Teaching Togetherness Activity Ideas
Save Sam:
Fill the crate:
Legos:
Marshmallow Challenge:
Ideas from
Paper Folding
Contributed by Sophie Bryce
Equipment:Several sheets of large paper (A2) - chairs and tables should be available around the room but should not be pointed out to the young people
Description:Split the young people into groups of four or five. Place a piece of paper in front of each group and tell them they have five seconds to get off the floor.(group automatically jump onto paper) Then tell the group that you want them to fold the paper in half and they then have another five seconds to get off the floor...repeat this until they have folded the paper 6 or more times. The idea of the game is that the young people will automatically fold the paper and stand on it using each other as supports when all they actually had to do was fold the paper as instructed then get off the floor (they could sit on a chair or table in the room!!!)
Flip It
Contributed by Ben Jammin
Equipment:small rug or a sheet big enough for your group to stand on comfortably
Description:Have the group stand on the rug. They must flip the rug over without stepping off it. Simple right? Try it and see
Bridge It
Contributed by Andrew Hill
Equipment:straws, tape, canes, string, paperclips, balloons, a4 paper, plastercine (moldable material for weighting), toy money, a miniature man (or suitable object for the moving) and a suitable table or surface
Description:This is based on a well-known activity where the participants have to move an object from one place to another without touching it. Divide your surface into 3 strips, making the center strip the largest - this is your 'cavern' that cannot be touched. The teams (this is best done competitively but not essential) have to move the 'man' from one end of the surface to the other without touching him (after the initial setup) or allowing him to touch the 'cavern' area. The limitations are that they are given a set budget and have to buy the items they need which are individually priced. There are two success categories; complete the task and complete the task within the budget. (third criteria for competitive challenge is the team who completes the task using the least amount of their budget) For added interest and challenge you can have a scoring system offering points for success, quality of building, overall design and 'smoothness' of execution.
Teaching Tips: Team Building Activities for Middle School Students These websites have suggestions for games, activities, and lesson plans to encourage team building among middle school students. There are activities for indoors or out, and cross-curricular lesson plans that incorporate problem solving and role playing. Included is an eThemes resource on cooperative learning strategies.Grades 6, 7, 8