Fun First Day of Class Ideas for High School

On the first day of high school most students spend time getting familiar with their classmates, teachers and subjects. Icebreaker activities are useful for establishing common ground, diffusing the awkwardness between students and encouraging communication in the classroom. Use enjoyable icebreakers on the first day of high school to create a friendly environment in the classroom.

Take a roll of yarn and cut the yarn into several different pairs of various lengths. On the first day of class, give each student a piece of yarn and instruct them to find the student with the matching piece. Once the students find each other, instruct them to take turns introducing each other by telling one interesting fact about themselves. Extend the activity by having the pairs of students introduce each other to the class.

Bring a roll of toilet paper with you on the first day of class. Without telling the students why, pass the roll around to each student, instructing the students to take as much toilet paper as they wish. After each student has toilet paper, instruct the students to tell the class one fact per sheet of toilet paper about themselves.

On the first day of class, take out a pad of post-it notes and give one paper to each student. Arrange the students in a circle, facing each other. Instruct each student to write a noun on his post-it note. The students must then place the post-it on the forehead of the student on their right. Each student asks the group a yes or no question to help the student guess the noun on his post-it note. The three people that guess their noun, in the least amount of guesses, wins and receive a small prize.

Create bingo cards with a description in each square such as "has a little sister," "likes baseball," or "is creative and loves to read." Give one card to each student and instruct the students to get the signature of a student that fits each description. The first student to fill in his bingo card is the winner of the game. Make the activity more difficult by not allowing the students to have the same signature on their cards twice.