It's that time of year where the kids are comfortable with each other and the tattling and bickering is picking up again. Well it seems that way to me the last few weeks. I cannot stand tattling. Especially over the little things. How can you stop it? Remind the kids that they are a class and the class is like a family. And one way that can help make them more family again, are team building activities.
Here are some ideas I've used or have seen used.
-Build it! Students get into teams and they all have the same materials like paper, pipe cleaners, blocks, etc. The goal is to construct something that a certain height. Or maybe you have them build something and be the fastest. You can tell them what to create, or how tall, or how fast.
-Fast Writing: All the students start off with a story, but only has 30 seconds (or a minute, depending on your kids) to write. They pass their paper to the next student.The next student continues the story going off of the previous part. At the end, their story should have been written by all their classmates. Funny stories are sure to happen!
-SOS: Students in groups are given a notecard saying they are stranded somewhere. They have to create a list of only 10 things that they can bring off the boat with them. Students have to create a plan of how they would work to get rescued together.
-Human Knot: Everyone stands in a circle and puts their right hand into the middle. They clasp hands with someone across the circle. Then, everyone puts their left hand into the middle of the
circle and clasps the hand of a different person. The group is now in a “knot”. The
object is for the group to untangle itself without releasing anyone’s hand.
For other team building activities in the classroom, you should check out Team Building Activities For Kids Central. They have team building activities for all age groups, by time allotment, and for small/large teams. It's a really great resource!
What I love about their website, is that it breaks down each activity into the ages, how long, prep, benefits, and tips. From the Ha-ha game, treasure hunting, to "Get A Little Loud With All Aboard!", there's an activity for your classroom!
I love team building activities in my classroom. As part of some special education advocates in my school, we always share great ideas with each other. I love to have my students sit together and add a word or two to a story that I start, like your fast writing idea, but I record the stories and when it is done, I make a banner out of it. My students feel so accomplished seeing their stories on the wall!
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ReplyDeleteGreat tips! I especially love the idea to build something. My work recently participated in some team building activities to improve our communication skills and one of the activities was actually to build a bike for underprivileged kids. It definitely helped us to solve problems and work better together!
ReplyDeleteThat was a great post! I especially liked the untangling game. Part of Jambar Teambuilding, a team building company in Singapore, we have played that game several times with various clients and they all seemed to like it, since it bridged the physical proximity between the team members too which was a huge plus.
ReplyDeleteFor more information about us and what activities we offer, visit http://www.jambarteambuilding.com/our-products/
It is really a very good post. Its because the class is a that place where all the children are comfortable. They feels that class is like a family. It is totally depends upon the behavior of the teacher. It increase the will to build a good team among the children. As there are many companies such as Teambuildingsolutions which are working on these things. Thanks for this post.
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ReplyDeleteThis is so helpful to know! I'm looking for the best strategies for leadership team building activities. You sort of have to take a leap of faith to learn how to lead.
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I know...I did dive into "real" school today, but just introduced the project they worked on today and will continue to work on tomorrow. I like saving my voice! :) Team building games.
ReplyDeleteThese are such aesome team building ideas. I especially like the one where it is "lilly pad danger" because I feel as though playing that game would promote unity and creativity since you would be one rubber marker less each time. I have played similar games and I have noticed people get really creative! Which one of these ideas is your favorite to have your students do?
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