In case your icebreaker sucks, break glass (or just steal this one)
Aug 08, 2026
Okay, your icebreaker may not suck, but does it truly do what you need it to do? We decided our old-school icebreaker just wasn't good enough. Then, we went to the Hack Learning Coach with this:
"I need a great way to get to know students on day 1--something better than typical icebreakers."
Here's what the Coach gave us.
Problem
You want Day 1 to actually help you learn who your students are, not put them through another round of “name, favorite food, fun fact.” You also want something comfortable enough that quieter students don’t feel put on the spot.
The Hack — The Classroom User Manual
Instead of asking students to introduce themselves, invite them to create a short “user manual” explaining how they learn best and what they want you to know about them.
Why It Works
Students get to decide what they share, while you collect information you can actually use when planning lessons, grouping students, and building relationships. It also sends an immediate message: I’m interested in knowing you as a learner, not just managing you as a student.
Steps
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Give students a half-sheet or digital form titled “How to Work With Me.”
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Offer 5–6 prompts: “I learn best when…,” “Something that helps me participate is…,” “I get frustrated in class when…,” “I’m really good at…,” and “Something I wish teachers knew about me is…”
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Let students skip any prompt they don't want to answer.
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Have students choose one safe answer to share with a partner or small group.
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Keep the responses and reread them before planning your first full week.
What You Can Do Tomorrow
Put three prompts on the board and hand everyone an index card. Ten minutes is plenty. End with: “What’s one thing teachers do that helps you learn?” That question alone can reveal a lot.
Feel free to grab this image as a quick reference tool
Variations & Inclusivity
Allow writing, drawing, or speech-to-text. Provide sentence stems and multilingual students the option to respond in their strongest language. Students can share privately with you instead of publicly.
Troubleshooting
If students give one-word answers, model your own “teacher user manual” first. Keep it genuine but brief.
Quick Checks
It’s working if you learn something instructionally useful about nearly every student—and students reference each other’s answers naturally afterward.
Sources
Source: Hacking Engagement — https://www.10publications.com/HACKING-ENGAGEMENT
Source: A Times 10 Publications resource. Visit https://www.10publications.com/ for more information.
Hack Learning Coach -- The Classroom User Manual
Click here to try the Hack Learning Coach
More about the Hack Learning Coach
The Hack Learning Coach gave us this amazing icebreaker Hack with complete instructions in less than 10 seconds. Don't believe us? Visit the Coach HERE. Tell the coach your problem--literally anything about teaching, lesson planning, classroom management, school leadership, library issues, or whatever you can think of.
The Hack Learning Coach will specify your problem, supply a relevant solution, and step it out for you. It will create lesson plans and activities that you can copy or download to a PDF (a great way to create your own lesson & activities folder).
The Hack Learning Coach is one of the most powerful, FREE education tools you will find anywhere. Created by the team at Times 10 Publications & Hack Learning, the Hack Learning Coach aims to make educators lives easier. You can learn all about the Coach and its functions and gain quick access to it at HackLearningCoach.com.
