens. “It’s one of my absolute favorites for middle and high schoolers specifically, and I think it works so well because it feels low-stakes, can be a bit funny, is easily adaptable, and genuinely gets students talking without anyone feeling put on the spot,” she explains. “The rotating structure means students aren’t stuck having one awkward conversation. They get a fresh start every two minutes, which is actually perfect for teenagers who find sustained small talk uncomfortable.”
How to play:
- Split the class into two even groups.
- One group forms an inner circle facing outward. The other group forms an outer circle facing inward, so everyone is paired up.
- Post or 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 a new pair.
- Repeat until everyone has rotated back to their original partner.
“The key is in the questions. I’d steer away from anything that feels like a school survey or classic icebreaker-ish questions,” recommends Claire. “Asking ‘What’s your favorite subject?’ is a fast way to lose a skeptical kid.” She prefers questions that invite genuine opinion and include a bit of humor and imagination, without asking anyone to be vulnerable too early. 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 one of those classic active icebreakers for kids. Students circulate and chat, looking for people who can initial a free space on their bingo card of get-to-know-you questions. Provide small prizes to anyone who gets a bingo in a set amount of time, or see who can complete the most squares before the time is up.
Icebreaker Fishing
Cut out fish with icebreaker questions on them, attach a paper clip to each, then drop them face down on the floor. Arm kids with a small fishing rod made from a dowel rod, string, and magnet, and ask them to “fish” for a question. Once they land it, they have to answer the question on the fish.
Bucket List
Students work in groups to create a bucket list of things they want to do 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 spaced at least a few feet away. As they come up with an idea, one person writes it down, crumples it up, and throws it into the bucket. Afterward, you can review all the ideas and use them to help you plan.
Nice Snowball Fight
Here’s another chance to throw stuff around the classroom! Students write a positive quote, word of encouragement, or positive picture on a white piece of paper. They then crumple up their own sheet to make a “positive snowball.” Then, ready … aim… FIRE! Watch the positivity fly across the room both figuratively and literally. After a minute or two, stop the chaos and have each kid pick up one random “snowball.” Sit in a circle to open and read the notes out loud. When you’re finished, don’t toss ’em. Instead, keep them in the classroom so students can reference them when they need a pick-me-up.
Lines and Blobs
This game keeps students moving around freely until the teacher tells 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 describes 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 that’s closest to their right thumb. Continue tossing and answering until everyone has had at least one turn.
This or That?
Put a line (or imaginary line) down the middle of the room. Give students a question that has two options. Have students move to the side of the room that 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 active icebreaker for kids is similar to This or That, but it uses Would You Rather questions instead. Once kids have responded to a question by moving to a side of the room, ask a few from each side to explain their point of view, trying to convince people from the other side to change their minds and move to the other side. The conversation and debate is often hilarious!
Moving Names
This is a fun and active way to get to know everyone’s name. One at a time, each student says their name and accompanies it with a physical motion. The rest of the group says their name and repeats the motion. This is one of those active icebreakers for kids that’s practical too, since students are more likely to remember names when they’re associated with an action.
Stand Up, Sit Down
Seat students in a circle. Call out 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
Give each child a small piece of paper and have them write one unique fun fact about themselves (no names!). Fold them up and slip each into an uninflated balloon, then blow up the balloons. Start some music and play an epic 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 out loud. The class works together to try 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 how to spell and pronounce them too.
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 learn 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 over and over again.) Then, they fold the paper into planes and spend a minute throwing them across the room. Afterward, everyone picks up a plane and they take turns answering the question on theirs.
Find Me!
Each student writes an original and unique fact about themselves on a note card. Mix up the cards and pass them out again, then ask each kid to find the person whom their note card describes. You can repeat this again and again with new facts if you like.
Get-To-Know-You Jenga
Pick up an inexpensive Jenga set at the dollar store, then write an icebreaker question on each piece. Pile them up so kids can’t see what the questions are on each block. One by one, students pull a block and answer the question that’s written on it. (If the block topples before everyone has answered, re-stack and keep on 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, 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 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 (give them 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.
