Icebreaker activities can work wonders in the classroom. They can be great for both getting to know students and encouraging camaraderie. Plus, they can be perfect for giving you something to do when you have an extra 5-10 minutes to fill at the end of class. Yet few icebreaker activities for teens exist out there that can actually keep such students engaged.
A lot of the games or activities you read about online are created for younger kids, and they just come off as silly to teenagers. So, to help you cut through the good, bad, and boring, we talked directly to high school students who have been through their fair share of icebreakers over the years. Here are the top 5 icebreaker activities according to teenagers.
Key takeaways:
It’s easy to find ways we’re all different, but it’s good practice to find ways we’re alike as well. This is why we’ve prepared a quick Life Skills Lesson Plan (15 minutes or less) that teaches students to look for and embrace similarities. The accompanying activity for the lesson plan encourages students to gather in small groups and find a way they are all similar. Then it encourages them to celebrate differences as well. It’s a fun and easy way to get students talking and connecting with one another. Get your lesson plan completely for free by clicking the button below.
BINGO is a classic, and it’s perfect to pull out for an icebreaker activity. You can find plenty of printable BINGO board options online. In this activity, students go around mingling with other classmates to try to fill their board. They learn a lot about one another in a matter of minutes. The printable boards have many different options, so no two games or boards are the same. You decide whether you want them to collect a BINGO after one line or if you want them to try to fill out the entire sheet.
If you need an icebreaker activity that’s really quick and easy, then consider the ABC game. This one is probably the friendliest on the list as far as being really general. It’s all about striking up a conversation and thinking quickly on your feet. It’s not necessarily about learning what a person’s hobbies or interests are, and that isn’t a bad thing. (Sometimes you need to start with the basics of just getting students comfortable talking and interacting with one another.) With it, you pair students up (small groups can work well, too), and you have students select a topic or subject. Then they just roll through the alphabet, listing off items that fit. It’s a simple, straightforward game that anyone can play. It gets students talking and interacting. Many teachers say it works well as a warm-up activity for a deeper “getting to know you” kind of activity.
Would You Rather is such a good way to pull people into a game or conversation because you can’t help but think about what answer you’d select each time. Asking these types of questions can work well in both small, partner settings and in big groups. In fact, it’s a great way to find commonalities in large groups. Students who never thought they’d have something in common will definitely find some similarities when playing a big game of Would You Rather. This is another one where you can find plenty of Would You Rather questions and printables online. If you’d like to have some vetted and ready for the classroom list, be sure to pull them from the Life Skill Lesson.
When students have a say in the activity, they’re much more likely to be invested in it. Or when they have an opportunity to vote on something and choose between multiple options, that also works well. So put it to the test. Ask students to come up with ideas for Icebreaker activities. Collect them all during one class period, and then pull together the top options. Let students vote or just go in order, tackling one after another. You might just discover a new favorite. Plus, students will appreciate the fact that you cared enough to ask them for suggestions.
At this point, you might be wondering – ok but what are the benefits of doing any of this? If it’s just to create a sense of comradery in the classroom, wouldn’t it be easier to just let students get to know each other and the teacher over time?
There are in fact several well-documented benefits of implementing icebreaker activities for teens and other students in the classroom. Here are some of them:
Icebreakers contribute to creating a positive classroom climate by fostering a sense of belonging and community among students. This sense of connection can lead to improved student attitudes towards the class and the subject matter.
Icebreakers help alleviate initial anxiety and shyness that students might feel at the beginning of a new course or when interacting with unfamiliar peers. By creating low-stakes, non-threatening situations, icebreakers encourage students to interact and engage more comfortably.
Icebreakers often involve active participation and engagement, which can set a precedent for increased student involvement throughout the course. Students who feel comfortable engaging in icebreaker activities are more likely to contribute during class discussions and collaborative projects.
It’s no secret that teenagers can be a tough crowd in the classroom. They are often unengaged by traditional learning methods and may require a more creative approach to teaching. In that sense, the icebreakers for teens we described here are a perfect way to get the conversation going when delving into some important social and emotional topics.
Beyond icebreakers, there are a ton of other activities you can try if you want to incorporate SEL into your teaching of core subjects that don’t require almost any planning or special expertise.
