Goodtalk
Goodtalk

Icebreaker Questions for Students

At 10 to 12, kids have strong opinions and plenty of ideas, if the question gives them room. These cards start with inventions, field trips and class records. The second half helps the class talk about jokes that go too far, fair teams, group chats and making sure nobody is left out.

Good for: Teachers of ages 10 to 12 who want a class meeting, an icebreaker or a better start to group work.

Play 70 cards

Tips for playing

  • Use a fun card to warm up before a harder one.
  • Let students answer in pairs first, then share with the class.
  • Talk about the rule, not about a specific classmate.

Depth: lightLight questions

Easy to start with. Good for warming up.

  1. Which book, movie or game would you recommend to the whole class, and why?
  2. What new subject should school invent, and what would you learn in it?
  3. Which of your interests could you give a short talk about to the class?
  4. If our class made a movie together, what should it be about?
  5. If our class wrote a song about itself, what should the chorus be about?
  6. What would you like to learn that school doesn't teach?
  7. If you could travel back in time to see one event, which would it be?
  8. What has our class been really good at this year?
  9. Where should our class go on a field trip if we got to choose?
  10. What's the best way to start a Monday?
  11. What sound, smell or thing makes you think of school?
  12. What should a brand-new room at school be used for?
  13. Which job at school would you like to try for a day, and why?
  14. What would you build if our class got a huge bin full of recycled materials?
  15. What record should our class try to break?
  16. If you invented a new recess game, how would it work?
  17. What have you learned outside school lately that you're proud of?
  18. Which person from history would you like to have in our class for a day?
  19. What do you think a school will look like a hundred years from now?
  20. What's the most fun thing you've learned in a subject this year?
  21. If you could make an app to help our class, what would it do?
  22. What topic would you like to spend a whole project on?
  23. If our class got its own holiday every year, what would it be called?
  24. What's the best joke you know that doesn't make fun of anyone?
  25. Which game works best when lots of people want to play?
  26. Which subject should get an extra lesson every week, and why?
  27. What's the weirdest thing you've learned about animals or nature?
  28. If you were an author, what would your first book be about?
  29. What should we try in gym that we've never tried before?
  30. How should our class celebrate getting through something hard?
  31. If you painted a big mural on a wall at school, what would it show?
  32. What question would you ask a scientist?
  33. What's the best thing about not being one of the youngest kids at school anymore?
  34. What would you invent to make the trip to school more fun?
  35. If our class had its own motto, what would it be?
  36. Which wild animal would you like to follow around for a whole day?
  37. What do you think teachers do in the teachers' lounge?
  38. Which invention would you most like to have been the first to try?
  39. If our class made a museum, what would go in the display cases?
  40. What helps you concentrate in class?
  41. What mystery would you like to solve?
  42. If you could make one new rule that made recess more fun, what would it be?

Depth: mediumA bit more personal

For when the conversation is flowing.

  1. How can you tell when a joke has gone too far?
  2. What makes a class a good place to be?
  3. When have you changed your mind about something after hearing someone else explain it?
  4. What's a good rule for how people write to each other in a group chat?
  5. What's a fair way to pick teams in gym?
  6. What can you do if someone in your group doesn't get a chance to speak?
  7. How can you say what you think when the rest of the group disagrees?
  8. What do you do if you see a mean message in a chat?
  9. What's the difference between tattling and getting help?
  10. What can you say when you want a joke to stop?
  11. How can you make a new student feel welcome?
  12. What does it take for group work to go well?
  13. What can you do when you've been unkind to a classmate?
  14. When is it brave to speak up?
  15. What does it mean to be a good loser?
  16. What can you do when you think something is unfair?
  17. Why can two people have a completely different recess, even on the same playground?
  18. What rule should our class have?
  19. What can we do so everyone has someone to hang out with at recess?
  20. What makes it easier to ask a question in class?
  21. How can you help someone who finds something hard without embarrassing them?
  22. What makes a friend someone you can trust?
  23. When is it okay to change the rules of a game?
  24. What can you do when losing makes you mad?
  25. What would you say to someone who thinks everyone else is better at something?
  26. How can you show you're listening when someone else is talking?
  27. Why is it important to ask before you share a photo of someone else?
  28. What do you think is hard about starting in a new class?

70 cards in this deck.