The key to any safe, welcoming, and productive work environment is communication. This is why I introduce ice breakers for high school students during the first week of school. We’ve played a ton of popular icebreakers for teens in my classroom, and this blog post will share some student favorites!
It might seem unproductive to spend more than one block of instructional time on icebreaker activities. But if you’re trying to cultivate a collaborative classroom culture, then opportunities to engage really matter.
As a rule, it’s mindful to avoid anything that excludes students, undermines their intelligence, or demands too much vulnerability. Transitioning to high school is challenging enough! Although competitive games are fun for some students, they’re generally not as fun for everyone. The following ice breakers for high school students are designed with inclusivity, high-interest, and team-building in mind.
“We’re Not Really Strangers” Ice breaker Activity
This game is a classroom dupe for the popular ice breaker called “We’re Not Really Strangers.” It involves age-appropriate icebreaker questions for high school students. To play, you can choose from a few options: either seat students in pairs at a circle of desks or create new groups of students at the beginning of each class.
Option One: Seat students in pairs at a circle of desks. Place a few icebreaker questions suitable for teenagers at each desk and set a timer. Students can have a set amount of time to discuss the ice breaker questions before rotating to a new station with new questions. I find the easiest way to do this is to have students in the inner circle move to the left after the first round, then have the students in the outer circle move to the right after the next round, etc.
Option Two: For the first few days of school, create new groups of students at the start of class. Select a new set of icebreaker questions for each day, and have different groups of students discuss them. This is a great option if you’d like to incorporate icebreaker activities over an extended period of time.
If you have any students who are reluctant to participate, you can provide them with your ice breaker questions ahead of time so that they can prepare answers that they feel comfortable sharing.
“Headz Up” Ice Breaker Game
This game is another classroom dupe – this time for the popular game “Headz Up,” but with a twist! To start, write down a list of items or identities that often appear as pairs. Some examples include salt and pepper, Romeo and Juliet, the sun and the moon, peanut butter and jelly, Beyonce and Jay-Z, etc.
To play, each student in your class will assume the role of the item or identity you provide them with. You can even have students make their own headband and then adhere their identity with velcro or tape. This role is kept secret, and the goal is for each student to utilize descriptive questioning to uncover their identity. They then must find their matching partner.
These partner pairing cards are perfect for facilitating this “Find Your Partner” icebreaker game. You can continue to use this resource throughout the school year to pair partners at random for classroom activities and assignments. This resource also includes a headband template so that students can adhere their identity to their forehead.
Solving a Mystery Ice Breaker Game
If you prefer more natural and engaging ways for students to get to know each other, consider trying a group challenge. This ice breaker game promotes critical thinking and classroom collaboration through solving a mystery!
The “Case of the Lost Manuscript” is an exciting game that will promote students’ inferencing skills while immersing them in an intriguing storyline. In this activity, students step into the role of detectives, piecing together clues to solve the case of a missing manuscript.
Students are provided with various pieces of evidence and suspect profiles. They will carefully analyze the clues, draw logical connections, and make inferences about the possible culprit. This process not only enhances their analytical abilities but also encourages them to work collaboratively by discussing their theories and hypotheses with peers.
Fun Fact Scavenger Hunt
Here’s a great icebreaker activity for freshmen to help them get to know staff within the school. To prepare for this scavenger hunt, select a group of teachers and staff members that are likely to interact with freshmen students. Each staff member can share a fun fact about themselves to contribute to the scavenger hunt.
Students can then work in groups or individually to identify the staff member that shared each fun fact. This scavenger hunt can be completed outside of class. Alternatively, you can provide students with permission to complete the scavenger hunt during class hours – the latter option offers students the opportunity to explore other classrooms and feel oriented with the school.
Collaborative Playlist
Teenagers are notoriously reluctant to overshare. One way to help them let down their guard is to allow them to express their identities through music preferences. Allow each student to select a song to contribute to a class playlist.
This icebreaker for high school students doubles as a writing activity. Get your students to write a short paragraph about what the song means to them. I typically reserve their written paragraphs for myself as I find this to be a great way to build confidentiality and trust with students; given the personal nature of music, I find this activity works best when students aren’t required to share their responses.
After you’ve built this playlist, you can modify it by finding clean versions of any songs with explicit language. Then, use this playlist during classwork periods or downtime.
Collaborative Story Writing
For this ice breaker game, students have a set amount of time to write a story based on a writing prompt. I especially love this option for freshmen and junior students in the English Language Arts classroom!
To play, select a writing prompt. Each student will respond to their own prompt. Then, a classmate will add a sentence that relates to the sentence written by the student before them. Remind them not to worry too much about what they write – the whole point of this activity is to have fun.
When the last student has contributed a line to the story, you can loop back to the student who contributed the first sentence and continue to pass the responsibility along until the timer runs out. Whoever is the last one to contribute to the story must write a conclusion to tie the story together. You can then have a student volunteer read the entire story aloud.
A Meme Tells a Thousand Words
This icebreaker game will have students share their thoughts about class content through the vehicle of a meme. To play this game, you can search for memes or royalty-free images that express different reactions. Students can select the meme or image that best represents their thoughts on the subject that you teach. Alternatively, you can find royalty-free photographs that elicit a similar response.
Place the memes and images around the classroom. When students enter the room, you can instruct them to circulate and observe each image or meme to identify the one that best describes how they feel about the subject you teach.
Once they’ve selected the image, you can group them together based on their selection and have them discuss their answers with their peers. This provides students with the opportunity to interact with like-minded peers; additionally, this is a great time for you to circulate the room, to join in on conversations by reflectively listening, and to show your support to students by validating their comments or concerns.
Ice breakers for High School Students: Tying It All Together
Fun ice breakers for high school students can be hard to come by, but the right activities can make a significant difference in your learning environment. By thoughtfully choosing icebreakers that promote inclusivity, engagement, and teamwork, you can help students feel more comfortable and connected. I hope this list of icebreaker activities helps you create a welcoming classroom culture this year!
[…] some icebreaker activities might be a great idea. Check out Mondays Made Easy’s blog post for 8 icebreaker ideas to use with older students. My favorite one to promote discussion is this speed meeting […]