by Rachel Wells
Team building games and activities are a great tool for helping students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly, and think creatively. They give students a chance to get to know each other better while building trust, and best of all, having fun!
Here are 3 super fun team building activities perfect for those upper elementary grades.
Art Puzzle
Divide the class into groups of four, six, or eight, and make sure every student has a sheet of white paper. Give each group an image (on a full-sized sheet of paper) and have them cut their image up into the same number of pieces as there are group members. Then, each group member will take one of the pieces of the image and reproduce it onto their blank piece of paper with pencils, crayons, colored pencils, or markers. Once each group has created the pieces to their puzzle, they will switch pieces with another group and try to put together each other’s puzzles.
All My Friends
Start by having you students stand in a circle, while you stand in the middle and say, “All my friends like….,” filling in the blank with something you enjoy (…love pizza, play soccer, etc.) Any students who also enjoy the thing you mentioned have to switch spots with another person in the circle. Whoever doesn’t have a person to switch with goes in the middle next and says, “All my friends….,” starting the game over again.
Dream Vacation Planning
Divide students into teams and let them choose a vacation destination to research. Let them know that since this is a dream vacation they have no budget and are allowed to go someplace make-believe like Hogwarts or Narnia.
During the planning process students will research transportation options, local activities, restaurants, hotels, etc. and present a poster board display of their dream trip to the class.
