Summary
Looking for quick ice breaker activities? This collection of ice breakers offers numerous strategies that can be adapted for a variety of circumstances. Options range from lighthearted games to structured discussion, from personal to broadly applicable. These strategies create opportunities for participants to get to know one another and begin building community. Looking for questions to ask during an ice breaker activity? Find a list of potential questions, organized by tone at https://k20.ou.edu/icebreaker.Resources

Human Bingo
- 2nd - Secondary
A quick icebreaker activity where students move around the room, share conversations, and work to identify traits in others. Read more »
- Large Group (at least 30), Whole Class
- Engage/Opening, Explore/Learning Activity
- Less Than 10 Minutes, 10 - 20 Minutes
- Collaborate, Conversation Starter, Critical Thinking, Infer, Physical Movement, Problem Solving, Recognize, Speak & Listen
- 2nd - Secondary
Use the pre-filled cards or the attached template to create your own. Create cards as general or as detailed as needed.

Sweet Talk
- Preschool - Secondary
Sweet Talk is a student grouping strategy in which students create their own groups by selecting preferred items from a box and then respond to prompts that relate to their choices. This grouping strategy can be used in any subject area. Read more »
- Small Group
- Engage/Opening
- Less Than 10 Minutes
- Active Engagement, Collaborate, Conversation Starter, Increase Teacher "Toolbox", Physical Movement, Reflection, Student Choice
- Preschool - Secondary
For an ice breaker, write several open-ended questions designed for participants to get to know each other. For example, you might ask “What is your favorite movie?” or “Where is your dream vacation destination?”

Snap, Clap, Pop
- Preschool - 12th
This strategy can be used as an icebreaker or get-to-know-you activity to establish community in a classroom or can be used with content to incorporate physical movement into a formative assessment. For younger grades, it can be used to teach simple vocabulary or topics. For older grades, it can be... Read more »
- Whole Class
- Engage/Opening, Evaluate/Assessment
- Less Than 10 Minutes
- Activate Prior Knowledge, Conversation Starter, Physical Movement, Recognize, Review, Self-assessment, Speak & Listen
- Preschool - 12th
Create statements you know will apply to some participants or that you are interested in knowing about them. For example, "If you traveled somewhere on vacation, stand and call out where" or "If you play a musical instrument, stand up and air play."

Last One Standing
- 3rd - 12th
A bell ringer strategy that can be employed as either an icebreaker or as a means of activating prior knowledge, Last One Standing has students answer a question in a novel way. Read more »
- Large Group (at least 30), Medium Group (at least 10), Small Group, Whole Class
- Engage/Opening
- Less Than 10 Minutes
- Activate Prior Knowledge, Active Engagement, Physical Movement, Review
- 3rd - 12th
Ask questions to see how familiar participants are with a program or group of people. For example, “This career studies how water moves and behaves both above and below the ground” or “This facilitator speaks three languages.”

Beach Ball Talk and Toss
- 1st - 12th
This collaborative strategy is a fun, active way for students to engage in substantive conversations. With meaningful prompts or questions, students can reflect on their learning, review content or vocabulary, and much more with this highly adaptable learning strategy. Read more »
- Medium Group (at least 10), Small Group (at least 4)
- Engage/Opening, Evaluate/Assessment
- 10 - 20 Minutes
- Active Engagement, Collaborate, Conversation Starter, Cross-Curricular, Physical Movement, Reflection, Review, Speak & Listen, Student Choice, Vocabulary
- 1st - 12th
This strategy can be used as a whole-group activity or with smaller groups. Not only does this work well as an ice breaker, it’s a fun way to get participants up and moving.

30 Second Spotlight
- Undergraduate - Secondary
Students practice creating and delivering concise presentations. Each student creates one slide and has exactly 30 seconds to present on either a content topic or a topic they are passionate about. Read more »
- Individual, Small Group
- Engage/Opening, Extend/Additional Learning Activity, Evaluate/Assessment
- More Than 30 Minutes
- Evaluate, Speak & Listen, Summarize
- Undergraduate - Secondary
Use this strategy to let participants introduce themselves by sharing any information they want, or provide an open-ended question for them. Ask participants to share a fun fact about why they chose to participate in your program or professional learning experience.

Fiction in the Facts
- 6th - 12th
Students analyze statements to differentiate between fact and fiction, promoting critical thinking and discourse among students to identify correct content area knowledge. Read more »
- Individual, Whole Class
- Engage/Opening
- Less Than 10 Minutes
- Analyze, Collaborate, Compare & Contrast, Critical Thinking, Evaluate, Recognize
- 6th - 12th
Participants generate their own statements as a way to build rapport and gain insight into others in the group. Use a more directed approach by providing prompts such as “What food could you eat every day?” or “What is a hidden talent you have (or wish you had)?”

Quiz, Quiz, Trade
- 1st - 12th
Students review information together by asking and answering questions with a partner. This collaboration fosters active engagement and discussion. Read more »
- Small Group
- Engage/Opening
- Less Than 10 Minutes
- Physical Movement, Speak & Listen
- 1st - 12th
Modify this strategy by focusing the questions on personal interests. Write one question per person. Participants break into pairs, ask each other the question on their paper, trade, then find a new partner. Continue until the whole group has had a chance to speak with everyone else.
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