Classroom team-building games are a must at the start of a new school year! Here are 16 of my favorite icebreakers and classroom team-building activities!
Paper Bag Dramatics: A fun activity for Team Building and Developing Community. Here's an idea that can be used just about anywhere at any time. It encourages groups to solve problems, think creatively, and work as a team.
There is nothing more important than a group of people having the ability to work together as a team. That’s why every office should have some fun indoor team
The 9 fun and low prep classroom team building games are the perfect addition to your class and will have your students asking for more!
If you're looking for fun and easy getting to know you activities for the first day of school, these ice breaker games for kids will inspire you!
With my yearbook and journalism classes, I want to make sure that all of my staffers and editors feel like an equal, important part of our little classroom
Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.
Team-building activities for kids can help them in myriad ways. These activities teach the value of cooperation, listening, taking turns, and more. Read on.
Last year the cup stack was one of my FAVORITE team building activities (see post here). So, naturally, I wanted to give it another shot! The Cup Stack is a fun, yet challenging activity that promotes team work. The supplies are basic: cups, string, rubber bands. I go ahead and tie the string to the rubber bands so it is ready to go. I make a few for groups of 4 and a few for groups of 5, this way no matter what the numbers are in the classroom I can make it work. I start by asking students what teamwork is. What does it look like? sound like? feel like? We brainstorm a list of ideas that I hang in the classroom for students to refer to. Each class comes up with a variety of ideas, but they all center around the same theme. Then I introduce their challenge. I start off my admitting that this will be a frustrating activity. We discuss ways to handle our stress and feelings that arise when others make a mistake or don't do what we want them to do. I model that they will each be given 6 cups and a rubberband with strings attached to it. Their job is to stack the cups into a design by only holding onto their individual string. I demonstrate that when everyone pulls on their string the rubberband opens wider, and vice versa. I also show them the challenges of picking up a cup that has tipped on its side or fallen on the floor. No matter what happens, they must follow the one rule: YOU CAN ONLY TOUCH YOUR STRING. No touching the rubber band, no touching the cup, and no touching other group member's strings. I reinforce how communication is so important in order to reach the goal. Then I set them off. Here are some videos and pics. After about 10-15 minutes, we pause and reflect on our experiences. I ask them to rate their group on how well they worked together using the ideas we wrote at the beginning of the lesson. I ask them what went well for their group. I also ask them what didn't go well for their group. We talk about different strategies and ways we an handle ourselves when things don't go the way we want them to. Throughout the activity I walk around and facilitate positive communication, so I usually have a few examples to help springboard the discussion.
Students will have fun while learning how to cooperate and communicate.
The Unfair Game is a totally unfair twist on Jeopardy that your students will LOVE to hate! Learn how to play and find sample game boards in this post.
Set a friendly tone in your classroom with these 30 "Get to Know You" games perfect for back to school or when welcoming a new student.
A positive team building activity for any class. A great activity for Spanish class before Thanksgiving.
The first week of school sure is a busy one! I work hard to balance the mandatory paperwork with games, hands-on activities and team-building fun. Even with bigger kids, it’s important to keep them moving throughout the day and providing a variety of activities. 1. Marshmallow Tower For this activity, you’ll need the following materials […]
How to play Bridge Ball, a game perfect for both indoors and out.
Build It is a cooperative, team building activity that encourages students to work together, communicate, and think logically as they construct a geometric
I have seen so many great ideas for review games out there. I thought I would compile a list of my favorites to have as a resource. I figure if I could come up with 6 great games that work, I only have to use the same game 4 times in a year! 1. Zap! - This is my favorite game so far simply because the smartest group doesn't always win. It's kind of like Jeopardy, but with a curve ball - if you get the "Zapped" card, you lose all your points! Thanks for sharing, Mathtastrophe! Game instructions and printable here. Another take on this game is Bazinga by Simplifying Radicals. 2. Nerf Gun - Love this idea! Draw a bullseye on the board. Divide the kids into teams. Ask a team a review question. If they get the answer correct, they get to shoot at the board to see how many points they earn. So fun! 3. Jenga - I really like how Living Out His Love blog does this one. She writes with a sharpie marker directly onto the Jenga piece. And, she write a subject and week on both sides of each piece. Though, if done this way, it seems like you could only do this at the end of the semester (because if you have Sciene, week 7 written in sharpie and you're only at week 3, that wouldn't work!). Another idea is to tape the subject and week with clear packing tape and then re-do it as your progress along in the year. 4. Power Tower - Similar to Jenga, but with paper cups. Write the question on the cup. If the class answers correctly, they get to stack the cups. If the tower falls, they have to start over. via Mrs. Lewis' Learning Library 5. Mr Potato Head - For every question the class gets correct, they get to add a body part to Mr. Potato. I also like the idea on 2nd Grade Rocks! blog. She uses it as a behavior incentive. Every time the class has good behavior, they get to add a body part. When Mr. Potato is completely put together, they get to have an ice cream party! 6. Snowball Fight - Love this idea for Texas as this may be the only snow the children ever see. Write the review questions on a piece of paper. Divide the kids into 2 teams. If the kids get it correct, they get to crumble it up into a ball. After all the questions have been answered, they get to have a snowball fight using the paper balls! 7. Chair Tic-Tac-Toe - Put nine chairs in 3 rows of 3 to make a square. Divide the class into 2 teams. Ask a team a question. If they get it correctly, one of their players gets to sit in one of the chairs. The first team to have 3 players sitting in a row wins. 8. Memory Mogul - Awesome (and free!) printable game from Sola Gratia Mom blog. This one seems like it could take some time printing out the cards and possibly creating a game board. But, the game board and cards could last all year. Click here for instructions and printables. 9. Stinky Feet - My 7 year old son would love this one. Very simple with little prep time. Idea and instructions can be found here at Teaching in the Fast Lane blog. 10. Classroom Board Game - This game may require a little adapting, but it looks like fun. Turn the classroom into a life size game board. Great ideas for how to do this game here at Blessings for Bible School Teachers.
Happy teachers mean happy students. Here is a list of ways to build morale, support teacher wellbeing and have fun as a teaching team at school.
My kids love to play this fun game! The game of SKUNK, that is!
Games are a tried and true way to engage students. Whether teaching in-person or remotely via a live session like Zoom or Google Meets, teachers know that games, brain breaks, and icebreakers are an awesome way to get students actively involved in learning. With the ever-changing landscape of education, I thought it might be nice to compile some versatile activities that challenge students in really fun ways. Best part? These activities are very low prep and work in a variety of settings. These activities encourage students to listen, solve problems, be creative, and practice critical skills. They're designed to be easy to do with little to no prep. You can easily add one of these games to any lesson as a warm-up, closure, community building activity, or lesson extender. GAMES & ACTIVITIES ⭐How Many? Give students a category and then challenge students to see how many different things they can fit within that classification. At first students will respond with obvious ideas. However, as they brainstorm, their ideas will stretch and their creativity will grow. Students can jot their ideas down on scrap paper and earn points for each unique response when they share out. Here are some categories to get started: occupations, things that are slimy, things that roll, animal noises, articles of clothing ⭐Listen Carefully: Read a short passage out loud to students. Then, have them answer questions based on what they can remember. Make it especially fun by awarding points for every answer that students get right. You can change up this activity by reading two versions of the same story. Mix up some of the details in the second version for students to listen for. Give this activity a try with the passages in this set of FREE Brain Bursts. Add your information below and then check your inbox! ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ ⭐Silly Silent Spelling: Practice spelling words in a super silly way. Explain to students that you are going to be giving them a practice spelling test (definitely NOT the real thing). Just like a typical practice test, they'll listen for the word and write it down. However, here's the catch: you're only going to silently mouth the words. Students will need to read your lips to figure out what word they will need to write down. Of course, figuring out a word from a silent cue is not easy. That's what makes this fun. Students will write down some wild guesses as they spell their way through this game. ⭐One Word: Pose a fun question to the class and have them all think of a one-word answer. Then, give every student a chance to share their responses as you call on each of them. Here are some questions to get started: --- If you were a type of dessert, what would you be? --- Where do you feel happiest? --- How would a soccer ball describe its day? --- Where is somewhere that you would like to visit? --- What would be the perfect gift for you? ⭐Mystery Item: This activity is quick and easy to play. To prepare, write 5 or 6 clues about an object. Make the clues gradually increase in their specificity. Then, read the clues to students as they jot down their guesses for the mystery item until you reveal the answer. ⭐Punchline: Start telling a joke to students, and then have them guess the punchline. Find a ton of jokes for kids here. ⭐Strike a Pose: Explain to students that they are going to pretend that they are in a photograph. They will need to imagine that the photo was taken at the height of the event. All they have to do is strike a pose after you give them a situation. For instance, you might say, "haunted house," and then students would freeze in a pose that shows them frightened or terrified. Here are a few situations to try: Dentist Office, Roller Coaster, Last Day of School, Scary Movie, Food Fight, Race ⭐Timed Writing Activities: Engage students with a creative writing prompt. Then, "amp up" the fun factor by adding a timed element. Challenge students to race the clock as they write as much as they can in a fixed time period. Find my favorite prompts here. ⭐And Then...: This is a listening game for the entire class. Students will need to listen to and add to a growing story. You'll start the story with an opener like, "At the zoo, I decided to open the lion's cage, and then..." Next, you'll call on a student to explain what happened next. That student will add one line and the phrase "and then" before selecting another student to add to the story. ⭐Listen and Draw: Students love this activity! To prepare, create a simple illustration filled with shapes and designs. Then, write out the directions for students. Have students complete the activity on a piece of paper. Read each direction to students and challenge them to replicate the illustration you instructed them to draw. (These are included in the exclusive freebie below.) ⭐Class Pet: Pretend that you have a new class pet. Explain to students that they will need to guess the type of animal. Students will need to ask questions and write their guesses on a piece of paper when they think they have figured out the new class pet. ⭐Add the Ending: Engage students as they practice writing and storytelling skills with this activity. First, students will listen to the beginning of a story that you read to them. Then, they'll take over the writing and complete the story. The story starters are a fun way to motivate students to write. ⭐Alien, Tiger, and Cat: Here's an improvisational theatre game that works in the classroom. Explain to students that they can be one of three things: an alien, a cat, or a tiger. If they choose to be an alien, they need to hold their pointer fingers next to their head (like antennae) and say "bleeb, bleeb." To be a cat, they need to rub their wrist along their face (like a cat cleaning itself) and say "meow." Finally, to be a tiger they need to push their hand forward with a claw stance and roar. On your cue, every student will choose and act like an animal. The goal is to get everyone to choose the same animal (which is nearly impossible, but fun to try). ⭐Rapid Recall: Create a list of random words. Then, read the list of words to students. As you read the words, you might have students put their hands on their heads so that you know for sure that they aren't taking notes. Once you've read the words to students once or twice, wait about a minute before letting students write down every word that they remember. (Find ready-made lists in this complete resource.) ⭐Finish the Fact: Share the beginning of a fact with students. Then, challenge them to complete the fact. Have them share their guesses before revealing the complete fact. Find a collection of random facts here. Want a free set of virtual classroom activities designed to be NO PREP and NO COPIES? Just add your name and email below. ⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟⮟ BONUS: Here's one more idea: ⭐Paper Airplanes: Help students practice following directions by challenging them to fold a paper airplane by following your directions. To get started, choose a paper airplane design to have students fold. Then, have students take out a piece of paper. They'll need to listen carefully to each of your directions to make their paper airplane. Wishing you tons of fun in your (virtual) classroom, Mary Beth P.S. Find a TON of ready-made activities HERE.
Pediatric Yoga: Benefits for the Mind Body, and Soul. Includes FREE printable Pediatric Yoga Pose and Instructions!
The Fishbowl Game is a fun-filled memory game that combines Charades, Password, and Taboo. It is easy to learn and perfect for large groups, which means
Fun re-energising team building Ireland events ideal for away days, treasure hunts and evening entertainment. Choice of venues across Dublin and Ireland.
8 silly crowd games perfect for family reunions, neighborhood parties, or friend get-togethers!
This template is perfect for parents, social media managers, booster club members, school yearbook, or ANY creatives that offer senior posters. You can use the template to quickly create high quality senior posters (2ft by 3ft). Also use the file to create social media content. The download comes with a step by step video that walks you though the editing process to make the poster custom to your team. Save time and money with this custom built senior poster and promote your athletes all season. You WILL need photoshop to edit file. File download is PDF that will link you to files/video.
Try some of these fun, no-prep games to help your teach English to young or beginner level students.
Too many classroom icebreakers require students to take big social risks with people they barely know. Or they don't really help students get to know each other. Or they are just plain cheesy.
Set a friendly tone in your classroom with these 30 "Get to Know You" games perfect for back to school or when welcoming a new student.
Team-building activities in the middle school classroom are a great way to build relationships at the beginning of the school year!
Eating a well-planned pre-game meal can help ensure athletes are fueled to perform at their best in the upcoming competition.
Kids and young adults need extensive practice in strengthening their executive functioning skills. Executive functions are the processes in our brains that help us accomplish all tasks from beginning to end. We use them when we plan our day, organize our materials, begin a chore, focus on important
I’ve created a list of team bonding games that are great to incorporate into your weekly practices! Don’t be afraid to have a little fun in practice and take a break from the intensity …
