14 Fun "Getting to Know You" Icebreaker Games for Kids

Co-authored by Kathy Slattengren, M.Ed. and Hannah Madden

Last Updated: August 14, 2022

A new school year means a new classroom full of fresh faces. Icebreakers and get-to-know-you-games help your students shake off their nerves and learn more about their fellow classmates (and you!). No matter what age range you’re working with, we’ve got the best icebreaker games you can use in your classroom to encourage your students to participate and get to know each other.

Section 1 of 4:

Pre-k and Kindergarten

1
Name Chase Try a version of duck, duck, goose to learn everyone’s names. Have all your students sit in a circle, and pick one student to be “it.” Have the person who is “it” walk around the circle and tap everyone on the head, saying their names as they do. When the person who is “it” taps someone and says the class name instead of an individual name (like, “Miss Janet’s class”), have the tapped person stand up and run after the “it” person before they can take their spot.
- Just like in Duck, Duck, Goose, the “it” student is trying to grab a seat in the circle. If they manage to sit down, the person who was chasing them is now “it!”
2
Telephone This classic game is a great team building exercise. Have all your students sit in a line, then whisper something into the first student’s ear. Let each student pass the whispered message along, and don’t worry if it gets garbled! Once the message reaches the last student, have them say it out loud to hear how exactly it changed during the game.^{[1]
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3
Ball Toss Ask your students questions to learn more about them one at a time. Have everyone stand in a circle, then start the game by throwing a ball to one student. Ask a question like, “Do you have a pet?” The person holding the ball gets to answer. Once that student answers, they can throw the ball to someone else and ask another question of their own. Once every student has gone, the game is done!
- If your students are old enough, have them make up their own questions. If they’re on the younger side or they’re feeling shy, ask the questions yourself.

Section 2 of 4:

1st - 2nd

1
Classroom Scavenger Hunt Help your students explore the classroom with this fun game. Create a scavenger hunt full of clues that lead your students around the classroom—have them find markers, rulers, paper, and supplies they might need later on. Whoever finds the most items wins a prize!^{[2]
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- You can create a classroom scavenger hunt yourself, or you can purchase an editable template.
2
Two Truths and a Lie Let your students bend the truth to get to know each other. For this game, have each student come up with 3 statements about themselves: 2 of the statements are true, but 1 is false. Call on your students one by one, and have them read out their statements. Then, the rest of the class can try to figure out which statement is the lie.^{[3]
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3
Name Game This is the perfect game to learn everyone’s names fast. Have all your students sit in a circle, then pick one student to start. Let them think of an adjective that describes them, but with a twist—it has to start with the first letter of their first name! Go around the room and have each student say their adjective followed by their name.^{[4]
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- Give your students an example, like “Curious Cathy” or “Energetic Earl.”

Section 3 of 4:

3rd - 4th

1
Shoe Game Have your students get to know each other based on their footwear. Gather all your students into a circle, then have all of them take off their shoes and throw them in a pile. Pick out one student at a time to reach into the pile and find a shoe, then have them make a statement about the person based on their footwear. The owner of that shoe can then step forward and introduce themselves while putting on their shoes.^{[5]
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- For instance, a student picking up a pink sparkly shoe might say, “This person has a great sense of style!”
2
Paper Planes This fun game combines crafts with a little competition. Give each student a sheet of paper and have them write a fun fact about themselves on it along with their name. Then, tell them to fold it into a paper airplane. Line your students up and have them throw their paper airplanes to see whose can go the furthest! Then, have each student grab a paper airplane from the ground and find the person who wrote it.^{[6]
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- Want to let your students have even more fun? Let them decorate their paper airplanes with stickers, markers, or jewels.
3
Whose Story Is It? Learn more about each student with a fun, creative story. Pass out a sheet of paper to each student and have them write down a true story that happened to them (the more outlandish, the better). Collect everyone’s pieces of paper, then read each story out loud. Have all the students figure out which paper belongs to who!^{[7]
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4
Straw Relay Get active with this fun twist on a relay race. Split the class into 2 teams, and hand each student a straw and a sheet of paper. Have one student from each team pick up the piece of paper with a straw (no hands allowed!). Then, have them run the paper to the front of the classroom. The next student in line can then use their straw to grab a new piece of paper and run it to the front of the classroom. Whichever team gets through all their team members the fastest wins!^{[8]
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Section 4 of 4:

5th and Up

1
Get-To-Know-You Bingo Put a twist on a classic game for some fun icebreaker moments. Give each of your students a Bingo card with different descriptions in each box (like “has red hair,” or, “went on vacation this summer”). Then, have your students get up and move around the room, finding a person who fits each description and writing their name in the corresponding box. When a student fills out their entire sheet with names, they can yell, “Bingo!”^{[9]
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- You can create a Bingo sheet yourself, or purchase a pre-filled Bingo sheet.
2
Human Knot Encourage group work with this fun, physical game. Have your students stand in a circle facing each other. At the same time, have all your students raise their right hands and join hands with another person (as long as it’s not the person right next to them). Then, have them raise their left hands and join hands with a different person. Once everyone is good and tangled, see if they can untangle their human knot without unlinking anyone’s hands.^{[10]
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- To make this activity more leadership-focused, assign one student to be the leader and call the shots.
3
Tall Tales Work together to tell a zany story. Have all of your students stand in a circle, and choose one student to start. Let them say a sentence out loud to start a fictional story, like, “Yesterday, I was walking my dog around the block, when SUDDENLY…” Then, the student next to them picks up where they left off. The story ends once every student has had a chance to add their sentence.^{[11]
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