13 Fun Lunchtime Games And Activities For High School Students

Lunchtime is a time to unwind, relax, and take a break from academic learning on a school day. It is a vital part of any school day as it allows students to shift their focus to other things and enjoy the break before getting back to academics. 

Typically, students refuel their bodies by eating lunch during a lunch break and simply wander around the school corridors or spend time chatting with their peers in groups. To make lunchtime interesting and fun, teachers can organize games and activities to involve students more fruitfully. 

In this write-up, we will share with you a few games and activities you can incorporate during school lunchtimes to get the students moving from cafeteria tables to more engaging activities.

Games High Schoolers Can Enjoy During Lunch Break

1. Foosball

Foosball is a popular game. Students wouldn’t mind trying their hands at it. Arrange a foosball table and place it in a games room or in one corner of the cafeteria.

Interested students can divide themselves into teams and play a round of foosball every day after they are done having their lunch. At the beginning of every week, let students make new teams with new students so new players also get a chance to play in the week.

2. Two Truths and a Lie

This is a nice game to spend 15-20 minutes of lunchtime where students get to know one another. Around 10-20 people can play this game at a time. Here’s what you need to do – 

• Hand over one index card to every student and ask them to write three sentences about themselves. Two of them must be true, and the third one must be false. 
• When all are done writing, let one student read the sentences aloud and let others guess which of the three statements are false. 
• Students who correctly identify the false statement get one point. 
• Repeat the game with other students as well. 
• The person with the maximum points is declared the winner. 

3. Electricity

Here is a fun game that requires students to quickly pass on their reflexes just as electricity passes from one point to another. More than 20 people can play this game at once. 

• Divide students into equal teams. 
• Let them stand facing forward in a line and hold the hands of students standing next to them. 
• Place an object at the end of the lines. 
• Begin the game by giving the initial squeeze to the hands of the first student in line. 
• Let them transfer the “squeeze” to the next person until it reaches the last person who must then compete to grab the object placed on the floor. 
• The team that grabs the object first gets a point. Repeat the game until a team collects ten points and wins.

4. Who’s the Teacher

You will need a little preparation before conducting this game with the students. Collect pictures of a few teachers and crop their features, such as eyes, hands, feet, nose, etc., and enlarge them before taking their printouts. Display the images one-by-one and let the students guess which teacher it is. The student with the maximum correct guesses wins the game. 

To make the game a little more fun, you can ask the respective teachers to join you while conducting this guessing game with the students. This way, they will have some references for making their guesses and get their dose of laughter too!

5. Balloon Stomp

This game can be played between two players who will try to stomp balloons tied to the other player’s ankle. Begin the game by tying two balloons, one on each ankle of two participants. At the blow of the whistle, the players must try to pop the balloons tied on the other person’s ankle. The player who manages to pop both the balloons of the other player wins the game. 

Now you can give two new players a chance to try the balloon stomp. Declare the rules before the game starts. Players must keep both their feet on the ground and only use their feet to pop their opponent’s balloons.

6. Tug of War

This is an age-old game that still has relevance in today’s times. Besides helping improve fitness and rope handling skills, it improves coordination and synchronization. You can conduct this game one on one or in equal teams. Let the students hold the ends of the rope and try to pull it in their direction. The team that manages to pull the other team over to their side wins the game. 

7. Board Games

Board games are also a great choice to enjoy during lunchtime. If you have a designated game room in your school, you can set up these games there. If not, you can engage one or two cafeteria tables for board games. Games like Scrabble, Ticket to Ride, Equate, and Chronology are some good board games for high school students.

Entertaining Lunchtime Activities for High Schoolers

1. Trivia Question

Set up a whiteboard in the cafeteria and write a weekly trivia question on the whiteboard at the beginning of each week. Keep a supply of index cards, pens and an answer box below the whiteboard. 

Request students to go through the trivia question during lunchtime, write their answers on the index cards, and put them in the box for review. At the end of the week, you can check all the answers and offer rewards to students who get the answer correct. 

2. Reading Corner

You can set up a reading corner for all your book lovers who love exploring and reading books during their free time. Maintain a bookshelf with a variety of books like classics, fantasy, adventure, autobiographies, science fiction, etc., for students to read and enjoy. A quick 10-minute read after lunch is also sufficient to refresh their minds before they get back to their lessons.

3. Quiz Your Principal

In this activity, you give a chance to each grade to prepare a challenging question for their principal. Students can discuss and prepare the question a few minutes before their lunchtime. Before the break concludes, invite the principal to your school’s cafeteria to answer students’ questions. The grade which manages to leave the principal answerless earns a reward.

4. Cookie Decorating

Who doesn’t love cookies? So, set up a cookie decorating activity during lunchtime for your high schoolers where they get a chance to showcase their cookie decoration skills and later enjoy it as a dessert. 

Provide supplies like cookies, piping bags with colorful icing, sprinkles, M & M’s, cookie cutters, etc., to let students have a fun time decorating their cookies. You can even click pictures and display them on the school’s display board.

5. Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is a great team-building activity that you can conduct on designated days of the month. Divide the students into different teams and give them a list of what they must collect on their scavenger hunt. 

You could have different themes for the scavenger hunt. For example, nature, outdoors, photos, etc. If you are using your own objects for the hunt, prepare a map to guide the students to find their route to a specific object.

6. Art Club

Art helps students in expressing themselves through creativity. So, use the extra time students are left with during lunchtime to create something beautiful. Provide supplies like blank art sheets, colors, markers, etc., and let students draw whatever comes to their minds. They could make a sketch, a doodle, or abstract art during their free time. Place a display board in the cafeteria to exhibit their artwork.

Wrapping up,

High school students are usually busy with their studies throughout their school day. Using lunchtime to sneak in enjoyable activities is a great way of supporting their overall development. 

Games and activities mentioned above can be organized by teachers or a student’s group responsible for arranging exciting and engaging activities for their peers during lunchtime. By being a part of this team, some students will also get a chance to use their organizing skills to create a wonderful bonding opportunity for everyone.