20 Creative Get-to-Know-You Activities for Students of All Ages

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If you’re feeling excited for a fresh beginning and a little bit of that nervous anticipation, it means that the first days of school are not far off. One of the most effective ways to foster bonds with new students is through get-to-know-you activities for the back-to-school season. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or brand new to the classroom, these ideas can help you begin to build a collaborative learning environment  — and help your students begin to forge bonds with each other.

9 Get-to-Know-You Activities for Students in Elementary School

These engaging getting-to-know-you activities for students are designed to help you build strong connections and break the ice with your kiddos from day one. Use them at the start of the school year to help students learn about each other or as a team-building activity for kids. They also work well as a quick brain break to re-energize your class and keep building community throughout the school year!

Use games to get students interacting with each other

One surefire way to get to know your elementary students is to play a game! Kick off the school year with a little bit of fun to help students discover shared interests, spark conversations, and create lasting connections.

Back to School Getting to Know You Activity – Four Corners
By Creatively Teaching First
Grades: K-2nd
Subject: Any

Get students moving, talking, and laughing as they learn about one another in this interactive, movement-based activity. For each round, students are given a prompt with four answers, and they move to the corner that best matches their answer. It’s an easy way to help your students discover what they have in common with their new classmates.

Back to School-PE Icebreaker- Dice Getting to Know You
By Ready Set PE
Grades: K-6th
Subject: Physical Education

Perfect for PE or during class, this fun and energizing activity helps students break the ice right away. It includes four different game sheets that are designed for easy printing, so you can grab, go, and play without very little extra prep. 

All About Me Activities in Spanish – Todo sobre mi
By Mrs Cabello Spanish Class
Grades: 2nd-5th
Subject: Spanish

Help students share about themselves in Spanish! This versatile resource is chock full of activities you can use across multiple levels. It includes Bingo games, surveys, and speaking activities designed to help students practice their language skills.

Back to School Activities Escape Room | Getting to Know You Game
By Teresa Kwant
Grades: 3rd-6th

This back-to-school escape room game is an interactive way to get students working collaboratively to solve puzzles, complete challenges, and learn about each other. In this activity, students race to rescue their principal, who’s been abducted by sneaky aliens! To save the day, they must answer “Find Someone Who” style prompts.

Stand Up Sit Down // Active Getting to Know You Music This or That Style Game
By Becca’s Music Room
Grades: 4th-6th
Subject: Music

This game is perfect for helping elementary students build connections with their classmates while sneaking in some movement and a dash of music-themed fun. It includes 40 engaging prompts that give everyone a chance to share a little bit about themselves, and a blank slide so you can easily add custom prompts. 

Have students create personal snapshots

These activities not only help students learn about their classmates but also help teachers understand a little bit more about their new students. 

All About Me: Back to School Flag: Activity Mat: Cultural Significance
By Teaching With Bonnie
Grades: Any
Subject: English Language Arts

Celebrate student diversity with an “all about me” cultural activity mat! With prompts about cultural heritage, family celebrations, food, and more, this activity allows students to share their unique backgrounds with you — and each other. The finished mats can be cut into flags for a beautiful bulletin board.

Back to School-All About Me
By Teaching with Aris
Grades: 1st-5th
Subject: English Language Arts

This hands-on paper booklet activity is the perfect way for students to reflect on what they did over the summer break, to share about themselves, and to learn more about the year ahead. Students complete a series of prompts, then glue each page to a paper bag to create a flip-through booklet they can keep.

Math About Me (Differentiated Levels for Lower and Upper Grades)
By Ms Honeys Class Hive
Grades: K-5th
Subject: Math

This “all about me” project is a creative way for teachers to learn more about their students and to assess their math skills. It includes five differentiated versions, making it easy for you to meet your students where they are skill-wise. Once complete, you can have them present their work to the class and start a discussion around the different strategies and approaches everyone used to solve the same problems. 

Science All About Me Lab Coat Activity
By Fields of Learning
Grades: 3rd-8th

This inventive activity helps students introduce themselves while celebrating their inner scientists! This template folds into a lab coat and doubles as the perfect back-to-school bulletin board display for your science classroom.

5 Get-to-Know-You Activities for Students in Middle School

With these creative activities to get to know students, you can learn all about their interests and personalities, setting the stage for a successful and engaging school year.

Break the ice while reviewing key concepts

Having students share about themselves through the lens of whatever subject you’re teaching is a great way to build classroom community while assessing their prior knowledge and skills. You can even align these activities with CCSS or other subject-specific standards, like NGSS. 

All About Me GEOGRAPHY First day of School Get to know you Activity!
By Crystal Clear Classroom
Grades: 4th-8th
Subject: Social Studies

With this icebreaker activity, students will share about themselves through questions that relate to geography and social studies. You can choose to set up stations (which are included), assign it as independent work, or have students complete it in small groups.

All About Me Back to School Cell Phone, Art and Writing Activity
By The Imagination Box
Grades: 5th-6th
Subject: English Language Arts

Inspired by something every student loves — their cell phone — this art and writing activity will immediately capture students’ interest during their first days back at school. Have them complete a series of writing prompts and illustrate a booklet, so you can learn all about them.

Back to School First Day Math Activity Get to Know You Graph of Me
By Rise Over Run
Grades: 5th-9th
Subject: Math

This is an engaging activity to practice graphing ordered pairs and to help you get to know your students. In this activity, students determine if statements are true or false about themselves. Each statement has a corresponding ordered pair. Students graph the points for each true statement to create a unique shape. The result is “the graph of me!”

Science First Week Activity Gab Lab Stations First Days Getting to Know You
By Sunrise Science
Grades: 7th-9th
Subject: Science

With a mix of discussion prompts and quick tasks, these science conversation stations are designed to get students talking with each other and connecting socially while thinking critically about biology, chemistry, physics, space, and more. These stations double as an excellent early-assessment tool, allowing you to observe their collaboration, writing, and higher-level thinking skills right from the start.

Back to School Music Activities – Music Ice Breakers – All About Me Music
By MusicTeacherResources
Grades: 4th-7th

These music-themed icebreakers are great for helping your middle schoolers get to know each other while providing you with the opportunity to assess their prior knowledge and music literacy level. It includes a printable and digital worksheet, which makes it easy to use in whatever way you choose.

6 Get-to-Know-You Activities for Students in High School

If you’re looking for get-to-know-you activities for back to school, look no further! These high school icebreakers are specifically designed to help older students connect with their classmates, share their interests and goals, and feel a sense of belonging.

Gain insights into your students’ attitudes toward learning

Go beyond fun facts with getting-to-know-you activities for students that help you uncover their attitudes, confidence, and experiences with the content you’ll be teaching. 

All About Me, Mathematically Speaking
By The Enlightened Elephant
Grades: 6th-12th

Learn about your students’ attitudes, goals, and experiences with math — while also giving them a chance to reflect and share with each other. This resource is perfect for kicking off the school year and helping you build a positive math culture from day one.

Find out who can answer the question 

Interactive exercises that get students talking to one another are a low-pressure way for students to break the ice and review academic content. Whether you use these during back-to-school or later in the season, these activities will go a long way to help your students feel more comfortable with each other in the classroom. 

Getting to Know You Science Activity Find Someone Who
By The Marvelous Middle
Grades: 7th-10th

For this activity, students walk around the room asking their peers science-related questions. When they find a student who knows about the topic, that student signs the square and answers the question in the square. It’s a great way for students to review content while getting to know their classmates.

Icebreaker for High School Students: Getting to Know You Bingo Game!
By Creative Access
Grades: 9th-12th

This 20-question Bingo game gets students moving, talking, and learning about one another on a deeper level. Students must walk around the classroom looking for people who match certain prompts. Once they find someone, they must ask a follow-up question related to the original prompt.

Start the year with content-driven icebreakers

These activities are a great place to start if you’re looking for something to do during that first week that’s designed to go beyond sharing names and fun facts. 

6 Word Memoir Getting to Know You Activities High School & Middle School
By The Supported Teacher
Grades: 7th-12th

This engaging activity is perfect for middle and high school ELA classes, helping students introduce themselves while learning about diction, syntax, and the writing process. Plus, it’s an excellent way to introduce a unit on identity or memoirs.

Back to School History Activity: Get to Know You with Historical Thinking Skills
By Ye Olde History Shop
Grades: 7th-12th

These editable worksheets invite students to reflect on their own lives through the lens of historical thinking — change & continuity, comparison, causation, and periodization — making personal connections to course concepts from the very start.

Ice Breakers High School Get to Know You Speaking Activities Spanish & English
By Srta Spanish
Grades: 6th-12th

These student-friendly discussion prompts for Spanish class are a great way to have students practice their speaking skills. With 42 cards to choose from, you can use these conversation starters anytime you want to build community, promote interaction, or just get students talking.

Find more activities to get to know students on TPT

Discover even more getting-to-know-you activities on TPT that will help you use the first few days of the new school year to start building rapport.