Classroom icebreaker questions for students.
50 safe, fun icebreaker questions for students aged 9 and up, for the first day of school, a new term or a Friday warm-up. Ask them out loud, or play them as a free classroom game where students vote on their own device, then guess how the rest of the class voted.
School life
- Sit at the front of the class or the back?Front · Back
- Group projects are…The best · The worst
- Homework: right after school or at the last minute?Right after school · Last minute
- The best part of the school day is…Lunch · Break or recess · My favourite class · Going home
- Pick a class trip:Museum · Zoo · Science centre · Theme park
- School uniforms are…A good idea · A bad idea
- Would you rather have a longer summer break or shorter school days?Longer summer · Shorter school days
- Pens or pencils?Pens · Pencils
- Packed lunch or school lunch?Packed lunch · School lunch
- Morning classes or afternoon classes?Morning · Afternoon
- Indoor break or outdoor break?Indoor · Outdoor
- The best day of the school week is…Monday · Wednesday · Friday
- Should the school day start later?Yes, an hour later · No, keep it
Learning
- Learn something new from a video or from a book?A video · A book
- Study with music or in silence?With music · In silence
- Work alone or with a partner?Alone · With a partner
- Tests or projects?Tests · Projects
- Notes on paper or on a screen?Paper · Screen
- Would you rather learn a new language or a musical instrument?A language · An instrument
- Which would you add more of?Art · Sport · Science experiments · Music
- Ask a question in class or look it up later?Ask in class · Look it up later
- Would you rather read the book or watch the movie first?Read the book · Watch the movie
- Would you rather give a speech or write an essay?Give a speech · Write an essay
- Field trips or guest speakers?Field trips · Guest speakers
- Would you rather be great at math or great at drawing?Math · Drawing
Would you rather
- Would you rather talk to animals or read minds?Talk to animals · Read minds
- Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?Invisible · Fly
- Would you rather live in space or under the sea?Space · Under the sea
- Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet robot?Dragon · Robot
- Would you rather explore a jungle or the Arctic?Jungle · Arctic
- Would you rather time travel to the past or the future?The past · The future
- Would you rather be a famous athlete or a famous musician?Athlete · Musician
- Would you rather have a treehouse or a secret room?Treehouse · Secret room
- Would you rather never do homework again or never take another test?No homework · No tests
- Would you rather be able to teleport or stop time?Teleport · Stop time
- Would you rather meet a dinosaur or an alien?A dinosaur · An alien
- Would you rather be the best player on a team or the coach?Best player · The coach
- Would you rather invent something new or discover a new place?Invent something · Discover a place
This or that
- Dogs or cats?Dogs · Cats
- Summer or winter?Summer · Winter
- Pizza or tacos?Pizza · Tacos
- Early bird or night owl?Early bird · Night owl
- Beach or mountains?Beach · Mountains
- Board games or video games?Board games · Video games
- Sunrise or sunset?Sunrise · Sunset
- Superheroes or wizards?Superheroes · Wizards
- Sweet or salty snacks?Sweet · Salty
- Drawing or building?Drawing · Building
- Cartoons or live action?Cartoons · Live action
- Rain or snow?Rain · Snow
Good classroom icebreakers have no right answer, nothing personal and nothing that singles anyone out. The guessing round gives quieter students an equal chance, and the reveal is an easy way into a discussion: why do you think the class split that way?
Questions people ask
What are good icebreaker questions for students?
Questions with no right answer about school life or fun what-ifs: sit at the front or the back, are group projects the best or the worst, would you rather talk to animals or read minds. Avoid anything about family, money, appearance or other personal topics.
How do I run an icebreaker game in class?
Start the free Classroom pack on HTruths and put it on the projector or smartboard. Students join on a phone, tablet or laptop with a short code and a nickname, vote on each question, and guess how the class voted. Ten questions take about fifteen minutes.
Do students need accounts or email addresses?
No. Students only enter a nickname. Nicknames with slurs, explicit words or links are blocked, and you can hide names on the projected screen.
What age is it for?
The questions are written for students aged about 9 and up. Players guess what share of the class agreed with them, so it works best once students are comfortable with percentages.
Should I play these live or send a poll?
Play them live when your group is together at the same time, in a room or on a call: you show each question on a screen and everyone sees the reveal together. Send them as a poll when people are in different places or on different schedules: pick up to 10 questions, share one link, and people answer whenever suits them. The poll stays open from six hours to a week.
Ready to play?
Two ways to use this list, both free with no sign-up and no player limit.