The first few weeks of school are time spent with engaging activities. Activities that help kids adjust back into the learning zone and build positive relationships. Elementary icebreakers get more and more complicated every year from teaching an online class to working on enhancing critical thinking skills from day one. If you’re in need of classroom introduction lessons for the upcoming school year, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are 20 excellent icebreaker activities that take some social risks and more to add to your beginning-of-the-year lesson plans.
1. Get to Know You Hexagon Puzzle
I love the idea of this fun activity. First, it’s not only getting students to reach their sense of self-development but also bringing a team-building aspect into the mix. You’ll love the finished product at the end; it’s the perfect decoration for the first few weeks!
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2. Getting to Know You Interview Portraits
These getting-to-know-you interview portraits are absolutely adorable. Perfect for 3rd and maybe even 4th grade. Have your students work with partners and ask questions, then have them articulate the perfect portrait of their classmates.
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3. All About Me
This is quite a class activity for students in the first few weeks of school. But with a twist. Turn this adorable newspaper article into a genuine “Grade 5 News Paper”. Have students brainstorm for a title on the first day of class. Use Foley to turn it into a real newspaper clipping!
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4. #studentprofile
#WhoamI? Sometimes students feel pretty shy in the first few days of school. Finding an activity, students will feel comfortable with isn’t always easy. This simple activity can be done in an online class as well as a physical class.
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5. Find Your Funny Match
Add in a fun game, and make your students laugh a little bit. Who doesn’t love an adorable picture of bacon and eggs? This team-building activity is super simple to create (use any kind of clip art you’d like), and it’s even easier to work in any classroom.
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6. Llam-About Me Suncatchers
An activity perfect for llama lovers everywhere. Llama loving has definitely picked up speed in the past few years. Therefore, I’ve tried to find some classroom activities based solely on them (mainly because I love seeing my student’s faces light up). This suncatcher project is an activity suitable for all grades and really helps students develop those self-analytical skills.
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7. Chocolate and Social Skills
Alright, so my school has specific regulations in place, and unfortunately, M&Ms are not allowed in the classroom. But, my students love this game just as much with little bunched-up pieces of paper in a bag or make-your-own colorful dice.
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8. Get to Know You – Board Game Edition
Board games take a lot of cooperation skills. They’re a great way to get students to collaborate with each other while also working on some emotional skills that may have gotten lost over the summer:
- Turn-taking,
- Focus,
- And language skills.
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9. My Name, Your Name
This bonding activity will not only have you laughing but also have students laughing! It’s the perfect collaborative activity for classes of any age. Students will become more serious about the game as they age, but they’ll still love it. And on top of that, it’s a great way to learn everybody’s names quickly.
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10. Human Tic Tac Toe
This an easy game to quickly get students working together. It’s great for upper elementary and middle school students. You’ll be surprised at how much fun your students have with this one. And on top of that, you’ll love the sportsmanship lessons that come out of it.
Learn More: YoutubeYouth Ministry Great Games
11. Classroom Get to Know You
Classic classroom game to enhance those social skills from day one. Classroom icebreakers like this are great because they not only get kiddos chatting with different people in the classroom but also get kids up and moving around. So be sure to instruct that everyone is up and moving.
Learn More: Whimsical Teacher Tube
12. Get to Know You – Passport Edition
Although this video may be aimed towards adult training, this is also a great activity to use in the upper elementary classroom. Watch as students work together to learn about each other and have solid conversations with each other.
Learn More: YOUTRAIN videoproject
13. SPUD
Undoubtedly, getting outside within the first few days of school is super important. It’s hard to adjust to the day-to-day classroom after a long summer break. Take your students out for a controlled game of SPUD and watch as they work together while also working against each other.
Learn More: Splash Games
14. The Great Wind Blows
This is a perfect first day of school activity. It’s one of those classic elementary icebreakers that students have probably played before. Either way, it’s super fun and works on building students’ emotional skills without being too overbearing for students who may be feeling shyer on the first days.
Learn More: PowerKidsCenter
15. Paper Plane Elementary Icebreakers
I love playing this game on the first day of math class. Mainly because it is somewhat math related. The idea here is to create a paper plane with a few classic icebreaker questions and then throw it. Other students will then read the questions and try to figure out whose plane it was.
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16. Get to Know You – Fortune Teller Edition
I LOVE A GOOD fortune teller activity. I mean, who doesn’t?
This is a perfect first-day-of-school icebreaker activity mainly because it will give students something to take home. While also promoting plenty of classroom conversation and icebreaker questions.
Learn More: The Pathway 2 Success
17. Who’s in Your Circle?
The entire idea of concentric circles is really special. It’s sort of like creating a mind map of the entire class. It’s a great way to get students to know who enjoys the same things as them. Promoting student bonding!
Learn More: The Thinker Builder
18. A Show About You
Elementary and primary students everywhere will absolutely love this activity. In upper elementary, a writing activity is a great idea, but turning it into a craft activity is even better! An excellent prompt could be writing about a day in my shoes. Have students create the prompt and then create their shoes!
Learn More: The Imagination Box
19. I Am Unique…
I love everything about this idea! First, show your students this video to learn why fingerprints are so unique. Then continue to talk about why and how each student is unique in their own way.
Use the free pdf fingerprint to have your students create an art piece filled with everything that makes them unique! Don’t forget to add lots of their favorite color and hang them up around the classroom.
Learn More: Kitchen Table Classroom
20. What I Need | What You Need
This is one of those elementary icebreakers that aims to build respect in the classroom. The best part about this activity, though, is that it focuses on students respecting the teacher and what the teacher can do to respect the students.
I love adaptable icebreakers like this because they’re perfect for every grade and help teachers to reach every student.
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