Questions · Virtual classroom

Icebreakers for an online class where every camera is off

For teachers running class on Zoom, Google Meet or Teams: a grid of initials, a chat box that goes silent, a student joining from a phone in the car. Questions students can answer in one typed word, with an object on their desk or in a breakout room of three.

  • 19 questions
  • EN + TL on every card
  • Free in the app
Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.

Icebreakers№ 44

Recall the last time you tried something new just because you were curious.

Ikuwento ang huling beses na sumubok ka ng bago dahil curious ka lang.

Tap to flipkumustahan
A note

Would you try it again, or was once enough?

Susubukan mo ba ulit, o sapat na ang minsan?

Tap to returnkumustahan

The questions

19 virtual classroom icebreakers

Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.

Answer in the chat

6 questions

One word or one pick. Works with cameras off.

  1. Pick one view for a quiet morning: a beach sunrise or city lights before dawn.

    Sa tahimik na umaga, alin ang gusto mong tanawin: pagsikat ng araw sa beach o city lights bago sumikat ang araw?

    Back of the card

    Picture the view. Which detail would you want to remember?

    Isipin ang tanawin. Anong detalye ang gusto mong maalala?

  2. Pick your ideal weather: a warm rainy afternoon or a cool sunny morning.

    Pumili ng gusto mong panahon: maulan pero mainit na hapon o maaraw pero malamig na umaga.

    Back of the card

    Choose a sound to go with your weather.

    Pumili ng tunog na bagay sa pinili mong panahon.

  3. Choose a memory power: remember every name or remember every route you have taken.

    Pumili ng memory power: tandaan lahat ng pangalan o lahat ng daang nadaanan mo.

    Back of the card

    Give your memory power a name. It can sound heroic or completely ordinary.

    Bigyan ng pangalan ang memory power mo. Puwedeng pang-hero o ordinaryo lang.

  4. If you could change the color of anything, what would you change?

    Kung kaya mong palitan ang kulay ng kahit ano, ano ang papalitan mo?

    Back of the card

    What color would you choose for it?

    Anong kulay ang pipiliin mo para rito?

  5. Pick a mascot for your current mood: sleepy, dramatic, cheerful, chaotic, or something else.

    Pumili ng mascot para sa current mood mo: sleepy, dramatic, cheerful, chaotic, o iba pa.

    Back of the card

    Current mood is sometimes easier to explain through a mascot. It can be tired, dramatic, cheerful, or strangely accurate.

    Minsan mas madaling i-explain ang current mood gamit mascot. Puwedeng pagod, dramatic, cheerful, o weirdly accurate.

  6. On a plane, would you choose a window seat or more room for your legs?

    Sa eroplano, mas gusto mo ba ng upuan sa tabi ng bintana o mas maluwag para sa mga paa mo?

    Back of the card

    For this flight, would you rather chat, nap, or watch the view?

    Sa biyaheng ito, mas gusto mo bang makipagkuwentuhan, umidlip, o tumingin sa tanawin?

Show it to the camera

5 questions

Something within arm’s reach, or describe it if your camera is off.

  1. Pick one small item you use often that makes life feel a little easier.

    Pumili ng isang small item na madalas mong gamitin at nagpapagaan ng life kahit konti.

    Back of the card

    Small useful things can feel quietly heroic. They make the day easier without asking for attention.

    May small useful things na quietly heroic. Pinapadali nila yung araw nang hindi nagpapapansin, kahit simple lang sila.

  2. Name one item you always seem to lose, like keys, earphones, a pen, a charger, or your wallet.

    Magbanggit ng isang item na parang lagi mong nawawala, like susi, earphones, pen, charger, o wallet.

    Back of the card

    Some items have a talent for vanishing at the worst time. At some point, it starts to feel like a relationship issue.

    May items na ang galing mawala sa worst time. Dumadating sa point na parang relationship issue na siya.

  3. Which toy would you want to make as tall as you?

    Anong laruan ang gusto mong maging kasingtangkad mo?

    Back of the card

    You can choose a toy you know or invent one. What would you do with it?

    Puwedeng laruan na kilala mo o sariling imbento. Ano ang gagawin mo rito?

  4. Pick one small mood upgrade, like a drink, song, scent, snack, or clean space.

    Pumili ng isang small mood upgrade, like drink, song, scent, snack, o malinis na space.

    Back of the card

    A mood upgrade does not need to be big. Sometimes one small detail is enough to change the angle of the day.

    Hindi kailangang malaki ang mood upgrade. Minsan isang small detail lang, nag-iiba na yung angle ng araw.

  5. Name one small, specific thing you enjoy more than people expect.

    Magbanggit ng isang maliit at specific na bagay na mas enjoy mo kaysa ina-expect ng iba.

    Back of the card

    Specific joys can be tiny clues about a person. They do not need to make sense to everyone to be real.

    Yung specific joys, maliit na clue tungkol sa tao. Hindi kailangan gets ng lahat para maging real.

Breakout rooms

5 questions

Three students, one question, four minutes.

  1. You wake up on a peaceful island with food and shelter ready. What do you do first?

    Nagising ka sa tahimik na isla na may pagkain at matutuluyan na. Ano ang una mong gagawin?

    Back of the card

    Imagine you find a path across the island. Would you follow it or stay where you are?

    May nakita kang daan sa isla. Susundan mo ba ito o mananatili ka muna sa kinaroroonan mo?

  2. For one afternoon, would you explore a peaceful village, a future city, or a jungle with a guide?

    Saan mo gustong magpalipas ng hapon: tahimik na village, siyudad sa future, o gubat na may guide?

    Back of the card

    Bring home an imaginary souvenir from your visit. What is it?

    Mag-uwi ng souvenir mula sa pagbisitang iniisip mo. Ano iyon?

  3. In an adventure story, would you be the guide, cook, builder, storyteller, or someone else?

    Sa adventure story, anong role ang pipiliin mo: guide, cook, builder, storyteller, o iba pa?

    Back of the card

    Your character has one familiar object in their bag. What is it?

    May isang pamilyar na gamit sa bag ng tauhan mo. Ano iyon?

  4. If someone funded one helpful idea for your neighborhood, what would you build or improve?

    Kung may sasagot sa gastos, ano ang gagawin o aayusin mo para makatulong sa lugar ninyo?

    Back of the card

    Picture its first day in use. What would you be happy to see people doing?

    Isipin ang unang araw na ginagamit na ito. Ano ang ikatutuwa mong ginagawa ng mga tao?

  5. Which everyday invention from the future would you most want to see?

    Anong pang-araw-araw na gamit mula sa future ang gusto mong makita?

    Back of the card

    Give the invention a name people could remember.

    Bigyan ang imbensiyon ng pangalang madaling tandaan.

Before you end the call

3 questions

One last question in the chat as an exit ticket.

  1. Recall the last time you tried something new just because you were curious.

    Ikuwento ang huling beses na sumubok ka ng bago dahil curious ka lang.

    Back of the card

    Would you try it again, or was once enough?

    Susubukan mo ba ulit, o sapat na ang minsan?

  2. What useful skill did someone patiently teach you?

    Anong kasanayan ang matiyagang itinuro sa'yo ng isang tao?

    Back of the card

    Imagine you are teaching the skill now. What would you show a beginner first?

    Isipin na ikaw naman ang nagtuturo nito. Ano ang una mong ipapakita sa baguhan?

  3. Which part of your day do you look forward to?

    Anong part ng araw mo ang inaabangan mo?

    Back of the card

    The part you look forward to can be a clue. It shows where your day still gives you a little life.

    Clue din yung part na inaabangan mo. Ipinapakita niya kung saan may konting buhay pa sa araw mo.

How to use them

Before you ask

An icebreaker for an online class has to work for a student with the camera off and the microphone muted, so the best ones can be answered in a single typed word. In a room you can read faces. On a video call you only see who typed something, which makes the chat box your best tool and the open “anyone want to share?” your worst.

Online classes add problems a classroom doesn’t have. Some students share a room with siblings, some are on a phone, and some don’t want their home on screen. Never require cameras for an icebreaker, and let “show it” questions be answered by describing the object instead.

Use the chat questions to take attendance in a friendlier way, the show-it questions when energy dips mid-lesson, and the breakout questions before group work so students already know each other’s voices when the real task starts.

Good for

  • Online and hybrid classes
  • The first Zoom session of a course
  • Virtual tutoring groups
  • Remote learning days and snow days
  • Online homeroom and advisory

Tips

  1. Type the question into the chat as well as saying it. Students joining late or without sound still see it.
  2. Call on students by name in a set order so nobody has to fight to unmute.
  3. Keep cameras optional, and always give a way to answer without showing a room.
  4. For younger students with restricted chat, use reactions or the annotate tool instead.
  5. Repeat a student’s chat answer out loud. It tells them you saw it.

Decks for this

Formats that fit a video class

  • Attendance answer: instead of “here,” students type their answer to a one-word question when you call their name.
  • Stamp the slide: share a slide with two pictures and have students drop an annotation stamp on their pick.
  • Reaction poll: read two options and assign each a reaction emoji.
  • Desk show-and-tell: thirty seconds to find an object that answers the question, then a few volunteers hold theirs up.
  • Breakout starter: paste the question in the breakout broadcast so every room sees it.

Virtual classroom icebreakers

Frequently asked questions

What are good icebreakers for an online class?

Questions students can answer in one word in the chat: a pick between two views, ideal weather, a memory power, a mood mascot. They work with cameras off and let you hear from every student in under two minutes.

How do you get students to talk on Zoom?

Start in the chat, where answering feels safe, then read a few answers out loud and invite those students to say more. Breakout rooms of three get quieter students talking more than the main room does.

Should students turn their cameras on for icebreakers?

Keep it optional. Some students share a space or don’t want their home seen, so every icebreaker should have a way to answer in the chat or by describing instead of showing.

Bring a better question to the table.

Free on iPhone and Android. 420 cards free, no account, works offline.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play