Ideas for Icebreakers

Name Game: Action Items (Repetition)  

Instructions: Each student will, in turn, say their name and make a motion at the same time. (Example: I might say “Jae” and pat myself on the head twice.) The first student will only do their name and motion. The second student will say their name and motion, and then repeat the first student’s name and motion. The third student will say their own name and motion, and then repeat the previous two. This continues until the whole group has completed the activity.  

Considerations for F2F+: As the instructor, you will want to be mindful of managing the in-person vs. Zoom students. Ways you can do this include (1) assigning each student a number in advance and asking them to go in that order, or (2) indicate which student will go next, ideally alternating between in-person and Zoom students. 

Name Game: Going on a Picnic (Repetition)  

Instructions: Each student will, in turn, say their name and choose something to bring on a picnic that starts with the same letter as their first name. (Example, I might say “My name is Jae and I’m bringing jokes to the picnic.”) The first student will only do their name and contribution. The second student will say their name and contribution, and then repeat the first student’s. The third student will say their own name and item, and then repeat the previous two. This continues until the whole group has completed the activity.  

Considerations for F2F+: As the instructor, you will want to be mindful of managing the in-person vs. Zoom students. Ways you can do this include (1) assigning each student a number in advance and asking them to go in that order, or (2) indicate which student will go next, ideally alternating between in-person and Zoom students. 

Name Game: The Story of My Name (Association)  

Instructions: Ask each student to share their name and explain its history—where it comes from, what cultural significance it has, why their parents chose it. Continue until each student has shared.  

Considerations for F2F+: As the instructor, you’ll want to be mindful of creating a shared experience between the in-person and remote students. Instead of going around the room, you might call on students one by one, alternating between access points as appropriate.  

Name Game: The Reporter (Association)  

Instructions: Pair students up and invite them to spend 5 minutes interviewing each other. At the end of the five minutes, ask each pair to report out the one or two most interesting things that they learned about the other person.  

Considerations for F2F+: For this activity, it will make the most sense to pair students across access points, with in-person students paired in the room and Zoom students paired in breakout rooms. When you are inviting groups to report out, try alternating between in-person and Zoom pairings.  

Consider asking one of these questions to start each class session or have small groups use them before the start a project or discussion.

• What is a ‘guilty pleasure’ song that you enjoy? 
• When and/or where do you do your best thinking? 
• If someone gave you $50 to spend on yourself, what would you do with it? 
• If you were able to have a “walk-up song” that would play upon your entrance to any class, event, meeting, arrival, etc., what would you choose? 
• What is your favorite food/beverage that you only/primarily consume only in [name a season]? 
• What’s the most terrible fashion trend that you committed to fully? 
• If there were no limits, which place would you want to spend the rest of your life? 
• You have 5 minutes to hide a paperclip in your home. A detective is hired to find it. But if they fail, you’ll get $10,000 as a reward. Where would you hide the paperclip? 
• You cannot time travel, but your phone has the internet from 5 years in the future. What do you search for first? 
• What is something really quirky about you? 
• You have to sing karaoke, what criteria do you choose to pick a song? 
• What’s your favorite sandwich and why? 
• If you had to delete all but 3 apps from your smartphone, which ones would you keep? 
• Would you rather be able to teleport or fly, and why? 
• What was your favorite childhood pastime? 
• What is your cellphone wallpaper? 
• You can have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what is it? 
• When is the last time you felt brave (or just a significant time that you remember)? 
• If you could learn one new personal skill, what would it be? 
• What is your most used emoji? 
• What sport would you want to compete in if you were in the Olympics? 
• What was your favorite game to play as a child? 
• If you had to teach a class on one thing, what would you teach? 
• What is your best study tip? 
• If you could have a fictional character as a best friend, who would you choose?
• What current fact about your life would most impress your five year old self? 

Hand out copies of bingo cards to each student, using this template that you can customize if desired. Ask students to talk with one another, filling out their bingo cards with a classmate’s name in a box that matches a description in the box. Instruct students that they can only mark one box with a single classmate’s name, so they will want to be strategic about what name they use where.