First Day of School Icebreakers

One opener for a class on the first day of school, with steps, minutes and props.

First Day of School Icebreakers

  1. Pretend Ball, Real Names1. Stand in a circle. The teacher holds a ball that is not there and shows how big it is. 2. Say your own first name and throw the ball to someone across the circle. 3. The catcher says, "Thanks," with the thrower's name, then says their own name and throws it on. 4. Hands go behind your back once you have had the ball, so it reaches everyone once. Players: 12 to 30. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
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How it works

These first day of school icebreakers are classroom icebreaker games for a room full of desks, not tied to one grade. Each press deals one, with steps. Students share only a first name, a favorite or an everyday fact.

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Quick classroom icebreakers

After the first press an Any group size box appears under the button. More filters, its last entry, opens Five minutes or less and Nothing to bring. Left Arm, Right Arm, Both and Say the Teacher's Name Three Ways fit both.

Back to school icebreakers at desks, on the move and in pairs

The list below is in three groups. Under At desks, nobody leaves a seat nothing is passed from hand to hand. The moving games are class icebreakers that have students on their feet, and the pair games use desk partners or tables of four.

Tips
  • Find the Desk With Your Shape and Hunt for the Welcome Message need cards set out before class.

Questions and answers

Which classroom icebreaker activities help a teacher learn names?

How Many of Us? Count Off by Name, Name Sign Parade and Choose Your Greeting at the Door each have every first name said aloud once. In Draw Your Partner's Favorite Animal, students ask how a name is spelled.

What are good icebreaker games for students who do not know each other?

Ones that ask only for a name or a favorite. Hello to All Four Sides trades names with four neighbors, Me Too Tally counts what two students both like, and Hold Up Your Favorite, Find Your Match groups the room by ice cream flavor.

Are these school icebreakers written for one grade?

No. The teacher picks the choices and the questions to fit the class. Ages 5 to 11 have icebreaker games for kids, grades 6 to 8 middle school icebreakers, and ages 14 to 18 icebreakers for high school students.

Which of these work for a class on a video call?

None: every game here needs the room. Virtual icebreakers for students has openers for a class that meets on a video call.

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All 34 games

At desks, nobody leaves a seat 13

  • Answer on Your Fingers 1. The teacher asks a question whose answer is a number from zero to ten: "How many letters are in your first name?" 2. On "show me", everyone holds up that many fingers. A longer name gets ten fingers and a wiggle. 3. Look left and right for someone showing the same number. 4. Ask five more: pencils on your desk, books you can see from your seat, desks in your row. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Draw Three Things About the Teacher, Add One of Yours 1. Fold a sheet into four boxes. 2. The teacher names three favorites of their own, slowly: a food, an animal and a place. Students draw one in each of three boxes. 3. In the fourth box, each student draws a favorite of their own and writes their first name under it. 4. Hold the sheets up. The teacher walks the rows and reads ten names with their fourth box. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and pencils. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Hello to All Four Sides 1. Everyone stays seated. On the first call, turn to the desk in front of you, or behind you if you sit in the front row. 2. Trade first names and say hello. 3. On the next three calls, turn to the back, the left and the right, and do the same. 4. A student with no desk on one side waves to the teacher instead. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
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At desks, nobody leaves a seat, continued

  • How Many of Us? Count Off by Name 1. Without counting, each student writes down how many students are in the room right now. 2. Count off aloud, seat by seat: each student says the next number and their first name. 3. The teacher writes the last number on the board. 4. Students whose guess was exact, or one away, raise a hand. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and pencils. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Left Arm, Right Arm, Both 1. The teacher reads a choice between two things: "Apples or oranges?" 2. Students raise the left arm for the first, the right arm for the second, or both arms for both. 3. Everyone looks around the room before the arms come down. 4. Read eight choices, and end with one about the class itself: "Read first or write first?" Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Minutes Until Lunch 1. Each student writes down a guess: how many minutes are left until lunch? 2. The teacher shows the day's schedule on the board and works out the answer aloud. 3. Students with the closest guesses give a wave. 4. Guess twice more from the same schedule: minutes until recess or the next class, and minutes until the last bell. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and pencils, the day's schedule. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Names I Learned Today 1. Near the end of the day, each student takes a slip of paper. 2. In one minute, write the first name of every classmate you learned today. Spelling does not count. 3. Nobody reads a list aloud. The teacher asks for hands: three names or more, six or more, ten or more. 4. Keep the slip in your desk, and add to it tomorrow. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: paper slips and pencils. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Our Class in Numbers Poster 1. The teacher asks a question that is answered by a show of hands: "Who likes winter best?" 2. Count the hands aloud together and write the number on a poster: "9 of us like winter best." 3. Ask seven more, about favorites only. 4. The poster stays on the wall, under the title "This class in numbers". Players: 12 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: a poster sheet and a marker. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Pencils Up If It Is You 1. Every student holds a pencil flat on the desk. 2. The teacher reads a line about favorites or first-day facts: "I like rainy days," or "This is my first year in this building." 3. If it is true for you, hold the pencil straight up. Look around, then lower it. 4. Read ten lines. For the last one, the teacher picks a line that is true for everyone. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: a pencil for each student. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Say the Teacher's Name Three Ways 1. The teacher writes their name on the board and says it slowly, part by part. 2. The class says it back three ways: in a whisper, in a speaking voice, and as a stadium announcer would. 3. The teacher adds one more name the class will need this week: the room number, or the teacher next door. 4. The class says both in a row, once. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 3 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First day: yes.
  • Spot the Right Way, One to Four 1. The teacher picks one class routine, such as turning in a paper. 2. The teacher acts it out four ways and numbers them aloud: three have a mistake in them, and one is right. 3. On "show me", every student holds up one to four fingers for the right one. 4. Do the same for two more routines: lining up at the door, and asking for help. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Three Hand Signals, Faster and Faster 1. The teacher shows the three hand signals the class will use: one for a question, one for "I agree" and one for the restroom. 2. The teacher calls out one of the three, and everyone shows its signal. 3. Speed up. Then call them in pairs: "Question, then agree." 4. For the last minute, a student volunteer does the calling. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • The View From My Desk 1. Each student has two minutes to sketch what they can see from their own seat, in stick figures and boxes. 2. Label one thing in the drawing that you have a question about. 3. Hold the drawings up, all at once, and turn slowly so that the room can see. 4. The teacher answers the questions on five drawings. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and pencils. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.

Up and moving around the room 9

  • Choose Your Greeting at the Door 1. Hang a poster at the door with four greetings that need no touch: a wave, a bow, a thumbs-up, a salute. 2. Each student points to one on the way in. 3. The teacher gives that greeting back and says, "Good morning," with the student's first name, read from the roster. 4. After the last student, the class votes by a show of hands for the greeting of the week. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: a poster of four greetings, the class roster. Noise: quiet. First day: yes.
  • Count Around, Then Backward 1. Stand in a circle. Count off around it: each student says the next number, and the last number is the size of the class. 2. Count off again, faster. 3. Now count down from the last number to one, in the other direction. 4. Each student keeps their first number: it is their line-up number for the day. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Find the Desk With Your Shape 1. Before class, tape a card with a shape, a number or a picture to each desk. 2. At the door, hand each student the matching card. 3. Students find their desk by the card and sit down. 4. Trade first names with the people on both sides, and hold the card up when the teacher calls its shape or number. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: two matching cards for every desk, tape. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Hold Up Your Favorite, Find Your Match 1. Each student writes or draws one favorite ice cream flavor, large, on a sheet of paper. 2. Hold the sheet at chest height and walk around the room without talking. 3. Stand with everyone who shows the same flavor. Students with a flavor of their own gather as the "one of a kind" group. 4. In each group, trade first names. Then each group calls out its flavor together. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 7 min. Props: paper and markers. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Hunt for the Welcome Message 1. Before class, write a welcome message of as many words as there are students, one numbered word on each card, and place the cards around the room in plain sight. 2. Each student finds one card, and only one, and joins a circle. 3. The circle puts itself in number order. 4. Each student reads out the word on their card, down the line, and the class hears the message. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 8 min. Props: numbered word cards, one for each student. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Music Stops, Sit Anywhere 1. Play music while the class walks around the room. There is a chair for every student. 2. When the music stops, sit at the nearest desk. 3. Trade first names with the students on both sides. 4. Play four times. After the last stop, everyone walks back to their own seat. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 6 min. Props: music to play. Noise: loud. First day: yes.
  • Name Sign Parade 1. Each student writes their first name large on a sheet of paper. 2. One row at a time, students walk a loop around the room and hold their signs high. 3. As each sign passes the front, the seated class reads the name aloud together. 4. The signs go on the desks as name plates for the week. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and markers. Noise: loud. First day: yes.
  • Pretend Ball, Real Names 1. Stand in a circle. The teacher holds a ball that is not there and shows how big it is. 2. Say your own first name and throw the ball to someone across the circle. 3. The catcher says, "Thanks," with the thrower's name, then says their own name and throws it on. 4. Hands go behind your back once you have had the ball, so it reaches everyone once. Players: 12 to 30. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Room Tour in One Long Line 1. The class lines up behind the teacher and walks a loop of the room. 2. At each of six stops, such as the class library, the sink and the turn-in tray, the teacher says its name and the class repeats it. 3. After the loop, the line stays in place. 4. The teacher calls a stop, and the whole line points to it. Then everyone walks back to a seat. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.

In pairs and table groups 12

  • Count It Twice: Do Our Numbers Match? 1. The teacher names one thing to count in the classroom: the chairs, the ceiling lights, the posters on the walls. 2. In pairs, both students count it from their seats, each alone and without a word. 3. On the signal, partners say their numbers at the same moment. If the numbers differ, they count again together, pointing. 4. Count three things in all. For the last one, the teacher asks every pair for its number and settles it. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Draw Your Partner's Favorite Animal 1. In pairs, each student tells the other a favorite animal. 2. Each has one minute to draw the partner's animal. 3. Write the partner's first name under the drawing, and ask how to spell it. 4. Trade drawings. Each student keeps the picture of their own animal. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and pencils. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Everyone With Number Three, Stand 1. At each table, students count off from one to four. 2. The teacher asks a question with many right answers: "Name something in this room that is blue." 3. Tables whisper until all four can give an answer. 4. The teacher calls a number, and the students with that number stand and answer, one table after another. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Guess My Favorite Food in Three Clues 1. In pairs, one student thinks of a favorite food and keeps it secret. 2. They give three clues, one at a time: its color, when they eat it, and how it feels to bite. 3. The partner guesses after each clue. 4. Swap. Then each pair tells the pair beside them what the two foods were. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Invent a No-Touch Partner Greeting 1. Each pair has two minutes to invent a greeting of three moves with no touching: two claps, a hop, a point. 2. Practice it three times. 3. Show it to the pair beside you, and learn theirs. 4. Partners use their greeting at the door for the rest of the week. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: loud. First day: yes.
  • Me Too Tally 1. In pairs, students take turns naming a thing they like: "I like swimming." 2. If the partner likes it too, they say, "Me too," and the pair makes one tally mark on a shared sheet. 3. Go back and forth for two minutes. 4. Pairs hold up their tally count on their fingers, and the teacher finds the highest. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 4 min. Props: paper and a pencil for each pair. Noise: loud. First day: yes.
  • Red, Round and Written: Partner Hunt 1. In pairs, students have two minutes to find three things in the room: something red, something round and something with words on it. 2. Point to each one. Nothing is picked up. 3. Back at their seats, pairs tell the pair beside them what they found. 4. The teacher asks for the thing that only one pair found. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 6 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Shoulder Partner, Face Partner 1. At each table of four, the student beside you is your shoulder partner and the student across from you is your face partner. 2. Point to each one as the teacher calls it, and trade first names. 3. The teacher calls a partner and a topic: "Face partner: a favorite fruit." 4. Call six in all, three for each partner. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Stock the Table Caddy Together 1. Give each table group an empty caddy and a bag of mixed supplies: pencils, glue sticks, scissors, crayons. 2. The table sorts the supplies into the caddy, one kind to each pocket. 3. Each student holds up one supply and tells the table when the class will use it, or asks. 4. The teacher names the caddy rule for the year, and tables point to where each thing goes. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 6 min. Props: a caddy and a bag of mixed supplies for each table. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Three Directions to a Secret Spot 1. In pairs, one student picks a spot in the classroom and keeps it secret. 2. That student gives three directions that start from the pair's own desks: "Go to the window. Turn toward the board. Stop at the second shelf." 3. The partner follows them with a pointing finger, not with their feet, and names the spot. 4. Swap. Then each pair tells the pair beside them which spot was the hardest to find. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Three Quick Table Sorts 1. Each table group stands behind its chairs. 2. On the first call, the table lines up by first name, A to Z. Each student says their name down the line. 3. On the second call, line up by the number of letters in your first name. 4. On the third, line up by whose seat is closest to the door. Then sit down. Players: 12 to 36. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.
  • Which Fact About This Room Is Made Up? 1. Each student looks around and thinks of three things to say about the classroom. Two are true, and one is made up. 2. Tell a partner all three: "There are four windows. The clock is over the door. There is a fish tank." 3. The partner points to what they checked and names the made-up one. 4. Swap, then find a new partner at the next table. Players: 12 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: none. Noise: medium. First day: yes.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a teacher with a class of 12 to 40 on the first day of school, in a room full of desks. None of the games is written for one age: the teacher picks the either-or pairs, the questions and the cards to suit the grade. Every game and every set of steps is our own. In all of them a student shares no more than a first name, a favorite or an everyday fact, nobody is out, nobody is touched, nobody picks teams, and no question is about home or family. In the games under "At desks, nobody leaves a seat" nothing is passed from hand to hand. "First day: yes" means that no student needs to know a classmate's name already; it is true of every game here. "Nothing to bring" means that the teacher prepares and brings nothing. The Wikipedia article on icebreakers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icebreaker_(facilitation), read 2026-10-03, text under CC BY-SA 4.0) says that an opener should not embarrass people or make them feel they must join in, so a student may always pass. The player counts, the minutes and the noise levels are the editors' estimates for planning. A size choice keeps a game only if the game works at both the low end and the high end of that choice. Games written for one age are on the kids, middle school and high school pages, and no game is on two of the four. Licence: own work