Icebreakers for College Students

The 94 BEST Icebreakers for College Students | CityHUNT

Want to build a better bond with your fellow students? Discover this epic list of icebreakers for college students now.

The Comprehensive List Of Icebreakers For College Students

We all know that bonding events can be met with eye-rolls even at the best of times, and right now we’re met with the challenge of a socially distant world. As school comes round again, get ready inspired for your next bonding event by using this list of terrific icebreakers meant for college students of any age.

CityHUNT has put together the most comprehensive list of icebreakers for college students, with nearly one hundred options for fun orientation activities.

Build your bond with fellow students (and maybe even with your teachers) using this array of fun, hilarious and informative games.

The Best Icebreakers For College Students

Sharing Course Trepidations

Many students experience increased anxiety over beginning a new course. Some courses, such as mathematics or creative writing, might be associated with higher than average expectation.

Have your students work in groups to share some of their fears transparently, encouraging them to reveal their concerns about starting your course. Encourage honesty. Groups can share with the rest of the class as they feel comfortable. This exercise provides validation, allows the instructor an opportunity to address student concerns and makes everyone more comfortable in an unfamiliar situation.

Class Preview

This icebreaker centers the focus on the current academic subject, and is ideal for intro courses. Ask your students to write down all of what they think they know about your class. Have them take turns sharing this info until you have a list of their preconceptions. You can respond to each statement with how it’s right or wrong, or if it’s irrelevant to the subjects being discussed. You can ask students to respond in kind to your answers, or promote a general class-wide discussion.

Character Descriptions

Prompt your students to write down a few adjectives about themselves on a sticker badge (cool, calm, nervous, insightful, etc.). When everyone is done, ask the group to find people with similar or opposing attributes and encourage a discussion.

Comic Chaos

Play this competitive icebreaker in multiple groups. Each group leader chooses comic strips with the same number of frames as the number of students in their group. Students then take turns choosing a comic panel. Once everyone has chosen a panel, they’ll begin searching for other students with the same one. When students have then formed groups, they will attempt to arrange their comic panels in chronological order. The first group to finish first wins!

Marshmallow Challenge

Create groups of students in numbers of 4 or 5. Instruct them to build the most elegant marshmallow and toothpick structure they can. After given the materials, set a timer, and build! After the timer is up, the orientation leader will judge the best tower.

Where In The World…

Gather your group and give them some time to think over three clues that describe where they’re from. Once everyone has their clues, go around to each group and have the students present their clues for the rest of the group to guess where they’re from. The first student to guess correctly (or come close) takes the next turn.

Paper Bag Skits

Divide your students into teams consisting of around three members. Give each team a paper bag of assorted objects, such as spoons, toys, bars of soap, earbuds, feathers, etc. Give the teams ten minutes or so to come up with a skit using the props. If you want to make it easier on them you can provide the teams a base topic. After all the skits have been planned and rehearsed, have each group perform their skits for everyone.

I Chose This College Because…

Have the dorm residents form a circle. The first person states their name and the reason they chose to attend this college. Going around the group, repeat the names of everyone before them and the reason they gave for their college choice. You can do this again, having each student state their major as well and why they chose it. The last one in the group has to name all the people, state their major and why they chose it.

Silent Arrangement

A nice silent icebreaker, this can be a break from the buzz of steady conversation created by the barrage of other games. Ask your students to arrange themselves in order, such as in accordance to their birthdays. The catch is they must do this silently, using forms of communication other than speech. At the end of the activity the students will state their birthdays and check to see how close they got to the true order.

Toss-A-Name Game

Ask your group to form a circle. Toss a ball around the circle. When throwing the ball, the individual will say their own name and then the person they throw the ball too will say their name back.

Train Wreck

This is a riff on musical chairs. Arrange chairs into a circle, ask everyone to sit down and then prompt them to remove their shoes (or use some other placeholder to indicate their spot). The orientation leader should be the first one to remove a student’s placeholder at random. That student will sit in the middle of the circle, introduce themselves, and share one thing about themselves. If their statement applies to anyone else, those students must stand, run into the middle of the circle, and find another place to sit. You’re not allowed to move directly left or right of where you started. Whoever doesn’t have a seat will have their turn to go. At one point the leader will shout “trainwreck!” and everyone must get up and move to a new seat.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

Pair up into groups and play rock, paper, scissors. The person who loses their round becomes the cheerleader for the winner. The winners move on to their next opponent, the winner from the pair to their immediate right or left. When the tournament comes down to only two people, everyone will be cheering!

Solemn And Silent

Pair everyone in the groups and have them stand back to back. At the count of three they must face their partners, look them in the eyes, and try to remain absolutely solemn and silent. Whoever smiles or laughs first sits down. Those standing find new partners, stand back to back and repeat the process until there is a winner.

Hobby Huddle

Prompt the group to sit in a circle. The first person says their name and their favorite hobby. The second person repeats what the first person said and then adds their own name and hobby. The third person continues and so on. Continue this until the last person in the circle repeats everyone’s name and hobby including their own.

Birthday Boggle

Instruct your group to line up according to their birthdays, but do so in complete silence. Similar to the Silent Arrangement icebreaker, this one could also be titled “Name Boggle” if you want to go with names instead of birthdays.

Hula Hoop Relay

Split into teams. Then have each group link arms to create a chain. Once the teams are ready, they must get a hula hoop from one length of the human chain to the other without unclasping arms or hands. The first team to do this wins.

Simple Self Introductions

Have your group introduce themselves to one another, including their names, majors and class year. You could even include fun facts or hobby information. This exercise is particularly useful in any course where a student is speaking, such as oral presentations or open class discussion.

Draw a Picture or Doodle of a Significant Event

Have the students draw a recent event and exchange their drawings with a partner. Each pair can either introduce themselves and discuss the drawings or introduce one another to the larger group while describing one another’s events to the class.

Lollipop

Pass out wrapped lollipops or other candies that have randomized letters and words on the wrapper. For each letter that appears, the participant has to share something about themselves with the larger group.

My Roommate Is

Use the following questions to make sure students get to know their new roommates. Have each student pair with their roommate and ask them the following or have them come up with their own questions.

The first thing I noticed about you was…

One thing that surprised me about you was…

One thing I like about you is…

An important difference between us is…

Keep the prompts positive but informative.

Two-Minute Mixer

Allow everyone two minutes to chat with the other students in the group. After the time has passed, ask each student to introduce themselves and share one of the things they learned about someone else in the group.

Beach Ball

Grab a Sharpie and a beach ball and write some getting to know you questions on its surface. Ask the students to gather in a circle and toss the ball to one another. Whenever a person catches the ball, ask them to read one of the questions aloud and answer it. Once they’re done, pass it along to another student and repeat the process.

Human Knot

Form a closed circle with your group. Each player puts their right hand into the circle and grabs the player’s hand to their immediate left or right. They repeat this action with their left hand, except holding the hand of a player different from the first. Now the group must untangle themselves into a circle without letting go of one another or breaking the chain.

The Reception Line

Have your students divide into two groups and stand facing one another. Each person speaks to the person across from themselves until signaled to move. The one at the end of the line moves to the front, so that each person rotates down and there is someone new to speak to. Use these possible conversation topics or find your own:

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

What is one of your favorite quotes?

What’s your favorite TV show?

What’s your favorite hobby?

What’s your major?

Why did you enroll here?

Present the Syllabus

This activity is for those looking for an icebreaker that will create a strong connection with your class. Have your students form into groups, providing each group with a section of your syllabus. Give them time to study, and then have them present their info to the rest of the class as creatively as they can. This is a great option for a class requiring students to put themselves out there, such as drama or public speaking.

Sing Off

Divide your group into teams of two to five people. The orientation leader sets a word theme such as love, friendship, or vacation. The teams alternate back and forth singing some song assigned by the word in the song’s title. Everyone must try and sing for the song to count. No repeats or skips, and any team that doesn’t sing is eliminated. Keep going around the circle until there is only one team remaining.

Take Sides

Have your students pick preferences between dichotomies, such as vanilla or chocolate and sour or sweet. Each student will go to one side of the room to show their chosen preference. Have each student discuss why they made their choices.

Have You Met…

Break off into pairs and give your students some time to become familiar with one another. Once your allotted time has passed, bring the group back together and have each person introduce their partner instead of themselves as if they’re beginning a conversational icebreaker.

Telephone Charades

Divide your group into two lines that face the same direction, standing so that one line is behind the other. Give the students at the end of the line something to act out, such as final exams or writing a paper. When the orientation leader says ‘go,’ the first person taps the shoulder of the one in front of them and acts out their prompt. Repeat this down the entire line. The last student must try and guess at what the original prompt was.

Draw a Picture of Why The Student Is Taking the Class

Prompt your students to draw out their reason for enrolling in the course. Ask them to be creative beyond ‘fulfilling a requirement.’ Have them share their answers in pairs or groups and then with the larger class as a whole.

Pterodactyl

Ask your students to gather into a circle. The first person attempts to say pterodactyl to the one on their right while keeping their teeth covered by their lips. Continue this around the circle (unless someone screams like a pterodactyl, which reverses the direction on their turn). If anyone shows their teeth at any point, they’re out.

Two Truths and a Lie

Gather your students into a group and dedicate some time for them to think of two truths and a lie. Once everyone has their statements ready, one student goes first. The first person to identify the speaker’s lie goes next. This continues on until everyone has had a turn.

Alliterative Name Game

Have your students gather in a circular group and pick a theme. Each student introduces themselves by saying their name and a word within the theme that begins with the same letter of their name (such as, “My name is Jeff and I like jeans.”). The person next in line repeats the statement and adds their own (such as, “My name is Sarah and I like sweets and his name is Jeff and he likes jeans.”). This continues on until the last person recites everyone’s name and statement.

Open or Closed

Request everyone sit in a circle on the floor. A book is then passed from person to person. When the book is passed, each person says whether it’s being passed open or closed (“I received this closed, but I am passing it open.”). The leader of the group then says whether this is true or not. The mystery is discovering what open or closed really mean. This is established before the beginning of the round. For example, open might mean wearing jeans or having glasses. Closed might mean wearing a hat or having a beard. There can be many variations of this game; prompt your leader and group to be creative.

Dinner Plans

Ask your group to form into a circle. Each person responds to the prompt “If you could attend dinner with any person, alive, dead or fictional, who would it be and why?”

Guess Who

Have each student complete a 3×5 card with their name and three prepared statements about themself. During the gathering, read clues and have the rest of the group guess who it is that’s being described. Use each statement only once but give hints as necessary.

Giant Map

Ask each student to form a giant map of the world, calling on each side of the room to represent North, South, East and West. Each person finds their spot on the map that best represents where they’re from. If your population of students is largely international, make certain you use a space large enough for your students to sprawl out toward their home countries.

Chainlink

Have one student start by introducing themselves to the group with a descriptor (such as, “Hi my name is Brent and I like good dogs.”). When another person in the group hears something that they have in common with the person speaking, they will step over and link arms. Then they will say their name and a descriptor they have in common (This is Brent and I’m Brad and we both like good dogs).

As everyone continues talking and sharing, they will form one big chain. The last person to connect the chain then finds something in common with the original person (Brent the good dog boy).

Whose Shoe?

Have your students stand within a large circle, shoulder to shoulder. Next have the students remove their shoes and tie them together at the shoelace. Have everyone run to the center of the circle and toss their shoes into a pile and then return to the circle. Your students then take turns retrieving pairs of shoes that aren’t their own from the pile and make a statement about the person based on the type and style of the shoe. Then, the student who owns the shoe comes forward and says something about themselves and whether or not the statement had any truth.

Zippity Do Da, Zippity Yea, What a Wonderful Day

Prompt your students to sit in a circle with one person in the center. The student in the middle then points at one of the students in the circle and says, “Zippity do da.” Before they finish saying the whole phrase, the student whom they are pointing at must call out the name of the player to their immediate right. If they don’t call out the person by name (if they can’t remember it or they don’t know) they switch spots with the person in the middle of the circle.

Stinger

Have your students form a circle and shut their eyes. The group leader circles the group and picks a “stinger” by tapping someone’s shoulder. The group then opens their eyes and spends some time introducing themselves while trying to spot the stinger. The stinger attempts to eliminate everyone without getting caught. The stinger strikes by poking someone without others seeing it. After five seconds goes by, a “stung” person acts out a dramatic death. When someone thinks they’ve discovered the stinger, they can announce who it is. If another person backs up their claim, the two may make a joint accusation. If there is no second, the person must wait to challenge again. If a person is seconded and they choose the wrong person, they’re both “dead” along with the poisoned person. If the stinger is found, they’re dead and the game is over.

Ultimate Ninja

Start this speedy icebreaker by attempting to lightly strike another person’s hand before they can pull it away in a single motion. If the player is hit, they must “freeze” until the next turn. If another ninja hits your hand, you must put your arm behind your back and continue on with a single arm. If both your hands are hit, you’re out.

Alphabet Freeze

Ask each student to say the alphabet until you say “stop!” Each student comes up with something they’re excited about that begins with the letter that was stopped on. Repeat this but each time stop on a different letter. You can theme this icebreaker around places to visit, foods, hobbies, anything you want.

Bingo

Create a 5×5 grid similar to a Bingo sheet. Within each box write a fun fact or relatable anecdote that one of your students can relate to. Some examples: Traveled to Africa, played football, left-handed, baked a cake. Have your students walk around and talk to one another until they find matches. The first to fill their Bingo sheet wins!

Getting to Know Each Other through Writing

Have your students write down typical introduction information, such as names, majors, and hobbies. Have your students then swap papers with another student and learn about their partners in silence. This is an especially good icebreaker in a writing course.

Ha, Ha

Begin this icebreaker by having all players sit in a circle. Pick a player to start by saying “ha.” The player next to them then says, “ha ha.” Following this pattern, the next player then says, “ha ha ha.” As the game continues, eliminate any players who laugh or make noises when it isn’t their turn. The player who avoids actually laughing, wins.

The M&M Icebreaker

Give each student an M&M (or any other multicolored candy). Prompt a few questions or ideas about what students can share with the rest of the class. Then, ask your students to introduce themselves in small groups. As they introduce themselves, what they share is dependent on the color of their candy. For example, a yellow one might mean they share what they did over summer vacation. Have a board or not up somewhere prompting what the different colors mean.

Who Am I?

Prepare cards for each of your students and then write on them the name of a famous person. Tape the card to the back of each guest, who must then ask questions that pare down the identity of the person. When they succeed the card is pulled off and shown.

Syllabus Icebreaker

Have your students gather into smaller groups of three to five and introduce themselves. In groups, students write down a list of questions they have about your class. After all questions are written down, hand out the syllabi and have your students find answers to their questions. Not only is this an icebreaker but it can show students how to read your syllabus (and may answer anything you forgot to put into it). Afterward, the class will gather into one large group and discuss the questions unanswered by the syllabus.

Hum That Tune

Give each student in your group a piece of paper with the name of a nursery rhyme or song written on it. Each person given a song must hum the tune and find everyone else who is singing the song. They then form groups until everyone is in a group.

Syllabus Jigsaw

Divide your syllabus into its important sections. Have your students form groups and then distribute each of the sections to each group (example, the first group gets “Extra Credit”). The groups then study the section of their syllabus until they’re confident about knowing the information. The groups then present that section to the rest of the class.

I Chose This College Because…

Have your students form into a circle. The first student says their name and why they decided to attend this school. Continue going around the circle, having each student repeat this by saying their intended major and why they chose it. This is an ideal icebreaker for smaller groups and can prompt conversation.

Greatest Common Factor

Have your students form into groups that you choose. Tell each of your students that you put them together because of things they have in common. Their goal is to identify that common thing. After each group has figured out what all its members have in common, they’ll present that to the class.

The twist is this: even if the groups are presented randomly, your students will still find something they all have in common with their peers. This is a great icebreaker that gets students conversing and empathizing, as well as creating immediate unity.

Supermarket

Have the leader divide the group into dual teams, organized across two parallel lines. The leader then serves as the game master and says, “I’m going to the store to buy something that begins with a letter.” The first person to say an item that begins with that letter wins the round. The winner rotates to the end of the line and the original person sits out the rest of the game. The game goes on with new letters until the rest of the players are matched and eliminated.

Reverse Hide-And-Seek

Begin by having the group leader select one student to hide, and everyone else searches for that person. When someone finds them they secretly join in. Give your hider a certain amount of time, and play until there’s only one person remaining.

Sentence Completion

Have the orientation leader prepare a list of sentences. The leader will then give sentences randomly to each student. You can split students into smaller groups, allowing students to share sentences with partners or in more intimate settings. Once everyone is finished, switch the groups or partners.

Best And Worst Classes

Divide your whiteboard into two sections. In the first section, write “Best Class” and in the second section write “Worst Class.” Under each heading, write down “What the Teacher did” and “What the Students did.” Have your students form into groups and share what they liked or disliked about their past courses (be careful not to mention departments or instructors by name). At the end of it, point out what you would like to achieve as their instructor and emphasize that you can’t make important changes alone.

Three Word Interview

Pair your students off and give them each three to five minutes to interview on another. After the time has passed, have each partner introduce the other in only three words.

Moving Scenery

Prepare some scene prompts in advance. Divide your groups into even teams. Share the first scene prompt (such as going shopping) and ask the first group to begin. One by one, each player enters their scene in a “frozen” position and describes their overall role (such as, I’m the bag of carrots in the store). Once every person on the team has placed themselves and picked a role, the director says “action” and the scene then comes to life. Each team is given their own scene to act out!

Hometown

Have the orientation leader post a large outline of your state or country on the wall. Decide in advance, depending on your class size and students. Then have your students put their hometowns/countries and names up on the map. Go around the room and eask each in turn to share a quick fact about themselves and how they attended your institution.

Body Language

Split everyone up into equal teams. Each team is assigned a word they must spell using only their bodies, with no hand signals or signs. The other group must then figure out what they’re spelling.

Common Sense Inventory

Make a list of statements that are true or false, depending on the content of your course (for example, in a Writing course it might read, “Adjectives are easily overused.”). Have your students gather into groups and decide if the statement is true or false. In a larger group, go over the answers, clarify misconceptions and allow floor times for opinions and disagreements.

Zoom

Have your group try to create a unified story from a series of sequential pictures. Randomly order the pictures and pass them around. Each person has a picture but isn’t allowed to show it to others. This is an icebreaker that requires patience, communication and empathy as you try and recreate the story’s sequence.

Anonymous Classroom Survey

Write two or three open ended questions that are centered around your class or course. Include at least one question that is easily answered and one question that is a challenge for the group. Have your students answer anonymously on note cards, then collect the answers to find a general sense of your group’s starting point.

Where Were You When…?

Pick a date in any year before orientation and give your students time to tell the group what they were doing in that time (such as the summer of 2015, when Marvel’s Avengers was in theaters, or when the last president was elected).

Find Your Twin

Pass a piece of paper or note card to each student. Then have your students fold the paper in half and, on the left side, write a list of ten or twenty personal traits. Label the column on the left My Traits and the one on the right My Twin’s Autograph. Once everyone is finished writing, have them search for their “trait twin.”

Three of a Kind

Instruct your group to find three other students in the room that they share something in common with. These aren’t visible things, so no hair color, eye color, etc. This icebreaker prompts conversation and explores similarities with one another.

My Most Embarrassing Moment

Tell your students that at the beginning of your next class they will all share their most embarrassing moments for two minutes. This gives them time to prepare fun stories and interesting anecdotes. A variation of this icebreaker is to have your students share something interesting or good that happened to them in the past day.

Cross the Line

Ask your students to assemble on one side of a drawn line. Have the leader read a personal statement that students can agree or disagree with. Any student who agrees with the statement crosses the line and stands on the other side. Choose a few students to speak on why they crossed the line, then repeat the activity for any number of designated statements.

This activity is easy and flexible and works well in large groups. It allows students to build a sense of camaraderie.

Musical Get-To-Know-Me

Prepare a room with moveable chairs and point every student to a seat. This is just like the classic musical chairs, but as people start to lose their seats they have to share their name, where they’re from and their major.

Pop a Question

Have the orientation leader prepare questions on a piece of paper or note cards and put one inside of a balloon. Give each student a similar balloon to blow up and tie off, but don’t let them know what the question is inside of it. After everyone is done blowing up their balloons, do a short round of balloon volleyball and mix up the questions. Then, one at a time, have the students pop their balloons and answer the questions aloud.

Back to Back

Prompt each student to find a partner of about equal height and weight, or pair up students to your leisure. Have each of the paired students lock arms with their backs still to one another. With arms still locked, have each pair sit on the ground and kick their legs out straight to the floor and then try and stand back up.

Questions Only

Have the orientation leader break the students into two smaller groups and then pick a topic of conversation. Set the two groups up in a line facing one another. The first person from each line will talk to the other, but only asking questions. If a student stumbles or doesn’t ask a question, they’re out. This continues on until one line is exhausted.

Find Me

Have each student write on a blank card with three or less statements about themselves. Gather up the cards, shuffle them and then pass them out at random and have each student seek out the card’s original owner.

Zip, Zap, Zop

Prompt everyone to gather into a circle and have one person start. The first person says “zip” and points at another student, who then says “zap” and points to someone else. Then that person says “zop” and points to a third person. This continues on repeating in sequence, moving faster and faster. Whoever doesn’t notice they’ve been pointed at or doesn’t respond quickly enough is out.

Poker Hand

Have a large group of students (fifty-two or more) shuffle a deck of cards and hand out one card per student. Then have the students find the four other students to form the best possible hand of poker. Keep the code for poker written up on a whiteboard or PowerPoint slide to help students who might be unfamiliar with the rules.

Blindfolded Polygon

Ask your students to form a circle and have them put on blindfolds. Give them each a piece of rope, yarn or string and have them hold onto their piece. Blindfolded, they must attempt to form a perfect square with their group while holding onto the rope. When the group thinks they’ve done it, instruct them to place their ropes on the floor and remove their blindfolds to check their work. You can up the challenge by changing the geometric shape.

Body Language

Have the orientation leader split the group in half. Each new team will be assigned a word they must spell out using just their bodies, with no hand signals. The other group must then figure out what they’re spelling.

Webs

Ask the group to sit in a circle. The orientation leader then takes a ball of yarn and asks one question for everyone to answer, such as “where were you born?” The first student answers the question, takes a part of the yarn, and then passes the ball along to another group member seated in the circle. Continue doing this until everyone has participated. Then, the group leader asks a few students to drop their part of the yarn. As this happens the yarn will start to untangle. The group leader can then discuss the importance of every person in the group. This is a good icebreaker for TA training or student leaders.

The Three P’s

Have your students play this icebreaker to shake up the traditional introductory icebreakers that have everyone share personal facts. Include the “three P’s”: Personal, Professional, Peculiar. This approach gives students a bigger range of personal facts to draw from and takes the pressure off thinking up some facts off the top of their head.

A Poem About Me

Ask each student to write down a poem about themselves. Give the poem a minimum amount of lines, such as five or six, and it must include the student’s name and something about themselves. When everyone is finished have them present their poems to the group.

Pat On The Back

Have your group drawn an outline of their own hand on a piece of paper, then have them tape the paper to their backs. Give the group time to go around the room and write something positive on the hand.

Same and Different

Break up your group into smaller groups and have each come up with four things that make them similar and four things that make them different from one another. Once each has completed this, they’ll present a summary of their findings to the rest of the group.

This or That

Have the group leader read through several “this or that” statements one at a time. Then each student will go to one side of the room based on their preference.

Mind, Heart, Body

Ask everyone to form a circle then share what’s on their minds, what is pressing on their heart and how their body currently feels. This is a great reflection exercise for the beginning or end of an orientation and is great for zoomers/millennials.

First-Years Got Talent

Form your group into a circle and have everyone introduce themselves. Each student then shows off some special skill or talent they have. This is a great late-night event during your orientation week, and you can even make an entire impromptu talent show out of it.

Rumor

Split your group up into small teams that are appropriate for the greater size of your group. The first person from each team then goes out and makes a collective message that will be used by all the teams. After you start, the first person on each team whispers the rumor to the next person on their team. They continue this, forming a game of telephone that ends with the last person to receive the rumor running to the provided white board or piece of paper and writing down the message. Whichever team comes closest to the original rumor wins.

Fill In Their Blank

Have each student write a fill-in-the-blank index card. Collect each response and place them in a bowl. Then have each student pull one of the cards out and complete whatever sentence they find, such as, “If I was a movie, it would be___.”

Social Bingo

Have your orientation staff create Bingo cards that describe experiences or individuals prior to the start of orientation. For the icebreaker, pass along the cards and instruct your students to find people for whom their Bingo spots apply to. The same rules of Bingo apply here, the first one to score their Bingo wins.

The Movie Of Your Life

Give each participant a couple minutes to imagine what sort of movie might be made about their life, and which actor would be cast to play them. Ask each student to give their name and share their movie fantasy, including genre and some plot details.

One Word Story

Have each student help craft a story, one word at a time. Each student adds a single word onto the story and you try to build it for as long as you can.

Group Juggle

Start this icebreaker with one ball and toss it to the others in sequence, saying the name aloud of each person the ball gets passed to. As the game progresses, add more and more balls. After the group understands the game, speed up the sequence. Anyone who forgets a name or drops a ball is out.

Paper Airplanes

Give each student a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Ask them to write a question on the paper and then fold it up into their best paper airplane and write their name on it. Once everyone has made their airplanes, everyone will fly them across the room. Have everyone pick up different paper airplanes from their own and then find its proper owner and ask them the question written on the plane. Have the group then reconvene and each student introduce the person whose plane they found with their name, the question, and their response.

Switcheroo

Pair your group off and ask them to get to know their partners as well as possible in under a minute. Have everyone form a circle and take turns introducing their partner to the rest of the group. After they’ve introduced their partner, allow thirty seconds to one minute of questions.