Team Building: Paper Airplanes

Team Building: Paper Airplanes

Team Building: Paper Airplanes

Type of modality / Active Game
Type of play / Shared Cooperative
Interaction pattern / Intra-group & Inter-group
# of participants required / 2+
Equipment/supplies /
  • Paper
  • Paper clips
  • Tape
  • (Other items can be provided at discretion of group facilitator)

Facilities required/environment / A spacious room
Precautions / N/A

Sequence/Directions (Details of how a to move through the activity from start to finish) This can be less than ten steps of more than ten steps…

  1. Instructor will put/have everyone get into groups
  1. Each group will be given a couple pieces of paper, some tape, & a couple paper clips
  1. Instructor will tell everyone to start to make an airplane to fly the furthest
  1. The groups will then start to make their paper airplane working as a team to create the best airplane (facilitator can choose to have teams compete against each other)
  1. First, fold the paper in half
  1. Next, fold both top corners down to the middle of the fold.
  1. Fold it back in half again
  1. Then, fold both sides back
  1. The paper plane is finished.
  1. Students can then add tape or paper clips to it or any extras
  1. (Following the basic instructions above, each team will create their own “unique” paper airplane, and each group member will participate in some way)
  1. Instructor will have the teams name their planes
  1. Each team will then take a turn throwing their plane from the same starting position. (The group facilitator will determine the starting point by sticking a piece of long tape where participants can stand behind, so that everyone starts in the same place)
  1. Groups select one person from the team to fly their group’s plane. This person throws the paper plane, and the group facilitator “marks” the spot with a number 1, 2, 3, or 4.. depending on the number of groups participating. This step is repeated for all groups
  1. The furthest plane wins

Activity Analysis (What is required of this activity without any adjustments, accommodations, alterations)

Category / Skills
Primary body position / Dynamic sitting & Dynamic standing
Part of the body required / Upper body
Movement / Bilateral integration, fine muscle coordination, gross muscle coordination, motor control, AROM: Upper extremities, visual-motor integration
Physical / 3- Jaw chuck grasp, pincer grasp, manipulating, picking up, standing, throwing, turning or twisting hands, walking short distances
Cognitive / Sharing attention, sustaining attention, cognitive flexibility, concept formation, concentration, simple decision making, initiation, insight, judgement, organization and planning, simple problem solving, shape/form recognition, sequencing, strategy, concrete thinking
Social / Conversation, handling criticism, heterogeneity, homogeneity, interpersonal interactions, maintaining social space, regulating behavior, forming relationships, terminating relationships, social conduct, social cues, showing respect & warmth
Perception / Visual (to see what team is making). Tactile (feeling the paper, paper clips and sticky tape). Auditory – to hear your name/or team name being called.
Communication/language / Reception to spoken language & expression of spoken language
Self-care / N/A
Psychological/emotional (possible) / Joy (for creating something, a successful “flight”), anger (if your team members don’t listen to your suggestions), frustration (if the plane doesn’t go very far), emotional pain (if your ideas weren’t selected, or if other teams make fun of your plane or the distance it travels).

SIMPLIFYING AND COMPLICATING THIS ACTIVITY:

Ways to SIMPLIFY demands / Ways to make more COMPLEX
Cognitively / Give the groups step by step directions on how to make a paper airplane / have each person do it alone without directions or looking up how to make a paper airplane
Physically / have bigger pieces of paper / everyone has to stand while completing the activity
Socially / Each student works by themselves / Don’t let the teams talk while completing the task. Only before the time starts for them to make the planes

Other Comments: Activity could be difficult for those who have Rheumatoid Arthritis or who have difficulties with fine motor skills.

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