Why icebreakers for middle and high school students?

Back to school is already a reality for many teachers. We need icebreakers to help us form relationships with our students and get off to a good start with them. Icebreakers also help our students get to know each other! Icebreakers for high school students? An effective icebreaker game for this age group is one that students enjoy but do not find embarrassing! The key is using thought provoking and interesting questions/topics while reading and respecting the privacy of your tween or teen audience. Most middle and high school students do not enjoy sharing deeply personal information with new faces the first week of school! For some, it’s downright terrifying! There are a few who may even lie or exaggerate to be unique. That does nothing to facilitate meaningful communication. So, what can we do? What types of icebreaker activities get our students talking amongst themselves in a meaningful way?

If you are a teletherapist or online teacher, you might find this blog post on no print icebreakers helpful!

Here are three interactive icebreakers for high school students:

1. Three things we have in common

Have students form into groups. Have them use a Venn diagram or just write down three things they all have in common. The trick here is to write down or use prompts that are relevant but not overly personal. Here are my favorite prompts:

What are three songs you all like/dislike?
What are three pieces of advice your parents have given to all of you?
What are three Netflix shows or movies you have all binge-watched?
What are three social media sites or apps you all like or dislike?
What are three foods none of you like?

2. Thought Provokers:

You can break a classroom into groups or do this one in a small group. Write thought provoking and relevant questions on a card. Again, think relevant and not highly personal. You can save the more personal stuff for later in the year, right? Have the students discuss as a group. One person from each group can share the highlights of their discussion. Here are my favorite thought provokers:

How do you feel about keeping wild animals as pets?
How do other countries view the United States?
What things are not okay to post on social media about your friends?
Is driving a car a privilege or a necessity?
What are some things you can do with friends that do not cost money?

3. The Vocabulary of Cooperation:

Okay, I’m an SLP so I have to throw in one language-based game! For this one, give each group or student a vocabulary word that is related to engaging in cooperative efforts in the classroom. Have them define them and share how this cooperative trait would look in their classroom. This sets a great cooperative tone for starting out a school year. Here are some words you can use:

Teamwork
Compromise
Negotiation
Assistance
Helpfulness
Cooperation
Prioritize

You might also choose to have students write an acronym poem about these cooperative traits. For a social skills group, you can do one about friendship! Having students explore these vocabulary words is a way to get them thinking about what cooperation looks like in the classroom! Use of online vocabulary resources (I love thesaurus.com) or dictionaries might be helpful for this game. Here’s a sample acronym for teamwork: