Team Building Activities – Part 1
Students can learn so much when working with their peers. In order for students to accomplish this, they should be given opportunities to work on cohesion as a team. Team building activities are a great way to foster relationships between students and become more comfortable with one another. When students have this connection, they are more likely to work together to complete the tasks that you assign to them. This type of team building not only benefits the students in your class, but it also benefits you. You will be able to see the increase in your students’ academic performance because they are more engaged in the learning process. There are a number of different things that you can do in order to encourage this kind of team building between your students. One easy thing that you can do is run a few activities in the first few weeks of school that get students used to working collaboratively. Here are a few team building activities you can use in your classroom. They require very little preparation and students love them!
#1. Curtain drop
Have students partner up and face each other about 6 feet apart. One person from each pair holds up a curtain or large paper so the partners cannot see each other. You will ask the group to drop the curtain and each pair of students must try and say their partner’s name before their partner says their name first. *For students who do not know each other at all, have each person wear a name tag for the first rounds.*
#2. Picnic game
Have students sit in a circle. The leader will introduce themself and an item they will bring to the picnic, for example “My name is Jane and I’m bringing firewood”. Go around the circle and have each member introduce themself and what they are bringing. A variation for older students is to have them go around the circle and repeat either all previous names and items that have gone before them. Or, repeat only the name and item of the one person before them.
#3. Stand off
Have students partner up. Each person places their hands in front of them to try and push their partner off balance only with their hands (palm to palm). Tip! Keep your arms bent. To add a challenge, have each person take a step back before starting. If weather permits, you can take this activity outside!
#4. Stand apart
Have students partner up. Partners press hands together and see how far apart you can stand without falling. With each successful attempt of supporting each other, take one step backwards. See how far you can go!
#.5 Two truths and a lie
Have students sit in a circle. One student starts by saying their name and three facts about themselves, two of them being true and one being a lie. The other students in the circle must now guess which one is a lie. Once the lie has been guessed correctly the next student will go. Pro-tip: allow your students time to prepare their three statements ahead of time and write them down.
These team building activities are a sure way to get students excited about being at school and working with their peers. Because these activities require very little organization and are fairly basic, they can be done in French Immersion classrooms as well. Some activities are more successful after being played a few times. Don’t hesitate to play their favourites throughout the year!
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