Mobile Menu

  • Home
    • About Lindsay
  • Blog
    • English Language Arts
    • Effective Teaching Strategies
    • Technology in the Classroom
    • Self Care for Teachers
  • Free Grading Guide
  • Grading Reset Course
  • Resources
    • Web Store
    • TpT Store
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Lindsey Ann Learning

Raise Rigor, Create Learners, Embrace Creativity

  • Home
    • About Lindsay
  • Blog
    • English Language Arts
    • Effective Teaching Strategies
    • Technology in the Classroom
    • Self Care for Teachers
  • Free Grading Guide
  • Grading Reset Course
  • Resources
    • Web Store
    • TpT Store

105 Icebreaker Questions for Teens

Home » Blog » Effective Teaching Strategies » 105 Icebreaker Questions for Teens
icebreaker-questions-for-teens

August 24, 2020 //  by Lindsay Ann//  4 Comments

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet
icebreaker-questions-for-teens

Have you scrolled through several blog posts hoping to find just the right icebreaker questions for teens? I’m hoping that this post will be your last stop because I want to give you 105 icebreakers high school students will enjoy talking about during the “getting to know you” back to school transition. This is your one-stop-shop for ice breaker questions. You’re welcome! 

As an introverted teenager, I used to think that icebreaker activities were a waste of time. This was mostly because they made me uncomfortable and I was self-conscious in talking about myself. Even good icebreaker questions left me tongue-tied.

Then I became a teacher. And I knew there was a need to build classroom community, so I started to think of ways to use icebreakers to foster student-to-student connections.

The Science of Icebreakers

There is actually some benefit to icebreakers in terms of human psychology. Did you know that it’s part of our human nature to like people who are like us.

Why? We want to be liked and there is less possibility of rejection when we share a mutual interest, value, or experience.

So, when we as teachers provide students with team building activities, we are creating a connection based on a mutual experience. When we provide students with ice breaker questions as a “getting to know you” activity, we are creating an opportunity for connection based on mutual interests and/or values.  

icebreaker-questions-for-teens

If students perceive that their classmates don’t like them, chances are they don’t see much common ground between themselves and their peers. If students lack connection to each other, the more likely they are to participate in behaviors that separate them from the group. 

That’s why it’s so important to take time to build a classroom environment, not just at the beginning of the year but throughout the year. Each time you do, you are sending the message “we are in this together.”

Ways to Use Icebreakers in the Classroom

There are different ways to use ice breaker questions other than the typical partner interview. 

Here are a few ways to spice it up: 

  • Icebreaker menus or choice boards. 
  • Quick brain break during a lesson.
  • Question of the day projected on your agenda slide. Have students discuss at table groups or with an elbow buddy. 
  • Speed dating. Form two lines and have one line rotate so students switch partners for each good icebreaker question you ask.
  • Have students find someone who has the same answer to the question as they do and write their answer/name beside the question.

105 Icebreaker Questions for Teens

Use all or some of these good ice breaker questions to get students talking to each other. And remember, the goal of these icebreaker questions for teens is to help students to find common ground with each other. You can emphasize this by having students write down the connections they make to each person they talk to if you wish.

ice-breaker-questions-for-teens

Personal / Life Questions

  1. What was your favorite game when you were a kid? 
  2. What is your biggest hope for the future? 
  3. What do you fear the most? 
  4. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
  5. What would people on social media say about you based on your posts? 
  6. What is your favorite meme and why?
  7. What is the last song you sang out loud? 
  8. What is your favorite quote? 
  9. When you wake up in the morning, what are you most thankful for? 
  10. If you could switch one thing about yourself, what would it be? 
  11. Describe your perfect day. 
  12. Would you want to be famous? 
  13. What are you most likely to argue about? 
  14. What are the top two songs on your playlist right now? 
  15. Name three things you and I appear to have in common. 
  16. If you could change anything about your childhood, what would it be? 
  17. What is your greatest accomplishment? 
  18. Which family member are you most proud of? 
  19. Which family member are you closest to? 
  20. If you could know the future, would you choose to find out? 
  21. What would you change about your life, if anything, if you knew that you had a month to live?
  22. When are you most likely to cry? 
  23. What do you take really seriously? Joke about? 
  24. Which TV or movie character would you be friends IRL with?
  25. What is something you have always wanted to do, but have never done before? 
  26. When you are at a party, where are you and what are you doing? 
  27. What’s your most creative accomplishment? 
  28. What do you want to be known for? 
  29. What is your favorite memory? 
  30. Who is your favorite vlogger? 
  31. What show are you most likely to binge-watch?
  32. What is your favorite sport to watch?
  33. What is your favorite sport to play?
  34. What favorite project are you working on right now?
  35. What makes you happiest? 
  36. Do you think the world expects too much of young people? 
  37. In what ways do you think differently or the same as your parents? 
  38. If you could move anywhere in the world, where would it be? 
  39. How do you think the world will end? 
  40. What is your dream car?
  41. What is your superpower?

Fill-In-The-Blank Questions

  1. I wish I knew _____________. 
  2. I love it when _____________.
  3. If only, _____________. 
  4. My motivation _____________. 
  5. My parents _____________. 
  6. I make the world _____________. 
  7. When it rains _____________. 
  8. Life is a _____________. 
  9. I predict _____________. 
  10. I sometimes imagine _____________. 
  11. Beware the _____________. 
  12. The most underrated invention is _____________. 
  13. At 4:49 tonight, I will be _____________. 
  14. I enjoy the little things in life, especially _____________. 
  15. _____________ is priceless.

School-Related Questions

  1. What are your most and least favorite subjects? 
  2. What do you like the most about your schedule this year? 
  3. What are you most excited to do this school year? 
  4. What clubs or activities do you participate in? 
  5. If you could change one thing about our school, what would it be? 
  6. Who was your favorite teacher? 
  7. What is worth taking the time to understand on a deeper level? 
  8. Tell me about the last thought-provoking text you read. 
  9. What time do you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night? 
  10. What is your favorite location in the school building? 

This or That Good Icebreaker Questions

  1. Paper or plastic? 
  2. Up or down? 
  3. Real flowers or air freshener? 
  4. Lemonade or Iced Tea
  5. Starbucks or Dunkin? 
  6. Target or Walmart? 
  7. Haircut or grow it out? 
  8. Formal or informal? 
  9. Noisy or quiet? 
  10. Always honest or little white lies? 
  11. Clean or messy? 
  12. Pasta or steak? 
  13. Book or Kindle?
  14. Memes or gifs? 
  15. Rain or sun? 
  16. Sleep or no sleep? 
  17. Fortnite or COD?
  18. Dance or sing? 
  19. Comics or manga?
  20. Bright colors or neutrals? 
  21. Woke or ignorant? 
  22. Goodbye or hello? 
  23. Art or music? 
  24. Imagination or reality?
  25. Movie at home or in the theatre? 
  26. Pillow fight or water balloon fight?
  27. Popping bubble wrap or checking off items on a to-do list?
  28. Reddit or Tumblr? 
  29. Gaming or social media? 
  30. ROFL or LMFAO?

Silly Questions

  1. Would you rather pet a shark or stare down a tiger? 
  2. Are you more like a bird or a squirrel? 
  3. What makes the world go round? 
  4. If you could design the ultimate treehouse, what would it look like? 
  5. What book would you want to actually get lost in?
  6. What is between here and there? 
  7. Which is better: finding a folded chip in the chip bag or a pencil with a really good eraser? 
  8. What is better than sliced bread?
  9. If you had to re-make the world out of only one food, which one would you choose?

Wrapping Up

Thanks for reading this post! I hope you found a bunch of good icebreaker questions for teens in your middle school or high school classroom.


Hey, if you loved this post, I want to be sure you’ve had the chance to grab a FREE copy of my guide to streamlined grading. I know how hard it is to do all the things as an English teacher, so I’m over the moon to be able to share with you some of my best strategies for reducing the grading overwhelm. 

Click on the link above or the image below to get started!

grading-papers

Sharing is caring!

  • Share
  • Tweet

Category: Effective Teaching Strategies, English Language Arts

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 16 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

Related Posts

You may be interested in these posts from the same category.

student-blogging

Everything You Wanted to Know About Student Blogging

chatgpt

Teachers, Open Your Eyes to OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Back from Break: Re-Establishing Rules & Routine in Classrooms

poems-to-teach

23 Poems to Teach in the Winter

analyzing-song-lyrics-2

Analyzing a Song – So Simple Every Student Can Do It

exit-tickets

Revolutionize Your EXIT TICKETS With These Easy-Peasy Tips

transition-words-in-an-essay

Improve Your Transition Words In An Essay Skills

third-person-point-of-view

The Power of Third Person Point of View

strategies-for-close-reading

Strategies for Close Reading That Rock

grammar-mistakes

Top 10 Grammar Mistakes High School Students Make (and what to do instead)

Secrets to Teaching Students with Anxiety

writers-journal-prompts

Writers Journal Prompts Tip: Shake It Up

Previous Post: «ideas-for-ice-breaker Of all the ideas for ice breaker activities, this one’s the BEST!
Next Post: Google Classroom Tutorial for Teachers: Keep it Simple google-classroom-tutorial-for-teachers»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dina Pinner

    September 3, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    Dear Lindsay Ann,
    Thank you so much for these!
    You’re right, you are my one stop shop for getting to know you questions for my teens!
    They will make a wonderful lesson!!
    May you continue in strength and creativity!
    Dina

    Reply
    • Lindsay Ann

      September 8, 2022 at 8:34 pm

      Thanks for your encouragement, Dina!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 80 Icebreaker Questions for Work, College and High School Students « Guide 2 Research says:
    August 11, 2021 at 1:46 am

    […] Lindsay Ann Learning. (n.d.). 105 Icebreaker Questions for Teens. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://lindsayannlearning.com/icebreaker-questions-for-teens/ […]

    Reply
  2. Back from Break: Re-Establishing Rules & Routine in Classrooms - Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog says:
    January 10, 2023 at 7:00 am

    […] I’ve got tons of tips and tricks for reestablishing important routines and procedures to make the first week back super […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Join me in the pursuit of engaged, dynamic classroom learning!

I’ve created a FREE guide with 20 of my best strategies for streamlined grading to help English teachers like you have more time to do what you love.

Get the Guide!

Categories

Latest Products

  • Late Work Submission Google Form $3.00
  • Rhetorical Devices Activities for Google Drive & Print $4.00
  • Distance Learning Google Form Student Survey $3.00
  • Creative Writing Prompts Choice Boards $3.00
  • Slam Poetry Condensed Unit for Distance Learning $7.00

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 Lindsay Ann Learning English Teacher Blog · Privacy · All Rights Reserved

143 shares