The Confident Teacher is a blog by teacher and author, Alex Quigley ( @AlexJQuigley )

The Confident Teacher

Top 10 Group Work Strategies

If I am continually vexed by any one question in education it is ‘ how can we enhance student motivation? ‘ Of course, I do not have the answer, and if there is one it is multi-faceted, complex and, frankly, not going to be solved in this blog post.

From my position as a classroom teacher, I am always on the look out for those strategies that create a state when students are motivated and in their element , where they work furiously without even realising they are doing so, without realising the clock is ticking down to the end of the lesson. There is no better compliment than when students question how long there is left and express genuine surprise at how fast time has passed, and that they have actually enjoyed that lesson.

My, admittedly non-scientific, observations are that many of the times students are in ‘ flow ‘, or their element, in my lessons is when they are collaborating in group work.

Why is this then? I believe that we are obviously social beings and we naturally learn in such groups (not always effectively it must be said), but that, more importantly, when working in a group we are able to correct, support, encourage, question and develop ideas much more effectively. The power of the group, guided by the expertise of the teacher, accelerates learning, makes it richer and demands a learning consensus that can push people beyond their habitual assumptions.

Don’t get me wrong, there are pitfalls and obstacles to group work. This constructivist approach should build upon expert teacher led pedagogy – ensuring that students have a good grounding in the relevant knowledge before undertaking in-depth group work. Group work can also be beset by issues in many nuanced forms: whether it is subtle intellectual bullying, where the student who shouts loudest prevails; or the encouragement of mediocrity and laziness, as students let others do all the work; or simply by poor, distracting behaviour.

Another issue is ‘group think’ miscomprehension – indeed, how does prejudice flourish if not in social groups? Yet, this failure is often great for learning as long as the teacher can illuminate the error of their ways. Of course, no teaching strategy is foolproof and plain good teaching should remedy many of the potential ills of group work, just as good teaching can make more traditional teacher-led ‘direct instruction’ wholly engaging and effective.

I am intrigued by the idea of ‘ social scaffolding ‘ (Vygotsky) – the concept that most of our learning is undertaken in group situations, where we learn through dialogue and debate with others, not simply by listening to that voice in our head! That being said, I am not talking teachers out of a classroom here.

The role of the teacher in devising and planning a successful group task takes skill, rigour and utter clarity and precision. Students need to be clear about a whole host of things: from their role, to the purpose of the task and the parameters of expected outcomes to name but a few. Teachers need to keep groups on track, intervene appropriately to improve learning and regularly regain student focus. Teachers have a pivotal role in guiding the group work at every stage.

Group work certainly isn’t the lazy option: it takes skill in the planning and the execution, and sometimes, despite our best laid plans, it still fails. That shouldn’t put us off – aren’t all teaching and learning strategies subject to such risks?

If I was to define a simple and straight-forward basis for the rules for group work it would be:

– Have clearly defined tasks, with sharp timings and with the appropriate tools organised – Have clearly defined group roles – Have clear ground rules for talk, listening and fair allocation of workload etc. – Target your support and interventions throughout the task, but make them interdependent of one another, not dependent upon you – Always be prepared to curtail group work if students don’t follow your high expectations.

So here it is, my entirely subjective top 10 strategies for group work that I believe to be effective (ideas for which I must thank a multitude of sources):

1. ‘Think-pair-share’ and ‘Think-pair-square’.

Well, no-one said this top ten had to be original! This strategy is one of those techniques that we employ so readily that we can almost forget about it, it is simply so automatic for most teachers; yet, because of that we can easily forget it in our planning. We need to use it regularly because it is the very best of scaffolded learning; it almost always facilitates better quality feedback by allowing proper thinking time and for students to sound out their ideas and receive instantaneous feedback from peers. ‘Think-pair-square’ adds a touch of added flavour, involving linking two pairs together (to form the ‘square’ to share their ideas before whole class feedback). I defer to this blog post by @headguruteacher for the skinny on ‘Think-pair-share’ here .

2. Snowballing or the Jigsaw method

Similar to the ‘square’ approach mentioned in ‘Think-Pair-Square’, the ‘snowballing’ activity is another simple but very effective way of building upon ideas by starting with small groups and expanding the groups in a structured way. As the metaphor of the snowball suggests, you can begin with an individual response to a question; followed by then pairing up students up; then creating a four and so on. It does allow for quick, flexible group work that doesn’t necessarily require much planning, but does keep shaping viewpoints and challenging ‘answers’ is a constructive fashion.

The ‘jigsaw method’ is slightly more intricate. David Didau describes here how it is the “ultimate teaching method”, but that it benefits greatly from careful planning. Put simply, when researching a topic, like the causes of the Second World War, each member of a group is allocated an area for which they need to become the ‘ expert ‘, such as ‘the impact of the Treaty of Versailles’, or ‘issues with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary’ for example. With five or six ‘ Home ‘ groups identified, the ‘ experts ‘ then leave that group to come together to pool their expertise on the one topic; they question one another and combine research, ideas and their knowledge. Then each ‘ expert ‘ returns to their ‘ home ‘ group to share their findings. It is a skilful way of varying group dynamics as well as scaffolding learning.

3. Debating (using clear rules)

As you probably know, our own inspiring leader, Michael Gove, was the President of the Oxford Union. Clearly, these ancient skills of rhetoric and debate have seen him rise to dizzying heights. Perhaps we need to teach debating with great skill if we are to produce citizens who can debate with the best of them…and with Michael Gove. The premise of a debate, and its value in enriching the learning of logic, developing understanding and the simultaneous sharpening and opening our minds, is quite obvious so I will not elaborate. If you are ever stuck for a debate topic then this website will be of great use: http://idebate.org/debatabase . The Oxford rules model is an essential model for the classroom in my view. It provides a clear structure and even a level of formality which is important, provide coherence and greater clarity to the debate. The rules, familiar steps though they are for many, are as follows:

Four speakers in each team (for and against the motion) First speaker introduces all the ideas that team has generated Second speaker outlines two or three more ideas in some depth Third speaker outlines two or three ideas in some depth Fourth speaker criticises the points made by the other team Each individual speaker has two minutes to speak (or more of course), with protected time of thirty seconds at the beginning or the end The rest of the team is the ‘ Floor ‘ and can interject at any time by calling out ‘ Point of Information ‘ and standing. The speaker can accept or reject an interjection.

You may wish to have the other groups work as feedback observers on the debate being undertaking (a little like Socratic circles – number 8 ). This has the benefit of keeping the whole class engaged and actively listening to the debate.

4. Project Based Learning/Problem Based Learning

I have to admit I have only ever undertaken project style work on a small scale, but in the last year I have been startled by the quality of work I have observed in project based learning across the world. The principals of Project Based Learning are key: such as identifying real audiences and purposes for student work (a key factor in enhancing motivation); promoting interdependent student work, often subtly guided by the teacher at most stages; letting students undertake roles and manage the attendant challenges that arise; learning is most often integrated and spans subject areas; and students constructing their own questions and knowledge. Truly the best guide is to survey these great examples:

The Innovation Unit has also produced this brilliant must-read guide to PBL in great depth here .

‘Problem based learning’ is clearly related to the project model, but it explicitly starts with a problem to be solved. It is based primarily upon the model from medicine – think Dr House (although he is hardly a team player!). David Didau sagely recommends that the teacher, or students in collaboration, find a specifically local problem – this raises the stakes of the task. Clearly, in Mathematics, real problem based learning can be a central way to approach mathematical challenges in a collaborative way; in Science or Philosophy, the options to tackle ethical and scientific problems are endless. There is criticism of this approach – that students struggle with the ‘ cognitive load’ without more of a working memory. Ideally, this learning approach follows some high quality direct instruction, and teacher led worked examples, to ensure that students have effective models to work from and some of the aforementioned working memory.

5. Group Presentations

I would ideally label this strategy: ‘ questions, questions, questions ‘ as it is all about creating, and modelling, a culture of enquiry by asking students questions about a given topic, rather than didactically telling them the answer – then helping shape their research. The teacher leads with a ‘ big question ‘; then it is taken on by groups who (given materials, such as books, magazines, essays, iPads, laptops, or access to the library or an ICT suite etc.) have to interrogate the question, forming their own sub-set of questions about the question/ topic. They then source and research the key information, before finally agreeing to the answers to the questions they had themselves formed. The crucial aspect about presentations is giving students enough time to make the presentation worthwhile, as well as allocating clear roles. High quality presentations take time to plan, research and execute.

Personally, I find the timekeeper role a waste of time (I can do that for free!), but other roles, such as leader, designer and scribe etc. have value. Also, the teaching needs to be carefully planned so the entire presentation is not reliant solely upon any one person or piece of technology. Developing a shared understanding of the outcome and the different parameters of the presentation is key: including features like banning text on PowerPoints; or making it an expectation that there is some element of audience participation; to agreeing what subject specific language should be included. The devil is in the detail!

6. ‘Devise the Display’

I have a troubled relationship with displays! I very rarely devise my own display as I think displays become wallpaper far too soon considering the effort taken to provide them – like newspapers, they become unused within days. I much prefer a ‘ working wall ‘, that can be constantly changed or updated (or a ‘learning continuum’ for an entire topic when can be periodically added to each lesson). That being said, I do think there is real high quality learning potential in the process of students devising and creating wall displays. It is great formative feedback to devise a wall display once you are well under way a topic. It makes the students identify and prioritise the key elements of their knowledge and the skills they are honing.

I find the most valuable learning is actually during the design ideas stage.You can ‘snowball’ design ideas with the students; beginning individually, before getting groups to decide collaboratively on their design; then having a whole class vote. I do include stipulations for what they must include, such as always including worked examples. Then, the sometimes chaotic, but enjoyable activity it to create the display. I always aim for the ‘ 60 Minute Makeover ‘ approach – quick and less painful (it also makes you less precious about the finer details)!

I think they also learn a whole host of valuable skills involving team work, empathy and not to annoy me by breaking our wall staplers! I think it is then important to not let any display fester and waste, but to pull it down and start afresh with a new topic. I know this strategy does put some people off, because it can be like organised chaos, but if everyone has a clear role and responsibility the results can be amazing. [Warning – some designs can look like they have been produced by Keith Richards on a spectacular acid trip!]

7. Gallery Critique

This stems from the outstanding work of on Berger. Both a teacher and a craftsman himself, Berger explains the value of critique as rich feedback in his brilliant book ‘ The Ethic of Excellence ‘. It can be used during the draft/main process or as a summative task. This strategy does have some specific protocols students should follow. The work of the whole group should be displayed in a gallery style for a short time. Students are expected to first undertake a short silent viewing (making notes to reflect is also useful here). The students make comments on the work – post it notes being ideal for this stage. Then the next step is a group discussion of ‘ what they noticed ‘ in particular, with debate and discussion encouraged – of course, the feedback should be both kind and constructive. The next step for discussion is talking about ‘ what they liked ‘, evaluating the work. The final stage has the teacher synthesise viewpoints and express their own; before ensuring students make notes and reflect upon useful observations for making improvements.

8. Socratic Talk

I have spoken about this strategy before here . What is key is that like the debating rules above, a clear and defined structure is in place, particularly with ‘ Socratic circles ‘ which embeds feedback and debate in a seamless way. It takes some skill in teaching students how to talk in this fashion, but once taught, it can become a crucial tool in the repertoire. In my experience, some of the most sensitive insights have emerged from this strategy and the listening skills encouraged are paramount and have an ongoing positive impact. It also allows for every student to have a role and quality feedback becomes an expectation.

9. Talking Triads

Another simple, but highly effective strategy. It is a strategy that gets people to explore a chosen topic, but with a really rigorous analysis of ideas and views. The triad comprises of a speaker , a questioner and a recorder/analyst . You can prepare questions, or you can get the questioner and the analyst to prepare questions whilst the speaker prepares or reflects upon potential answers. This can be done in front of the class as a gallery of sorts, or you can have all triads working simultaneously. If they do work simultaneously, then a nice addition is to raise your hand next to a particular triad, which signals for other groups to stop and listen whilst that specific triad continues, allowing for some quality listening opportunities.

10. Mastery Modelling

This involves a form of formative assessment from students, whereat the teacher gives a group a series of models, both exemplar models and lesser models, including some with common errors that students would likely identify. The students need to do a critical appraisal of the these models as a group and identify their summary assessment of the models first, before then devising and presenting a ‘mastery model’ that is a composite exemplar model of work. This strategy works in pretty much every subject, with the subject being either an essay, a piece of art, or a mathematical problem. This presentation should include an explicit focus upon the steps taken leading to create the ‘ mastery model ‘ during the feedback – this unveils the process required for mastery for the whole class.

Useful links:

A great research paper that analyses group work and its importance: ‘Toward a social pedagogy of classroom group work’ By Peter Blatchford, Peter Kutnick, Ed Baines, and Maurice Galton

An excellent National Strategies booklet from back in the day when the DfE was interested in pedagogy. I particularly like the ‘ different grouping criteria’/’size of grouping’ tables: Pedagogy and Practice: Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools Unit 10: Group work

Nice step by step guide to the implementation and the delivery of group work ‘ Implementing Group Work in the Classroom ‘

11 thoughts on “Top 10 Group Work Strategies”

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Great article. I’ve been successfully implementing primarily PBL in the undergrad classroom for years. I’m getting ready to launch the most ambitious group work project I’ve ever undertaken with my students – 130 students and 20 nonprofit organizations broken into collaborative teams to study each organization’s volunteer programs, to make recommendations for improving or refreshing them. I know so much about how to do this, and yet the project is so big and important that I am running around looking for affirmation that it’s ok to do this major thing. I am dragging in consultants and volunteer managers from local organizations as experts and creating an online professional learning community where everyone can bring their problems and discuss them and get help from the consultants. Thanks for the reassurance and the references!

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43 Awesome Team-Building Activities for Kids

Build trust and community in your classroom.

Collage of team building activities, including balloon bat and a STEM challenge

Looking for great ways to help students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly, and think creatively? Try some of these awesome team-building activities for kids. They’re a super way to give your students the chance to get to know one another, build trust as a community, and, best of all, have fun!

1. Seeing Spots

Three children's foreheads, each with a different colored stick on dot in the center as an example of team building activities for kids.

The Teacher Dish: Brain Break Dots via theteacherdish.blogspot.com

For this activity, you’ll place a colored sticker dot (blue, red, green, or yellow) on each student’s forehead without them knowing what color it is. When the game begins, each “team” of students (with the same color) must find each other— without speaking. This is a wonderful team-building activity because it encourages non-verbal communication and cooperation.

2. Elbow Pass

Looking for team-building activities for kindergarten kids? This silly activity helps them make new friends and learn to work together. Not only do they get to work on hand-eye coordination, they are looking each other in the eye and having a laugh together.

3. Common Thread

Colorful team banners made by students as an example of team building activities for kids.

Fun 365/Team-Building Banner via fun365.orientaltrading.com

Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together in these small groups. Give each group five minutes to chat among themselves and find something they all have in common. It could be that they all play soccer, or pizza is their favorite dinner, or they each have a kitten. Whatever the common thread, the conversation will help them get to know one another better. Check in with the groups after five minutes to see if they need more time. After each group has come up with their common element, have them work together to create a flag that represents it.

4. Fingertip Hula-Hoop

There are quite a few team-building activities for kids that use Hula-Hoops. In this game, your students stand in a circle and raise their arms with only their index fingers extended. Place a Hula-Hoop so that it rests on the tips of the children’s fingers. Tell the students they must maintain a fingertip on the Hula-Hoop at all times, but they are not allowed to hook their finger around it or otherwise hold the hoop; the hoop must simply rest on the tips of their fingers. The challenge is for the children to lower the hoop to the ground without dropping it. To make this more challenging, you can place communication constraints on the children—no talking or limited talking, for example. Watch the video for a demonstration.

5. Four-Way Tug-of-War

This classic outdoor activity is double the fun of the traditional tug-of-war. Tie two long jump ropes together at their center points, creating an X shape. Tie a bandanna around the center point. Next, use cones to form a circle that fits around the X. Form four equal teams, and have each team stand at one of the four ends of the ropes. At your signal, each team begins pulling. The objective is to be the first team to pull the others in their direction far enough for the bandanna to cross to the outside of the circle of cones. Students who feel nervous about participating can serve as referees who make sure everyone is safe.

6. Hot Seat

This fun game is a lot like the game show Password . Split your class into two teams and have them sit together in teams facing the whiteboard or chalkboard. Then take an empty chair—one for each team—and put it at the front of the class, facing the team members. These chairs are the “hot seats.” Choose one representative from each team to come up and sit in the “hot seat,” facing their teammates with their back to the board.

Flash images one at a time on the screen behind the people in the hot seat. Taking turns, each team will offer one clue to their representative. If they guess the image correctly, their team gets one point. If not, it’s the other team’s turn to help their representative. Continue until one of the representatives gets the image correct. Then switch out students in the hot seat and continue.

7. Classification

Young students sorting objects found on a nature walk into red plastic bins as an example of team building activities for kids.

Inspiration Laboratories/Classification Practice via inspirationlaboratories.com

For this activity, prepare a tray with 20 unrelated items—for instance, a spool of thread, an eraser, a juice box, etc. Alternatively, create a document with 20 images of items to put up on the screen. Divide your class into even groups. Set a timer and have each group divide the 20 items into four categories that make sense to them. For example, they may put an earring, a glove, a headset, a sock, and a smile into the category “things you wear.” Have groups work quietly so that their ideas are kept secret. When each group is finished, give each one time to present their categories and their rationale behind each category.

8. Yes, No, Stand Up

The version of the game above is designed specifically to help English-language learners, but it can also be used as a good “get to know you” game for younger kids. Prepare a list of yes or no questions to ask your students. For example, do you like chocolate? Is your favorite color blue? If their answer is yes, the student stands up. If their answer is no, they sit down. Pause between questions to give students time to look around and find students they have answers in common with.

9. Balloon Battle

Two boys batting balloons with pool noodles as an example of team building activities for kids.

Happy Mom Hacks/Balloon Games via happymomhacks.com

This fun game teams students up as they try to bat a balloon over each other’s goal line. Divide students into two teams. Each team will have five players on the field at one time. Periodically blow a whistle to have students substitute in so that everyone gets a chance to play. The first team to score 10 points wins. For more fun balloon games check out Happy Mom Hacks .

10. Move On, Look Back

This hopping game will crack your students up. Start with students in a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. When you say “Move on,” students will take one hop forward together. When you say “Look back,” students will take one hop backward together. And when you say “Forever alone” (or any other phrase you’d like, such as “180” or “Turn around”), students will turn 180 degrees and place their hands on the shoulder of the person who was behind them.

11. Birthday Line-Up

Did you know there are team-building activities for kids that can help teach students how to line up? It may take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the age of your students, so plan accordingly. The objective is to have students line up in order of their birthdays—January 1 through December 31. To do this, they will need to know the order in which the months fall as well as their own birthday. They will also need to talk with one another in order to figure out who goes in front of whom. To make it super challenging, tell them they must do it without speaking at all, only using hand signals. Other ways to line up include by height, alphabetically, or by foot size.

12. The Perfect Square

This activity requires strong verbal communication and cooperation. All you need is a long rope with the ends tied together and something to serve as blindfolds for students, such as bandannas or fabric strips. Have students stand in a circle holding the rope in front of them. Signal them to put their blindfolds on and set the rope on the ground in front of them. Ask students to turn and walk a short distance away from the circle. Assign a partner to any students who may need help. Finally, have everyone come back to the rope and try to form a perfect square with their blindfolds on. Set a time limit to make it more challenging.

13. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

If you have a large space for kids to do team-building activities, try this one. Divide students into two teams. Before you begin, stake out the boundaries and position a home base at either end for each team. For each round, each team must confer and decide whether they will be rock, paper, or scissors. Have the two teams line up facing each other, and on your signal, have all players flash Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! The kids on the losing team must run back to their base before they are tagged by one of the kids on the winning team.

14. Flip-the-Tarp Challenge

Looking for creative-thinking team-building games and activities for kids? Divide students into two teams. One team will do the challenge first while the other team watches, then they will switch places. Have all members of the team stand on a flat bedsheet, tarp, or blanket (kids should fill up all but about a quarter of the space). Challenge the team to flip over the sheet/tarp so that they are standing on the other side of the sheet/tarp without stepping off or touching the ground.

15. “Get To Know You” Balloons

Kids sitting at their desks in a classroom, each with a balloon in front of them, as an example of team-building activities for kids.

Beth Smith/ABC Scavenger Hunt via darlingtonschool.org

Give each student an empty balloon and a slip of paper. Ask them to write a get-to-know-you question on their paper, such as How many brothers and sisters do you have? Do you have any pets? What’s one fun thing you did this summer? Next, have them put their question inside the balloon, blow it up, and tie the end.

When everyone is ready, have them gather on the rug and, on your signal, toss their balloon up in the air. Give them a couple of minutes to bat the balloons around, then call stop . Have each student grab one balloon and come sit in a circle. Go around the circle and, one at a time, have students pop their balloon, read the question inside, and answer the question. This is one of those team-building activities for kids that they will always remember.

And to help your students remember each others’ names, try these 30 Fun Name Games To Try With Your New Class .

16. Hot and Cold

Form groups of three to five students. One person from each group (the finder) steps out of the classroom. The rest of the group picks an object (for instance, the pencil sharpener) in the classroom for the finder to find. When the finder comes back in, they begin walking around the classroom in search of the object. The others guide the finder by saying “hot” or “cold” to lead them in the right direction. If the finder is far away from the object, the group will say “cold.” When the finder gets close, the group will say “hot” until the finder picks the correct object. Variation: Instead of saying “hot” and “cold,” have students applaud softly for cold and applaud vigorously for hot.

17. Marshmallow-and-Toothpick Challenge

Divide students into groups of equal numbers. Pass out an equal number of marshmallows and wooden toothpicks to each group. Challenge the groups to create the tallest, largest, or most creative structure in a set amount of time, each member taking turns doing the actual building. Afterward, have each group describe what they made.

18. Art Reproduction Puzzle

Middle school students putting a puzzle together on a table as an example of team building activities for kids.

The Teaching Distillery/Puzzles via theteachingdistillery.com

Divide students into groups of six or eight (or larger if you want to make the task more difficult). Provide each team with an image and blank pieces of white card stock, one per team member. First, each team must cut up the image into the same number of pieces as there are group members. Then, each player will take one of the pieces of the image and reproduce it onto their blank piece of card stock with pencils, colored pencils, or markers. (If the team cuts the image into irregularly shaped pieces, each team member must then cut their blank paper into the same shape.) When every team has created the pieces of their puzzle, they will switch pieces with another team. The team will work together to solve the puzzle.

19. Hula-Hoop Pass

This activity helps kids work on listening, coordinating, and strategizing skills. It works best with smaller students. Have your students stand in a big circle. Place a Hula-Hoop on one student’s arm and have them join hands with the student next to them. Ask all the other students to join hands to close up the circle. The objective of the game is to pass the Hula-Hoop all the way around the circle without unclasping hands. Students will have to figure out how to maneuver their bodies all the way through the hoop to pass it on.

20. Bumpity-ump-bump-bump

Children in a circle playing bumpity ump bump bump.

Playworks/Bumpity Bump Bump via playworks.org

This is a fun name game that requires quick thinking! Students stand in a large circle. One student comes to the middle. That student walks around the inside of the circle, stops in front of one person, and gives them a direction. There are four choices: Left = say the name of the person to the left; right = say the name of the person on the right; it = say the name of the person who is it; or self = say one’s own name. After you give the student the direction, the designated person says “bumpity-ump-bump-bump!” out loud. The student who was given the direction races to say the name of the correct person before the student finishes the phrase. If they can’t, they’re the next person on the inside of the circle.

In this challenging trust-building activity, blindfolded students line up with their hands on each others’ shoulders. A person without a blindfold takes the end position. The object of the activity is for the sighted person to guide the non-sighted students without verbal communication to collect various soft objects scattered on the floor. Once the lead person finds an object, they must deposit it in a bucket. Extra challenge: Students must keep their hands on each others’ shoulders at all times.

22. No-Hands Cup-Stacking Challenge

Students gathered around a table, forming a pyramid of green paper cups using only strings as an example of team building activities for kids.

Nick Cornwell/Stacking Cup Challenge via nickcornwell.weebly.com

If you’re looking for hands-on team-building games and activities that work for groups of kids, try this challenge. It’s an exercise in patience and perseverance, not to mention a total blast! Decide how many students you want in each group and tie that number of strings to a single rubber band, making one for each group. Each person in the group holds on to one of the strings attached to the rubber band, and, as a group, they use this device to pick up the cups (by expanding and contracting the rubber band) and place them on top of each other in order to build a pyramid. See detailed instructions here .

23. Mini Cup-Stacking Challenge

And for younger students, this simplified version of the game allows kids to partner up one-on-one. Using just a few pipe cleaners and a rubber band, each student can take a hold and work together to create a stack.

24. Body Parts

students facing each other in a squat position with their heads touching and their hands on their shoulders as an example of team building activities for kids.

Karl Bastian/Head, Shoulders, Knees, Cup via kidologist.com

Students face off head-to-head in a squat position with a plastic cup on the ground between them. The leader calls out body parts and the players have to move their hands to that spot—head, knees, toes, eyes, nose, etc. But when they say “Cup!” the pair each tries to grab the cup. If they grab it, they remain in the game. The other player is “out” for the rest of the round.

Also, if a student touches the cup when “Cup!” was not called, they are immediately out! So they need to listen carefully as the leader attempts to trick them into lunging toward to the cup.

25. Human Alphabet

Students lying on the floor forming the letter

Nadine Silverthornes/Alphabet Game via todaysparent.com

If you have a large open space for your team-building games and activities, try this idea. Have students spread out and guide them through a few rounds of forming letters with their bodies. For instance, “Use your body to make a T. … Now make an O!”

Next, call out a simple short word, such as “so” or “dog.” Students will have to team up to form the word, with each student using their body to form one of the letters. Start with two-letter words, then three, then four. If students want more of a challenge, come up with a phrase that will take the whole class to complete.

26. Caterpillar

Divide students into groups of four. Lay out four Hula-Hoops per group and have one student stand in the center of each one to form teams of “caterpillars.” Line all of the teams up at the end of a field or large open space. Set out four or five objects in front of the lines, such as cones, foam blocks, or balls.

The goal of the game is to collect as many objects as possible by moving the caterpillar forward. To move forward, the last player in line steps into the hoop with the player in front of them, picks up their empty hoop, and passes it overhead to the front of the line. The front player then places the hoop on the ground in front of them and steps into it. Every player then shifts forward, moving the caterpillar. Only the front player may pick up objects, but it is the team’s job to carry the collected objects throughout the game. The game ends when there are no more objects on the ground.

27. Shrinking Vessel

For this activity, you will need a few jump ropes. Divide students into groups of six or eight. Have each group make a circle with their jump rope (their “lifeboat”) on the ground so that the ends are touching. Now have all the members of each group get into their lifeboat. This should be easy the first time. Then have all players get out and reduce the size of their circle by one foot. Again, all players need to get into the boat. Repeat this process, making the lifeboat smaller and smaller while you watch your students come up with creative solutions for making sure that everyone fits safely inside their boat.

28. Pretzel, Unpretzel

students holding hands twisted up into a human pretzel

Susan Box Mann/The Human Knot Game via icebreakerideas.com

This is one of the all-time favorite team-building activities for kids. Divide your class in half and have each group choose one pretzel maker and two unpretzelers. Direct the unpretzelers to turn their backs. Have the rest of the students in each group form a circle and hold hands. Now, have the pretzel maker direct the students (with words only) to twist around, step over, and duck under each others’ arms to form a human pretzel. Once they are sufficiently twisted, call the unpretzelers over and have them try to direct the students (with words only) in order to untangle them. Students cannot drop their hands at any time. The first team that successfully unpretzels their group wins.

29. Zip, Zap, Boing!

This super-lively circle game involves three actions—zip, zap, and boing. Zip directs play in one direction around the circle. Boing reverses the direction of play. And zap passes play to the opposite side of the circle. See the video above for a full demonstration. A couple of rules: Boing cannot be performed when someone passes the signal using zap. And zap cannot be passed to the person standing right next to you.

30. Spiderweb

Students connected by a web of yarn sitting in a circle on the rug

Heather Lynne/Would You Rather Web at raisingmemories.com

This team-building game will teach your students that even though they may be different in many ways, they are still connected to one another. Gather in a circle, standing or sitting. The game begins when the first person, holding a large ball of twine, tells the group a funny or embarrassing story about themselves.

Once they finish, they hold on to the end of the twine and throw the ball to someone else in the circle. Play continues until the twine has been passed to each person. The end result will produce a “spiderweb” out of the twine, connecting each student to all of the others.

31. Team Tic-Tac-Toe

This fun and active version of the old-fashioned game gets kids revved up about working as a team. Hula-Hoops are placed in the shape of a tic-tac-toe frame. Then students divide into teams and the race begins! One student from each team runs to the frame and drops a bean bag in a spot. They return and tag the next runner, who does the same thing. Play continues until one team achieves a tic-tac-toe!

32. Newspaper Fashion Show

three girls modeling outfits made from newspaper

Andrea and Rachel/Newspaper Fashion via mommylessons101.com

This is a great way to incorporate upcycling into your team-building games and activities. Divide students into groups of five or six, then give them a stack of newspapers, tape, and scissors. Set a timer and ask them to create the most fashionable outfit using only the supplies given. When time is up, have each group designate a model for the outfit, and have the group share information about the outfit. Once everyone shares, put on some rocking music and have a mini fashion show.

33. Back-to-Back Drawing

Need team-building games and activities that build communication skills? Ask students to pair up and sit back-to-back with their partner. Give one student a blank piece of paper and a pen or a marker. Give the other student a piece of paper with a simple drawing on it. The kid who receives the illustration will verbally describe the drawing to their partner. The other kid must draw the illustration by listening to the verbal instructions alone.

34. Changing Tableau

Ask for five or six volunteers to come up to the front of the class. Divide the rest of the students into two teams and have them sit together. Have the students up front arrange themselves into a tableau. Give the two teams a short time to observe the tableau, trying to memorize their physical arrangement.

After a couple of minutes, ask every person on both teams to face away from the team up front. The tableau team will decide on one thing to change about the tableau. When they are rearranged, the teams can turn around and try to figure out what changed. The first team to spot the difference gets a point. Continue play until one team receives 10 points.

35. Straw Challenge

Students huddled together doing a team building exercise

Georgia Teen Institute/Straw Challenge via https://guidegti.wordpress.com

If you’re looking for team-building games and activities for kids that require coordination and cooperation, try this one. Have your students form a large circle and give each one a plastic straw. The objective of the challenge is to balance each straw between one person’s right pointer finger with the left pointer finger of the person next to them. Try making some movements such as rotating the circle to the left or right, raising one foot, etc. The challenge is to keep the connection of straws intact.

36. Group Juggle

Have students circle up and make sure you have a supply of small plastic balls at the ready. Start by tossing one ball from person to person in the circle. After a minute, add in another ball. Instruct students to mindfully toss the ball, avoiding a collision. After another minute, add in another ball. Continue adding balls each minute to see how many balls your students can successfully juggle.

37. Hula-Hoop Ring Toss

Team members take turns tossing a Hula-Hoop over colored cones. Each color has a different point value. This game also incorporates math practice when adding your team’s score.

38. Great Chain Race

colorful plastic rings joined together into long chains by color on a white floor

Jennifer/Paper Chain STEM Challenge via themathchick.net

For this team-building activity, students split up into groups of three or four. Each group gets one sheet of paper (a different color for each group), one pair of scissors, and one glue stick. The teams then cut their paper to make a paper chain that’s as long as possible—they might choose to make many skinny rings or cut up small rings to get as many rings from their paper as possible. In the end, lay out the paper chains the kids created and see whose is the longest.

39. Team Pen

Working together, students try to create a drawing. Attach strings to a marker, however many you’d like. Have students each take one end and gather around a table. Together, they will need to communicate in order to manipulate the pen and draw the required image.

40. Knee Relay

This raucous activity will have your students rolling on the floor with laughter. Using only their knees, players must take turns picking up oranges one at a time from the ground and transfer them to a hoop across the room. The team to transfer the most oranges in 60 seconds wins. Plus, you’ll have a juicy snack for everyone when you’re done.

41. Human Caterpillar Activity

Students will work together to move a circle made of newspapers across the room. Before you begin, use strong tape to connect the sections of newspaper into a loop. To begin, students will step inside and move their feet and hands to help move the loop in the direction of the finish line, as shown in the video. The challenge is keeping pace with the students in front of them. The first team that is able to navigate their caterpillar to the finish line first is the winner.

42. Blind Minefield

Looking for obstacle course team-building activities for kids? This fun and challenging activity requires communication, listening skills, and trust. Students will navigate through an obstacle course while blindfolded with the help of a partner who will call out directions. If the blindfolded student touches any of the objects in the minefield, their turn is over and another pair gives it a try. The team with the most players to make it through without touching any hazards wins.

43. Paper Tower

Using creative problem-solving skills, each team of students must build the tallest tower possible with 20 sheets of plain computer paper. The tower must be stable enough to be measured. This activity is not only a great team-building activity, it’s a lot of fun!

Do you have favorite go-to team-building activities for kids? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

For more great ideas, check out  45 of the best cooperative games to promote camaraderie and healthy competition ..

Teaching 21st-century learners involves more than academics. These team-building activities for kids gives them the skills they need!

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Team Building Games

Team Building Games

Subject: Physical education

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Other

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Last updated

22 February 2018

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A pack of team-building games split into communication, problem-solving and physical challenge games - a bit like the Crystal Maze! You can print off the main slides and laminate them for pupils to follow. The notes pages give a guide as to how all the challenges can be led.

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Better groupwork in the primary classroom

Claire Lotriet

  • Main Subject: CPD
  • Subject: Groupwork
  • Date Posted: 26 September 2014

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Better groupwork in the primary classroom

Working in groups doesn’t stop some children from slacking off or running a dictatorship, but the principles of enterprise education can be used to encourage genuine teamwork, says Claire Lotriet...

Over the past few years, enterprise education has become central to the way I approach teaching and learning. It comprises soft skills that are essential to living a successful life in the 21st century and I try to embed these throughout the curriculum in my classroom. In short, enterprise education is not just another lesson; it can be woven through as many subjects as possible and changes the way my classroom is run. The skills include risk taking, decision making, teamwork, problem solving, leadership, presenting and financial capability.

Group work in the primary classroom is nothing new, but promoting teamwork is more about getting all members of the group to take part in completing a task or solving a problem – a vital skill in any walk of life. Here are some of the strategies I use to help children pull together as a team, with no one member dominating or taking a back seat.

1. Team names Whenever children in my class work on a project in groups, I get them to think up a team name. The first time I did this was with a Year 4 class and it wasn’t planned. There were a variety of team names: Team Cheetah, Team Best Stars, Team Lightning Force – it went on. However, the name really isn’t important, it’s the fact children come up with it together that matters. Of course, it’s purely anecdotal, but I really feel this pulls teams together and also creates a sense of healthy competition, with each team wanting to achieve the best possible outcomes. When I’m referring to the groups, I also use the word ‘team’ instead of ‘group’.

2. Action plans This is a strategy I use when starting group projects that run over a few weeks or the duration of a half term. Before anything else, teams work together on creating an action plan. I generally provide children with a template that has space for a team name, the final outcome (what they will actually produce), required resources (including where these will be sourced), any specific support they will need from me, and an outline of what they will do in each lesson. Recently, in my phase, we have also introduced project logs that teams have to complete at the end of each project session. On these, children have to record the work they have done that day, anything they have found out, and their next steps. This is particularly useful when you have teams working on quite different projects, but want to record new learning and make sure all members of a team are contributing. The action plan also helps teams manage their time more effectively and ensures their projects stay on track.

3. Graffiti recording This is a strategy for one-off lessons or tasks, rather than projects. I’ve found it works particularly well as a way of recording maths problems. I cover all the table tops with large sheets of paper and stick them down before the lesson. (Taping the paper down stops individuals ‘taking control’ of the paper – it belongs to the team and should feel like part of the table). Children work in pairs or groups and write notes and answers on the paper – it feels a little bit naughty to be writing on the desks, which adds to the appeal. Also, because the work is not recorded in anyone’s book, children who might otherwise be reluctant to show their working and mistakes are less concerned. Some teachers I know have missed out the paper entirely and used dry wipe markers straight onto the tables tops – just check they do rub off easily before going ahead with this!

4. Roles Assigning different roles to each member of the team is a way of ensuring all members are kept on task. I have found this to be a very successful approach in science investigations and often issue the roles of ‘recorder’, ‘equipment monitor’, ‘observer’, ‘spokesperson’ and ‘team leader’. Letting children wear labels bearing their job titles can also help them get into role.

Promoting successful teamwork is not a precise science, but a combination of the above strategies can have a positive effect on teamwork within your class. Play about with them, make them your own and observe what happens.

Claire is the author of Switched On Computing: take your first easy steps with Microsoft, which can be downloaded for free from switchedoncomputing.co.uk/microsoft

About the author

Claire Lotriet is a class teacher and phase leader at a south London primary school. She blogs regularly about all things education at clairelotriet.com

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15 fun team building activities and trust games for the classroom

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The well-being of students has a direct impact on their progress. So, happy students learn better. As a teacher, you play a crucial role in their social-emotional well-being and development.

You can create an engaging classroom environment with collaboration and respect. Team-building activities are perfect for teaching your students these skills. In this blog post, I have gathered 10 fun team building activities for your classroom, so your students will get closer to each other. After this, I will provide 5 more activities that will help build trust among them.

Team-building activities for your classroom

All team building activities are easy to do in your classroom or in the hallway. If you want to take a breath of fresh air, you can also go outside, but it’s not necessary. The activities are for both elementary and high school students.

1. Over the electric fence

group work ks2

2. The human knot

group work ks2

3. Escape the classroom

group work ks2

4. Bob the Builder

group work ks2

  • The largest tower in Lego
  • The largest bridge with toothpicks and marshmallows
  • The biggest castle out of cardboard

If you’ve got older students, let them build the prettiest “alien” species with a 3D-printer. I’m sure you can come up with some nice challenges.

Bob the builder

5. Storytime!

group work ks2

Now, start a story by creating an introduction of your own. The next student goes further on the previous storyline and adds an extra narrative with the picture they’re holding. This process continues until you reach the last student. Together, you created a very complex and creative story. Every student took part in the story. This game is ideal for promoting communication, as well as a creative collaboration.

6. Shrinking classroom

group work ks2

7. Get on the chair

group work ks2

With this team building exercise, the students get to know each other better in an interactive way. The teacher can give other orders like: “from tall to small.” or “from A to Z.” Every time, the students have to change their positions without pushing someone off the chairs. Working together is crucial. If you want to make it more challenging, you can set a time limit.

Get on the chair

8. Classroom party

group work ks2

9. Blanket switch

group work ks2

10. Movie time!

group work ks2

  • Write a synopsis. What’s the classroom story about? Let all your students write a synopsis and vote for the best one.
  • Divide the character roles
  • Get the clothing and costumes together
  • Prepare the scenes
  • Film the scenes
  • Put together and edit the scenes
  • Organize a movie night.

Plenty to do for all the students in your classroom. It’s the perfect team building exercise that teaches students to work together and be creative.

Trust activities for students of all ages

Just like in the team building examples above, these trust games are perfect for the classroom.

11. Obstacle run

group work ks2

12. Minefield

group work ks2

Again, such as in the activity above, split up students into groups of two. One is blindfolded, the other gives instructions. The blindfolded students have to cross the minefield without touching or knocking down the plastic cups. The other students give accurate commands so the blindfolded students can cross the minefield without blowing up a “mine”.

13. Look into my eyes

group work ks2

14. Falling trees

group work ks2

15. Blind artist

group work ks2

The student holding the drawing needs to give good instructions to the other student. The other student needs to draw it without being able to see the original picture. If you want to spice up the classroom game, you can put a variety of conditions to it, such as ‘no asking questions’, ‘must draw with your non-writing hand’, etc. Aren’t you curious about the results?

When you use this team building energizer as a revision activity, you let the pair explain to the rest of the class what the drawing is about.

Blind artist

Now students are much closer. They may learn better, as well. It is important for students to enjoy going to school. Check out this blog post for ready-to-use first day school lessons it includes introduction games. Make sure to take the time for team building exercises and trust games such as these, not only during the first days of school, but once every few weeks across the entire year. Check out these classroom energizers and first day of school activities , so you can get to know your students better. In fact, why not try out all the team building activities for students mentioned above this school year? Investing time now means they will know each other better next school year, too.

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Group-working Skills

In her article Group-worthy Tasks and Their Potential to Support Children to Develop Independent Problem-solving Skills , Jennie Pennant outlines the benefits of working on mathematics as a group, arguing that group work also supports children's individual problem-solving abilities.  Almost all NRICH tasks could be tackled by a group of learners, as opposed to an individual or pair, but the Developing Group-working Skills feature is a collection of activities which have been designed especially to develop children's group-working skills .  How can we help children get better at group work? We cannot expect learners to be able to work well in groups overnight.  We must help them develop the skills that are needed for successful group work and give them many opportunities to put these skills into practice.  In her article Developing Good Team-working Skills , Jenny Piggott offers the following list of skills related to working collaboratively, based on those found in Elizabeth Cohen's book 'Designing Groupwork':

  • Asking questions - making sense of your own understanding
  • Explaining by telling how and why
  • Helping others - by responding to their needs
  • Helping others - to do things for themselves
  • Sharing knowledge and reasoning
  • Finding out what others think - asking for, listening to and making sense of their ideas
  • Reflecting on and making use of what has been said
  • Being concise - communicating thinking
  • Giving reasons for ideas - communicating reasoning
  • Allowing everyone to contribute
  • Pulling ideas together - sharing, listening, valuing all contributions
  • Finding out if the group is ready to make a decision - consensus making.

Jenny suggests that these collaborative working skills can be developed through particular group activities and she offers six categories of team-building activities that can be used to focus on a range of the different skills.  Jenny's article links to several classroom activities within each category and we have chosen a subset of these in our Group Work feature which exemplifies the full range of skills. The featured activities For more details about the kinds of task and further example activities, please see Jenny's article . Number Match , a Stage 1 task, is only complete as an activity when every member of the group has completed their own part.  The task is undertaken in silence which helps group members respond to the needs of others.  Fraction Match , aimed at Stage 2 and above, is done in exactly the same way. In Counters in the Middle , a 'designer' makes an arrangement of counters without the team seeing it. The team has to agree on the final pattern by asking the minimum number of questions, which requires them to listen to each other, give reasons for their opinions and pull ideas together. In En-counters , each learner completes a picture themselves, based on the designer's instructions, but with support and advice from other members of the team.  This therefore encourages children to respond to the needs of others, help others do things for themselves and explain by telling how. Guess the Houses , a Stage 1 activity, depends on learners sharing reasoning, listening to opinions, reflecting and pulling ideas together. The team is required to guess the rule in the minimum number of questions. In What Shape? , one member of the group is trying to find out what is on their chosen card (the unknown) by asking as few questions as possible.  This task therefore depends on group members being concise, asking questions, listening and reflecting on what has been said. Arranging Cubes requires the group to recreate a 2D arrangement of cubes which matches all the information on their cards without showing each team member's information to anyone else.  Among other skills, learners must allow everyone to contribute, share knowledge and reasoning, reflect on (and make use of) what has been said and come to a consensus. Submitting solutions Due to the nature of these tasks, it will be a little difficult for children to submit solutions in the usual sense to the live problems in this feature.  However, we would love to hear about how the activity helped them work better as a group.  It could be that you as the teacher summarise your observations or it might be that the learners themselves can articulate their thoughts.  We would be delighted to hear from you.  You may find it helpful to use the list of skills above as an assessment 'checklist' (see Skills.doc or Skills.pdf ).  What next? Having tried these activities which aim to build learners' group-working skills, why not have a go at other NRICH activities using a group-work approach?  In May 2010, we created several group-worthy tasks, based on Jo Boaler's research on Complex Instruction, and in February 2010, all our problems were designed with collaborative mathematics in mind. Of course, as we mentioned at the start of this article, almost any NRICH activity could be worked on by a group, so you could encourage children to tackle any of our tasks using their group-working skills.

Taking the tasks home

We have rewritten some of these tasks so that they are suitable for just one child to do together with an adult. We've collected these here . References Cohen, E. G. (1994) Designing Groupwork - Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. Second Edition, Teachers College Press. Here is a PDF version of this article.

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48 Creative Team-Building Activities For Kids

August 18, 2023 //  by  Laquita Bolden

Just as challenging as it can be for adults to get comfortable with new people, it’s no different for kids! To help you break the ice in the classroom, ignite a spirit of collaboration and fun, and get your learners better acquainted with one another, try a few of our creative team-building activities! With 48 captivating ideas to choose from, you now have a wealth of methods to engage and support learners who struggle with communication and social skills. Dive right in to discover your new favorite team-building activity! 

1. Silent Line Up

What parent or teacher doesn’t love a silent game? Students have to line up based on personal facts about themselves, but the objective is to do it silently! Students can line up based on age, birthday, or letters in their names.

Learn More: Line of Silence

2. Team Scavenger Hunt 

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This is a fun activity to get students to work collaboratively. Scavenger hunts require communication, strategizing skills, and teamwork! Divide students up into teams (3-4 teams based on group size) and provide them with clues to see who can solve them the fastest.

Learn More: Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids Free Printable – Thrifty NW Mom

3. Hula Hoop Pass 

In this activity, students have to use their bodies to pass a hula hoop. Students will stand side-by-side in a line holding hands. Put a hula hoop on the arm of the first person. The objective of this game is for students to get the hula hoop down the line while still holding hands. What a great way to build teamwork and practice communication!

Learn More: Hula Hoop Pass

4. Blind Mice

Test your listening, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Set up a simple obstacle course and break students up into teams. One team member will complete the obstacle course while their teammates give them verbal instructions. Students can play for fun or you can set a time limit for a challenge.

Learn More: City Magazine

5. Trust Ball

This is another silent game for kids that promotes communication and teamwork skills. Students stand in a circle and try to pass the ball around to every student without using any words or sounds. The objective of the game is to get the ball to everyone without dropping the ball. If the ball drops, you have to start over! Each student should hold up a finger to represent how many times they’ve had the ball. Healthy competition can be held between teams to determine how many times they can pass the ball to everyone in the circle without dropping it. The team that passes the ball the most wins.

6. Build it Challenge

One of the best ways to improve team-building skills is by working together to solve a problem. Fill baskets for each team with random supplies (cups, popsicles, sticks, tape, etc.) Students build the tallest tower using all of the materials in the basket. The tallest tower wins!

Learn More: Tower Challenge

7. Lego Challenge

The things you can do with Legos! Break your students into teams and challenge them to create a structure (robot, building, house, etc.) in a set amount of time.

Learn More: 60 Second Lego Challenge

8. Relay Races 

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There are so many different ways you can get students to work collaboratively with relay races! This outdoor activity is fun, challenging, and requires students to be able to solve problems while working together as a team. For the different relay, race ideas check out 45 Fun Relay Races.

Learn More: Kid Activities

9. Community projects

Students working together for a greater cause is a great way to build a community while serving others. Students can build social and life skills while painting a gate in the community or planting a community garden. Allow students to come up with some ideas based on the needs of their community.

Learn More: Amber Melanie Smith

10. Marshmallow Challenge

Although the supplies needed for this activity are simple, the task is challenging! Teams have to build a standing tower using marshmallows, toothpicks or spaghetti, tape, and string. The tallest-standing tower wins!

Learn More: Mad About Science

11. Compass Walk

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This activity requires trust! Students have to rely on the direction and guidance of their partners. Break students into pairs. Identify a certain object for students to walk to, this could be a construction cone, chair, or a tree. One student closes their eyes while their partner walks alongside guiding them with verbal directions.

Learn More: Play Meo

12. Lean Walk Challenge

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Lean Walk Challenge is another challenge that builds trust between partners. Designate a finish line and pair students. Students lean into each other (shoulder-shoulder)  and try to walk to the finish line.

13. Rock, Paper, Scissor Challenge

This is one of my favorite challenges to do with all grades and ages. Everyone starts out in pairs. Each pair plays a game of rock, paper scissors. The winner of the game goes to find another winner, while the person who loses follows the winner and becomes their cheerleader. The game ends with two people competing while their cheerleaders cheer on all the people they beat. Whoever wins the match against the last two people wins the challenge.

14. Guess Who

Listening skills, communication, and memorization are all the skills needed to win this game. To prepare for this activity, have students write down one special fact about themselves and collect each fact. Give students a set amount of time to find a partner and a set time to talk to that partner. After every student has paired, bring everyone back together. Students will guess who the special fact is about based on the conversations they had with each student. Whoever matches the most facts with the correct students win.

15. Making Connections 

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Students complete a task while looking for common interests. Pick one student to start the connection. The student stands with one hand on the hip and then speaks a statement about himself. Any student who shares the same statement will appear and establish contact with the student. Next, the second student shares a statement, and so on, until everyone is standing in a straight line connected by the arm.

16. Over the Electric Fence

Problem-solving is more fun when you’re doing it together. Students have to strategize a way to get over the electric fence while staying connected. Tie the two chairs together with rope. The string should be about 3 feet off the ground. Break students into groups of 3 or 4. Give students a set amount of time to figure out how to get over the fence.

Learn More: Book Widgets

17. Escape the Classroom

Groups will have to solve clues to figure out how to escape the room. Create a set of different clues around the classroom. Groups will go around the room searching and solving the clues that will lead them to victory!

18. Shrinking Classroom

Divide your classroom into two groups and assign students to each group. Use ropes to set boundaries for each group. Start by moving the rope to reduce the student’s standing space. The objective of this competitive activity is for students to find a way to stay inside the boundaries as it shrinks. The group that finds a way to stay in the smallest space wins!

19. Blind Artist

In this activity, students have to rely on their partner’s communication skills to draw a picture. Pair students and instruct them to sit back-to-back.  One student will instruct their partner to draw a picture. When the timer goes off, students will compare their pictures to see how well their partner was listening.

20. Falling Trees

Falling trees is a game of trust. One student stands in the middle of a close circle surrounded by classmates. The student stiffly falls forward or backward, as the student falls one of his classmates catches them and pushes them to the other side of the circle. The goal is not to drop the tree.

21. Build a Story

Team-Building-Activities-for-Teens-1.jpg

Build a story is a creative way to get students to work collaboratively. This activity is great for kids over the age of 7 to develop their interpersonal skills. Teams will work together to write a story.  Each student will be responsible for building a different part of the story. Stories can be shared once they are finished.

Learn More: Everything Mom

22. Crossing the Line

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This is activity is harder than it seems. Students have to figure out how to cross a line, but the catch is they have to cross the line all at the same time. Communication, patience, and strategy are needed to complete this task.

23. Karaoke Routine 

Yes! Karaoke is a team-building activity! It’s a silly way to collaborate while showing off your singing skills. Students are split into groups and they have to pick a song to perform. Creating dance routines, assigning roles, and adding props are fun ways to bring this activity to life.

24. Murder Mystery 

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Who doesn’t enjoy solving a mystery? Create clues and pick a theme for your murder mystery. Assign characters to students and encourage them to dress the part!

25. Thankful Challenge 

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This is an indoor team-building activity that can be done throughout the year to reinforce community dynamics. Pair students and tell them they have 3 minutes to find something in the room to gift to their partner. Students have to find a gift and find a way to wrap it in 3 minutes. The person that finishes the fastest wins.

26. Building a Card Tower 

Students have to build a standing tower using a deck of cards. Students can get creative with the structure of their towers, but the only rule is that they can only use cards!

Learn More: Feel Good Teaching

27. Teamwork: Stack Cup

All you need for this activity are cups, rubber bands, and string. Stack the six cups only using the strings! Each student will be given a cup with a rubber band and string attached to it. Each student is responsible for stacking their cup using only the string. The first team to finish wins.

Learn More: Ms. Sepp’s Counselor Corner

28. Straw Bridge Challenge 

Students work together to build a bridge using straws, popsicle sticks, and tape. Arrange a time for students to plan and build. Once the bridges are done, the real challenge begins! Bridges that can bear the weight of objects will win!

Learn More: Take The Straw Bridge Challenge!

29. A Top of the Tower

This is another activity that requires students to work as a team to plan and build. Using pencils and tape, students will build a tower that is strong enough to hold an object of their choice. The object can be a stuffed animal or a small action figure.

Learn More: Elementary Island Blog

30. Paper Chain Race

This activity ends with a highly anticipated race! Students race to create the longest paper chain they can create in a set amount of time (Younger students will need more time). Arrange each set of paper chains to compare the length. Whatever team has the longest paper chain wins.

Learn More: The Math Chick

31. Wheelbarrow Race

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Get ready to spark some joyous laughter and teamwork with the good old wheelbarrow race! Pair your students off and have one of each duo grasp the ankles of their partner, who then takes off on their hands. You’ll need a clear space and a marked finish line. The duo who reaches the end first, while maintaining their hilarious yet challenging position, is crowned victorious!

Learn More: Party Games 4 Kids

32. Flag Making

group work ks2

Dive into a world of colors, symbols, and creativity with the Flag Making activity! Split the class into teams and equip them with fabric, paint, brushes, and other embellishments to craft their unique flags. They’ll need to brainstorm a fitting emblem and name for their team. What an excellent activity to ignite creativity and foster collaboration!

Learn More: Pinterest

33. Indoor Camping

group work ks2

Ever fancied a camp inside the classroom? With this activity, that’s exactly what you get. Using chairs, blankets, flashlights, and any other handy classroom materials, the teams should aim to construct a snug indoor campsite. This exciting mission promotes problem-solving, teamwork, and the ability to think out of the box!

Learn More: Plenty

34. Human Knot

group work ks2

This activity adds a twist to team-building. Have all students stand in a circle and reach across to hold hands with two people not directly next to them. The aim? Untangle this knot without letting go of each other’s hands. Keep an eye out for the laughter, communication, and bond growing among students!

Learn More: Icebreaker Ideas

35. Choreograph a Dance

Let your students move to the rhythm and sync in harmony with the Choreograph a Dance activity! Encourage them to work in groups, pick their favorite tune, and create a captivating dance routine to perform for the class. Nothing like a dose of music and movement to foster creativity and cooperation!

Learn More: YouTube

36. Chain Reaction

Remember those whimsical Rube Goldberg machines? Now it’s your students’ turn to create one! With this activity, they’ll need to construct a complex device performing a simple task using dominoes, marbles, and other readily available materials. An ideal choice for spurring problem-solving, creativity, and teamwork!

37. Balloon Stomp

group work ks2

Let the stomp-off begin! In this thrilling activity, tie a balloon to each student’s ankle. The objective? Pop other participants’ balloons while guarding your own. Set up clear boundaries for the game area. It’s an engaging way to encourage strategic thinking and cooperation.

Learn More: Mumfidential

38. Tug of War

group work ks2

Rekindle the classic spirit of teamwork and strength with Tug of War. Divide your students into two equally matched teams, grab a sturdy rope, and mark the center point and the ‘pit’ on either side. The team that pulls the opposing team over their pit line wins!

Learn More: Ravenox

39. Create a Play

group work ks2

Unleash the dramatist within your students! Encourage groups to write their own script, develop characters, and design props for a short play. Provide them with a theme or leave it to their imaginations. The stage is theirs, and it’s a brilliant way to foster creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Learn More: Twinkl

40. Team Sports

group work ks2

How about a mini sports day? Set up games of basketball, soccer, or volleyball where students can compete in teams. This activity not only enhances physical fitness but also promotes the spirit of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Learn More: Australian Sports Camps

41. Group Jigsaw Puzzle

group work ks2

Engage your students in a test of patience, communication, and cooperation with a jumbo jigsaw puzzle. Each team is presented with a large puzzle (1000 pieces or more) to complete. Keep a clock ticking for the added thrill!

Learn More: Southern Living

42. Newspaper Fashion Show

group work ks2

Here’s a challenge that blends creativity, teamwork, and a whole lot of fun – a Newspaper Fashion Show! Using just newspaper and tape, each group crafts an outfit for one member to strut down the classroom runway in. May the most creative outfit win!

43. Story Chain

group work ks2

Time for a storytelling rollercoaster! Begin with a sentence to start the story, and have each student add their own twist and turn. The key is to maintain the plot while making it as imaginative as possible. An excellent way to stimulate creativity, active listening, and cooperation.

Learn More: The Homeschool Mom

44. Community Mural

group work ks2

Art, teamwork, and a sense of community come together in this activity. Teams collaborate to paint a large-scale mural that showcases the essence of their community, using paints, brushes, and a whole lot of creativity.

Learn More: The Community Word

45. Mimic the Leader

group work ks2

A game of attention to detail and teamwork! Choose a leader who performs actions that the rest of the class must replicate. For added fun, change the leader after each round.

Learn More: Empowered Parents

46. Team Cooking Challenge

group work ks2

Nothing brings people together like cooking. Divide the class into teams, assign a simple recipe, and let them work their culinary magic! You can do this with no heat recipes or use a portable stove under your supervision. It’s a delicious way to encourage cooperation, creativity, and life skills.

Learn More: The Boston Calendar

47. Garden Planting

group work ks2

Time for some green fingers! Teams come together to plant and nurture a mini garden. From choosing the plants to regularly watering them, it’s a beautiful lesson in teamwork, patience, and love for nature.

Learn More: Baba Mail

48. Classroom Decoration Competition

group work ks2

Let your classroom reflect the creativity of your students! Divide the class into teams, decide on themes, and let each team transform a section of the classroom. What a wonderful activity to foster creativity, teamwork, and a sense of belonging in the classroom.

Learn More: SIS Myanmar

Team-building activities and games for kids help build trust while also promoting communication, problem-solving, and team skills. All these activity ideas for kids are easy to do in a classroom, hallway, or outdoors and are easy to set up. See the excitement and determination in your students as they take on different challenges. Teamwork makes the dream work!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a team-building activity.

A team-building activity is a task that motivates people to work together. Strengths are revealed through completing a task together.

What are some fun team-building activities for kids?

Fun team-building activities engage and motivate students to complete a task.  The keyword is fun! When participating in activities, students will be more comfortable exploring their own challenges and advantages.

How do you teach kids teamwork?

Kids learn teamwork the same way they learn any other skill, which is practice. Providing students with activities that require them to work together maximizes communication, problem-solving skills, and teamwork skills.

What makes a good team?

A good team should run like a well-oiled machine. Qualities of a good team are communicating well with each other, focusing on a common goal and results, and everyone doing their equal share.

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Effective Group Work in Primary School Classrooms pp 103–127 Cite as

Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Work at KS2: Effects on Pupil Attainment, Classroom Behaviour and Attitudes

  • Peter Kutnick 3 &
  • Peter Blatchford 4  
  • First Online: 01 January 2013

4539 Accesses

Part of the Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education book series (PROD,volume 8)

This chapter presents the key results from the main evaluation of the implementation of SPRinG at KS2 (pupils aged 7–11 years). It describes the background and methods used to establish whether SPRinG affected pupil progress in science, on the basis of both macro and micro assessments; whether it affected pupil-pupil interactions and teacher-pupil interactions, as measured by systematic on-the-spot observations in classrooms and analyses of videotapes of groups working on specially designed tasks work; and whether it affected pupil self completed measures of motivation and attitudes to group work. With regard to attainment, we found that KS2 aged pupils showed much more progress over the school year than Control pupils on the overall ‘macro’ and ‘micro’ sub tests, indicating the experience of high quality group work led to better progress in science understanding and knowledge. On-the-spot and video based systematic observations showed more active, sustained co-operative engagement, more connectedness and more collaborative higher order inferential joint reasoning within SPRinG groups than in control comparisons. Results of the effect of SPRinG involvement on motivation/attitudinal dimensions were less clear cut but we did find that KS2 involvement in SPRinG arrested deteriorating attitudes to mathematics and science found in the Control group.

  • Control Class
  • Classroom Behaviour
  • SPRinG Group
  • Procedural Talk
  • Sustained Interaction

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Kutnick, P., Blatchford, P. (2014). Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Work at KS2: Effects on Pupil Attainment, Classroom Behaviour and Attitudes. In: Effective Group Work in Primary School Classrooms. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 8. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6991-5_5

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Three leading Russian enterprises work under the brand of Zelinsky Group: Sorbent, Tambovmash and Elektrostal Chemical and Mechanical Plant named after N.D. Zelinsky.

The mission of Zelinsky Group is to be a symbol of unrivaled protection. We are proud to bear the name of the outstanding scientist Nikolai Zelinsky, the inventor of the first effective gas mask, who devoted the whole life to the development of filtration tools to save people from toxic substances.

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However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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  1. Top 10 Group Work Strategies

    1. 'Think-pair-share' and 'Think-pair-square'. Well, no-one said this top ten had to be original! This strategy is one of those techniques that we employ so readily that we can almost forget about it, it is simply so automatic for most teachers; yet, because of that we can easily forget it in our planning.

  2. 43 Best Team-Building Games and Activities for the Classroom

    6. Hot Seat. This fun game is a lot like the game show Password. Split your class into two teams and have them sit together in teams facing the whiteboard or chalkboard. Then take an empty chair—one for each team—and put it at the front of the class, facing the team members. These chairs are the "hot seats.".

  3. Group work role cards

    File previews. doc, 40.5 KB. Card for use during group work activities. to let us know if it violates our terms and conditions. Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch. Last updated. 18 November 2014. Not quite what you were looking for?

  4. Working with others in and out of the classroom

    Group work (also known as teamwork, collaborative learning or working with others), involves a group of people working together to reach a goal. Each member of the group has a role, or roles, and often shares with the other group members to work well together. (learn more about cooperative learning)

  5. Group Work in the Classroom

    This resource pack is full of worksheets and materials for teachers to use in the classroom to support students with group work. It includes the following: Show more Related Searches group work group work roles how to work in a group cooperative learning team roles resource pack cooperative learning in the classroom Ratings & Reviews

  6. Group Team Building Art Games KS2

    Group Art Team Building Activity 4 reviews Subjects Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities Working with Others How is this team building game useful for KS2? Our fun and engaging team building games KS2 are great for any art and craft lovers. Show more Related Searches

  7. Team Building Games

    Team Building Games Subject: Physical education Age range: 7-11 Resource type: Other File previews ppt, 121.5 KB A pack of team-building games split into communication, problem-solving and physical challenge games - a bit like the Crystal Maze! You can print off the main slides and laminate them for pupils to follow.

  8. PDF Group work tip sheet final.

    17) The use of pair work and group work as a teaching and learning methodology is of great benefit to all children. Through participation in group work, the children learn from and with one another. The children will learn to clarify and consolidate their thoughts and to generate ideas by working within groups.

  9. Better groupwork in the primary classroom

    Group work in the primary classroom is nothing new, but promoting teamwork is more about getting all members of the group to take part in completing a task or solving a problem - a vital skill in any walk of life. Here are some of the strategies I use to help children pull together as a team, with no one member dominating or taking a back seat. 1.

  10. 15 fun team building activities and trust games for the classroom

    Trust activities for students of all ages. Just like in the team building examples above, these trust games are perfect for the classroom. 11. Obstacle run. Use your benches, chairs, and dustbins as obstacles in your classroom. Create a real maze full of "roadblocks". Divide your students into small groups of 2.

  11. Group-working Skills

    In her article Group-worthy Tasks and Their Potential to Support Children to Develop Independent Problem-solving Skills, Jennie Pennant outlines the benefits of working on mathematics as a group, arguing that group work also supports children's individual problem-solving abilities. Almost all NRICH tasks could be tackled by a group of learners, as opposed to an individual or pair, but the ...

  12. 48 Creative Team-Building Activities For Kids

    This is a fun activity to get students to work collaboratively. Scavenger hunts require communication, strategizing skills, and teamwork! Divide students up into teams (3-4 teams based on group size) and provide them with clues to see who can solve them the fastest. Learn More: Indoor Scavenger Hunt for Kids Free Printable - Thrifty NW Mom 3.

  13. Effective Group Work in Primary School Classrooms: The ...

    Effective Group Work in Primary School Classrooms. pp.81-101. Chapter 4 is the first of the empirical chapters that evaluates the effectiveness of the SPRinG programme in enhancing group work in ...

  14. Co-operative Group Work Cards

    By taking responsibility for their specific job, they feel like they've done well personally and been a great team player. Group work cards help your students develop better self-awareness and agency. You could use these Working Together Worksheets along with these cards to help children think more about their teamwork!

  15. Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Work at KS2: Effects

    At KS2 the study involved two forms of observation: 1) On-the-spot (OTS) naturalistic observations of general categories of pupil behaviour across a normal school day and over the school year; and 2) detailed analysis of pupil talk and involvement in group-work from video tapes of researcher-designed group work activities.

  16. Collaborative learning approaches

    What is it? A collaborative (or cooperative) learning approach involves pupils working together on activities or learning tasks in a group small enough to ensure that everyone participates. Pupils in the group may work on separate tasks contributing to a common overall outcome, or work together on a shared task.

  17. Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Work at KS2: Effects

    Request PDF | Improving the Effectiveness of Collaborative Group Work at KS2: Effects on Pupil Attainment, Classroom Behaviour and Attitudes | This chapter presents the key results from the main ...

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  19. Cooperative Learning Team Roles Resource Pack

    Use this resource pack to teach students about the members of a team and how to work together to complete a project or task. This resource pack includes: an A3 poster detailing the roles of a team and what each member is responsible for; A4 posters for each individual role within a team, including a description of what the role entails; badges for each member of the team; tent cards for desks ...

  20. Victor Mukhin

    Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.

  21. Ten years in a golden cage. Experiences of a German expert brought to

    The book presents the personal experiences of the author who spent the years from 1945 to 1955 in post-war Russia as head of a group of German scientists and engineers. Due to his perfect command of the Russian language and the significance of his professional position, he was able to get a closer insight into the life in the Soviet Union than ...

  22. Chirmi, Indian folk dance by Chakkar dance group (Moscow)

    Choreography by Guru Ekaterina Seliverstova. Performance by her desciples Yulia Kardashova, Elena Antonova, Elena Tsyganova, Kristina Korsukova (Chakkar danc...

  23. Self Assessment: Group Work Worksheet / Worksheet

    Peer-Assessment Feedback/Feedforward Template. Student Self Assessments. Peer Interaction Rubric. Individual Work Self-Assessment Rubric. CfE Second Level Group Work Self Assessment Grid. Student Self-reflection Sheet. Self-Assessment Stickers. Use this activity / activities sheet to help students self-assess how well they worked in a group.