10 Engaging Icebreaker Activities to Try in Your Elementary Counseling Small Groups
Hey there counselor friend! If you’re running Tier 2 small groups, you already know this truth: you can have the best lessons planned, but if students don’t feel safe or comfortable, the real work won’t happen. That’s why the first few months of school are the perfect time to use icebreaker activities in your counseling groups.
Hi, I’m Rachel Davis! I’m a former school counselor with over 8 years of experience in the classroom. I specialize in creating easy-to-implement strategies for busy school counselors, and I am the counselor and curriculum designer behind Bright Futures Counseling , a community designed to offer counselors the support they need to feel confident serving their students well.
Whether it’s the beginning of the school year or months in, starting new tier 2 counseling groups can be exciting but also a little overwhelming. And while we’re eager to dive into interventions, here’s the truth: before we can make an impact on student behavior or skills, we first need to make sure the students walking into our groups feel safe, welcomed, and ready to connect.
That’s where engaging icebreaker activities come in.
Icebreakers aren’t just “fluff.” They set the tone for your small group, help students relax, and create space for relationships to grow. And when students trust you and feel connected to their peers, you’re able to make a bigger impact!
Why Icebreakers Matter in Tier 2 Small Groups
Tier 2 students often walk into small group sessions carrying a mix of emotions: nervousness, uncertainty, and sometimes past experiences that make opening up feel risky.
Thoughtfully chosen school counseling get-to-know-you activities help by:
- Lowering anxiety and resistance
- Creating peer connection and group cohesion
- Establishing psychological safety
- Modeling appropriate sharing and listening
- Giving you valuable insight into student needs
To put it simply, icebreakers help students shift from “I don’t know if I want to be here” to “This feels okay… maybe even fun.”
Icebreakers are an essential component of school counseling small groups because they help students feel comfortable and connected.
How to Choose the Right School Counseling Icebreaker Activities
Trust me when I say that I completely understand how much you already have on your plate as a school counselor. Let me reassure you that when designing your small group curriculum and choosing icebreaker activities, you don’t need to go crazy!
Choose activities that are simple, build rapport, and introduce the group topic.
Before jumping into a game, ask yourself two questions:
- What does this group need right now? (Movement? Calm? Connection? Laughter?)
- How does this support our group goal? (Social skills, self-control, emotional awareness, etc.)
The best icebreakers for group activities balance fun with function. They should be playful enough to engage students, but purposeful enough to support your counseling objectives.
During the first session of the small group, I like to choose a simple icebreaker activity that helps students get to know one another and builds community; however, for the following sessions, I suggest choosing an activity that helps introduce the session topic.
For example, if you are talking about self-control strategies, the icebreaker may be a freeze game that lends to the topic and spurs conversation.
School Counseling Icebreaker Activities for Elementary Small Groups
Before diving into goal setting or behavior strategies, students need to feel safe, seen, and comfortable in your space. Icebreakers set that tone, helping kids relax, connect, and open up.
When it comes to icebreakers, there are really two approaches:
- Simple, welcoming games that give students a chance to let loose and learn each other’s names.
- Themed activities that tie directly into your small group’s focus, like self-control, social skills, or self-regulation.
Both play an important role! A quick, fun game builds comfort and rapport, while a themed icebreaker helps students start practicing the skills they’ll work on throughout the group. Blending the two throughout the year creates a balance of playfulness and purpose.
When planning small groups and choosing icebreakers, I tend to choose between the following types of activities:
- Discussion cards
- Games
- Movement activities
- Videos
- Beach Ball Toss
- Jenga
- Sides of the Room
Now, obviously these are just a handful of suggestions! Let’s dive into 10 specific school counseling icebreaker activities that you can easily incorporate into your own tier 2 small group sessions.
1. Introduce yourself in a meaningful way
One of the most powerful icebreakers you can do is simply letting students get to know YOU. Building rapport starts when kids see you as a real person who cares about their story.
Instead of just saying, “I’m the school counselor,” share something personal. Do you have a dog? A favorite snack? A funny story from your own school days? You can even tell them why you became a school counselor in the first place.
I like to take it a step further and let each student ask me a silly question that they have to answer in return! This can help loosen up the nervous jitters and allow the students to get to know each other as well.
This small step goes a long way in creating trust. Students feel more comfortable when they know you’re not just an authority figure, but that you’re someone they can relate to.
2. Tour the counseling space
Many new students feel overwhelmed at the start of the year. A quick tour of your counseling office (and even a walk around to key school locations like the nurse’s office, bathroom, or lost-and-found) makes your group feel more grounded.
Use this time as an icebreaker by letting students ask questions about specific areas of your room that they may be utilizing. If you have a calm corner or Self-Regulation Station, this is a great opportunity to explain what that space is for, and how students can appropriately use the space when needed.
As you complete your tour, students can share what feels familiar, what’s confusing, or even just something they notice along the way. It helps them feel ownership of the space and sets the stage for comfort during future sessions.
3. The beach ball game
This is always a hit! Write or tape discussion questions onto a beach ball, or whatever ball you have on hand (examples: “What’s your favorite food?” “Do you have any pets?” “What’s something that makes you laugh?”). Toss the ball around, and wherever a student’s thumb lands, that’s the question they answer.
This game is low-pressure, active, and works beautifully for building connections right away. Plus, you can theme the questions around your group’s focus if you want a sneak peek into the skills you’ll be working on.
4. Dice breaker
Grab a big foam die and assign a prompt to each number. For example:
1 = Share your favorite color
2 = Tell us your favorite thing to do outside
3 = What’s something that makes you feel calm?
4 = Share a goal you have for this year
5 = What’s one thing that makes you laugh?
6 = Free choice!
This icebreaker is flexible and can easily be adapted to the theme of your group (self-regulation, social skills, goal setting, etc.).
5. Simon Says
Classic games make great themed icebreakers! For a group working on self-control, Simon Says is perfect. Students think they’re just playing, but they’re actually practicing listening, focusing, and waiting to act until they have all the information.
At the end, connect the dots: “Today we practiced listening carefully and following directions, which is the same skill we’ll use when we talk about self-control.”
6. Freeze dance
Similar to Simon Says, Freeze Dance is fun, high-energy, and sneaks in a counseling skill. Play some upbeat music and have students dance. When the music stops, they freeze.
This activity gives them practice with impulse control: stopping their body even when they want to keep moving. Again, you can make the connection to self-control or self-regulation during your reflection time. I love to pair this ice-breaker with my Self-Regulation “Ready to Regulate” School Counseling Group!
7. Get-to-Know-You Jenga
This is a low-prep and engaging way to get students talking. Write questions on Jenga blocks and let students answer when they pull a block. Example prompts:
- “What’s your favorite holiday and why?”
- “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
- “What’s one thing you’re really good at?”
This icebreaker is hands-on, interactive, and creates natural conversation. For older students, you can use themed questions that connect to your group goals.
8. Bingo
Bingo isn’t just a classroom reward game. It can also be a powerful counseling tool. I love starting a Stress Management and Relief Counseling Group with feelings bingo.
Use the provided bingo cards, or create your own with vocabulary words related to stress-inducing situations and coping strategies (for example: unavoidable, support system, stress busters, etc.).
As you play, students get to practice defining key terms, learning from one another, and reinforcing group skills in a fun, game-like format.
9. Executive functioning scavenger hunt
This one works best for an Executive Functioning and Study Skills Group. Hide words like organization, time management, perseverance, focus, and effort around the room. Students search for them, then share what they found.
You can extend this by discussing how each word shows up in their school life. It’s playful, but it also introduces key vocabulary in a memorable way.
10. “I Have, Who Has” goal-setting edition
Goal Setting and Intrinsic Motivation Group
Students will take turns reading their cards. Each student has a card that starts with “I have ___, who has ___?” For example: “I have lantern, who has principal?” Another student may have a card that says, “I have sleeping bag who has counselor?”
This is a silly way to get students involved in thinking about the different people in their lives who can offer them support.
Tips for Using Icebreaker Activities Effectively
- Keep it short: 5–10 minutes is plenty.
- Model sharing first: students take cues from you.
- Honor pass options: safety comes before participation.
- Reflect at the end: help students connect the activity to group skills.
Final Thoughts on Icebreaker Activities for Students
The start of the school year is busy: new routines, new students, and new challenges. But when you take a few minutes to use quick icebreaker games at the beginning of your tier 2 lessons, you’re laying the foundation for meaningful growth.
Start with a simple welcoming game to get students laughing and talking. Then, as your group continues, layer in themed icebreakers that connect to your small group goals. Remember: the more comfortable and connected students feel, the more likely they are to open up and engage in the work you’re doing together.
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With 20 small groups and ready-to-use lessons, activities, and games, you will have something available for every situation. This group counseling curriculum meets ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors standards and has self-assessments to collect data-driven results.
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