Using Ice Breakers in Meaningful and Inclusive Ways

Why Break the Ice?

Ice breakers are fun activities designed to help students get to know one another. This creates community in the classroom, increasing student’s comfort and motivation to engage in the course. This is especially important when students will be working together, or actively participating in class, though creating connection and comfort in the classroom is beneficial in any learning environment. Ice breakers have been shown to foster student engagement, reduce anxiety, develop social skills, build community, and improve learning (Shavoun, Adeli, & Tehran, 2024).

Ice Breaking Challenges

Despite these benefits, there are challenges associated with implementing them in a way that achieves those desired goals for all students (Shavoun, Adeli, & Tehran, 2024). Students have different preferences and comfort levels (especially at the beginning of a new course in an unfamiliar environment). Students’ cultural backgrounds also differ, so some students may be more familiar or comfortable with the activity you choose than others. There are also group dynamic considerations: some students may be more eager to participate than others, and this can result in a few students dominating an activity, leaving others feeling left out. Because of all of this, ice breaker activities may end up having an effect on some students that is the opposite of what was intended.

Suggested Solutions

So, how can we design inclusive ice breaker activities that create meaningful connections between students?

A playful experience is only fun if it’s voluntary (James, 2019; Nicholson, 2012). For an ice breaker, this could look like optional participation, or different ways to participate. Some students will be excited to speak up in front of the class when it’s their turn, but others might be more comfortable submitting a text response on a digital platform. Voluntary participation could mean being able to choose between several different activities so that each student can choose something that excites them.

Finally, consider how you will facilitate the activity to allow space for everyone to take part in the way they want. Think about how you will make sure everyone has a turn/chance to engage, and that the activity will not be overtaken by a select few students.

Ice Breaker Ideas

Two Truths and A Lie

Materials: A way to write (pen and paper, digital tools, etc.)

Time required: 2-5 minutes per person, plus about 5 minutes to explain the activity. To reduce time, you can break people out into smaller groups.

This is a very popular activity that comes up a lot when searching for ice breaker ideas (Kavanagh, Clark-Murphy, & Wood, 2011; Shavoun, Adeli, & Tehran, 2024).

To begin, everyone comes up with their personal two truths and one lie: two things about themselves that are true, and one thing that is a lie. Then, each participant will take a turn reading or showing their statements. The group must then try to determine which of the three statements is the lie. Once the guessing is done, the participant reveals which was the lie, and which statements were true. This continues until everyone has had a turn.

Human Web

Materials: A ball of yarn.

Time required: 1 minute per person, plus about 5 minutes to explain the activity.

Have participants stand in a circle. The first participant will introduce themselves in whatever way they like, but should aim to share a few things about themselves. Then, while holding on to the loose end of the yarn, they will toss the yarn ball to someone else. That person must now introduce themselves, sharing whatever they would like. Critically, they must include one thing they have in common with the person who tossed the ball to them. This continues until everyone is holding on to the yarn. At this point, you can comment about this visual representation of how they are all connected. You can also have participants gently pull on the yarn to show how their actions affect the whole web.

Drawing Game

Materials: For this game you will need some paper, drawing utensils, and some simple line drawings (hyperlink to an example [opens in new window]).

Time required: 5-10 minutes per drawing, plus about 5 minutes to explain the activity.

This is a game about the importance and difficulty of clear communication.

Participants will decide whether they would like to be Describers or Drawers. Separate participants into groups with one Describer per group, and ensure the Drawers and Describers are positioned back-to-back so they can’t see each other’s papers. The Describers will have one of the line drawings, and the Drawers will each have a piece of paper and a drawing utensil. The Describers will then provide step-by-step instructions to the Drawers, attempting to help them exactly replicate the line drawing on their papers. Once the Describer is done, the Drawers can reveal their work – this often results in some amusing mismatches between what they drew and the original line drawing, and often between what different Drawers interpreted from the very same Describer’s instructions.

Sharing Favourites

Materials: None

Time required: 2-5 minutes per person, plus about 5 minutes to explain the activity.

This is a much more informal activity, but still allows students some time to get to know one another.

Split participants up into small groups. Participants then take turns introducing themselves and sharing something they are currently enjoying or excited about. It might be a TV show or movie, music, or even a picture of their pet.

Scavenger Hunt

Materials: A list of items to hunt for and/or tasks to complete.

Time required: Could range between 20 minutes to an hour or more, depending on the number of items on the list, and the distance that may need to be travelled.

Creating a scavenger hunt that is relevant to your learning environment is more time consuming than the previous suggestions, but scavenger hunts provide a fun group activity that could also support your course learning outcomes, or help familiarize students with a physical space (e.g., in a lab where students need to know the location of supplies, safety equipment, etc.).

A Scavenger Hunt could simply be a list of items participants need to complete, such as finding an answer to a question (perhaps something they can search for online or in a text book); taking a photo of something; or answering some multiple choice questions!

For this kind of activity, it’s nice to be able to tally up scores and announce a winner—maybe even have a small prize for the winning team(s).

Inclusive ice breakers should be fun, but they should also create a classroom where every student feels seen and supported. Thoughtful design ensures these activities truly build connection rather than discomfort. When implemented with care and flexibility, ice breakers can transform a group of individuals into a learning community, setting the stage for collaboration, engagement, and success.

Author Bio:  Kate is an Educational Developer at Dalhousie’s Centre for Learning and Teaching. Her portfolio focuses on supporting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and she has an interest in incorporating play, game-based learning, and gamification into higher education classrooms.

References

James, A. (2019). Making a Case for the Playful University. In A. James & C. Nerantzi (Eds.), The Power of Play in Higher Education (pp. 1–19). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95780-7_1

Kavanagh, M., Clark-Murphy, M., & Wood, L. N. (2011). The First Class: Using Icebreakers to Facilitate Transition in a Tertiary Environment. Asian Social Science, 7(4), p84. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v7n4p84

Nicholson, S. (2012, October). Strategies for meaningful gamification: Concepts behind transformative play and participatory museums. Presented at Meaningful Play 2012. Lansing, Michigan. Available online at http://scottnicholson.com/pubs/meaningfulstrategies.pdf

Shavoun, A. H., Adeli, S. H., & Tehran, H. A. (2024). Fostering Engagement: A Review of Icebreakers in Academic Environments. Medical Education Bulletin 5(2), p949. https://doi.org/10.22034/meb.2024.495642.1105