Why Encourage Team Building in the Elementary Classroom?

Why should we encourage Teamwork in the Elementary Classroom? 

I've encouraged children to work as a team in my classroom for many years. Although they're not necessarily going to score better on those high-stakes tests, working as a team helps children develop many important skills!

 

Here are some of the skills children learn from team-building activities:

• communication
• collaboration
• listening
• time management
• problem-solving
• putting others first
• conflict management

 
Interesting, some might say these are "life skills!" Yes, these are skills that children need to develop to be successful in life, which I feel is far more important than being successful on tests!

 

These are some activities to encourage teamwork in the classroom:

• morning meeting activities
• shared stories
  
• project-based learning
• STEM or STEAM projects
• put on a class play
• relay races
• team trivia
  
• partner work
  
• plan a class party
• scavenger hunts 
• educational games, played as teams

I'm sure you can think of plenty more, including activities connected to your curriculum! Make sure to mention that the goal is to "work as a team," and "look out for the others!"

 

Most important, motivate them to encourage others! Make sure these words are used often! 

• Good job!
• You can do it!
• Awesome job!
• You are incredible!
• You figured it out!
• You're on the right track!
• You make it look easy!
• That's the way!
• You've got this! 
• I can see you're really trying!

Here's an idea: let them make a list of more encouraging words, and display them for children to use as a reference. Be sure to model using encouraging words for your whole class team!

Here are some helpful resources:

• Back to School Team Building, Ice Breakers, and Get to Know You Activities
• 60 Team Building Games and Activities to Build Classroom Community

Here are some links for more information about Team Building in the classroom:

• Team Building, Ice Breakers, and Get to Know You Activities
  
• Dramatics in the Classroom
  
• Space Balls
  
• Six Ways to Integrate Team Building Into Your Curriculum
  
• Paper Bag Dramatics
  
• Be Prepared for Giggles
  
• Pass the Clap - a Fun Game!
• 25 Alternatives to Handshakes
  
• The Bulgaria Game
  
• Building Social Skills AND Academics with Morning Meeting
  
• Five Team Building Activities for Back to School
  
• Team Building Activities 
• Partner Standing Challenge
  

Routine and Novelty: How Can We Keep a Balance?

It's important to keep routine in our daily life, especially when it comes to children. Routine brings a sense of security and builds confidence in children. Knowing what to expect in their day makes them feel in control of their surroundings. It helps them build the courage to take risks.

But routine can also become boring.

Brain research tells us that brains need both routine and novelty to grow. Yes, these words are antonyms, but both are necessary for learning to happen. Too much routine can become tedious and dull. Too much novelty becomes confusing and chaotic. How can we find a balance?

The best way to find that balance? Pay attention to your students! This is probably the most important part of being a teacher or a parent: know your students! Watch for signs that they are happy, bored, confused, or content. This is how you know they should continue with a routine, or are ready for a "shake up." 

The beginning of the school year, or right after a break, sticking to a routine is essential. They find comfort in that routine, and are happier and more content. 

But after a while, that same routine becomes the enemy! They need something different. A change. But as we all know, many people fear change. It's a rocky road, so proceed with caution.

Start with something simple. I always love to change the seating arrangement when boredom starts to set in. They get to come into a classroom that's familiar, but there's something different. When they find their new spot, there are loads of smiles! Plus, I love the giggles when they start to walk to their old spot, then realize they don't sit there anymore!

A few other ideas for an easy change from the routine: 

• change the schedule (be careful, this could cause a domino effect with children who receive services) 
  
• bring in a special snack to go with your lesson
• speak with a funny voice, or use an accent
• take a break from what you're teaching and have a special lesson
• take your lesson to a different spot... outside, in the hall, cafeteria, or any extra space
• wear something unique that will spark their attention
• introduce some new team building games See these blog posts: Space Balls, Paper Bag Dramatics, Team Building Activities  (these games can often be altered to fit academics)
  
• have them wear something to go with a theme
• bring in a guest teacher or guest reader
• do some Reader's Theater in the classroom See this blog post: Dramatics in the Classroom
  
• plan a craft or art project to go with your lesson
• get some new books for your classroom library

 

Once the children are able to handle small changes, it's time for a BIG change in routine!

Here in New England, the winters are long, dark and cold! By mid-January, we always need something big to shake things up! By this time, the children are quite secure in their routine, and basically dealing with "cabin fever" and are absolutely sick of everything! (No matter where you live, I'm sure the children get to this point!)

These are some things I do to help shake them from this state:

• Take a "virtual field trip" See this blog post: I Can't Stand Winter Anymore
• Throw out the whole day's routine (or week!) and have a series of focus lessons on a special topic. Find books, math lessons, science lessons, etc, all on this fun topic.
• Plan a class play to be performed for the school. (Ask the music teacher for help on a musical!) 
  
• Throw out the week's routine and sponsor some "Academic Games.  I've done this many times with an Olympics theme, and the excitement was almost as amazing as was the learning! See these blog posts for more ideas: Academic Winter Sports Team Building; Academic Summer Games, a Celebration of Learning  Let the Games Begin or see this resource: Academic Olympian Winter Sports Bundle
  
• I'll bet you can think of more ways to "shake it up" that will fit the needs of your students!
• The perfect resource to combine both routine and novelty: Daily Questions for Team Building, Morning Meetings, and Daily Writing Prompts.  

For more information about Routine and Novelty, see this blog post: Predictability and Novelty

 

 

 

Team Building, Ice Breakers, and Get to Know You Activities

To teach children, we need to build relationships with them. 

To work comfortably with each other, they need to build relationships with each other. 

So how can we build relationships?

Whether school is starting soon, or not for a while, these things are important:

• Building bonds of trust with your students.
• Helping students build bonds with each other.
• Get to know the student's academic abilities,
• Help the children get to know your expectations and procedures. 

This post suggests some team-building and getting-to-know-you activities. These activities will also help you get to know your students while showing your expectations as well!

 

Here's one way to get them comfortable with you and with

each other:

Morning Meetings are a great way to start the day! I like to start with some sort of greeting. These Morning Meeting Greeting Activities come with a fun question for every single day, a nice picture and the same writing prompt.

Boom Learning activities are a must! They're amazingly easy to assign in class or online. They're compatible with every platform, and can be sent home with just a link for homework. Plus, the teacher can monitor how each child is doing!

 

 

Who am I Boom Cards are perfect for the beginning of the school year. This is a chance for the children to think about who they are, and how they can contribute to their class. 

 

Plus, they get plenty of reading and writing practice! (And the teacher can assess these skills through their responses!)

Building Friendships is a popular Boom Learning Resource that gets the children thinking about making good choices when it comes to socializing.

Good Citizenship Boom is a great opportunity for children to think about social situations! This will help them learn what kind of expectations you have in your class. The stories give them plenty of examples of positive interactions in the classroom and on the playground. 

This "Get to Know You" Game is a perfect way to begin reading groups, centers, or just have fun. The cards can be shared at morning meeting, or used with the included Board Game.

 

This resource has a collection of games and activities for building classroom community. These are perfect for morning meetings!  60 Team Building Games and Activities to Build Classroom Community
 

Looking to save some money (and time) on a bundle? Try this one:

Back to School Team Builders, Ice Breakers, and Get to Know You Activities! This collection has everything you'll need to get to know your students and get them feeling comfortable with each other! Once you've got them feeling safe and comfortable with each other, then the REAL learning can begin!

I'm sure you'll find ways to build relationships with your students. 

What's your plan?

Dramatics in the Classroom

Children learn in many ways. 
I'm particularly partial to the arts. 

Research on the brain proves that the arts make strong connections with the memory. 

Today's post is about one of my favorite arts, dramatics!

There are many ways to use dramatics in the classroom, and many reasons to do it!  Here are some of the "whys!"

 

Yes, it's true. It's a great place for those shy kids! It sounds odd, but seriously, when you give a shy kid a character to play, they really come out of their shell! Did you ever hear that many movie stars are actually introverts? It all makes sense!

Reading scripts gives the children practice with reading skills. And, of course, children need to learn to speak clearly. Dramatics give them plenty of opportunities to practice speaking in front of others!

 

Actors depend upon each other when performing. If someone misses a line, that affects all the others. Therefore, if all team members live up to their responsibilities, they will all be successful.

When pretending to be a character, children need to put themselves in the shoes of the character, and think about how that character feels. They learn empathy!

 

 Actors must pay attention to the script and focus on what is happening in the performance.  

In the context of a performance, problems always arise. Children easily solve these while working together toward that common goal: a successful performance! 

Both verbal and nonverbal communication are important when putting on a play! Children learn to show their feelings with and without words. 

When children put on a skit or a play, or act out a scene, they work hard together toward a common goal. That's the kind of thing that builds confidence and self-esteem! When it's over, they beam with pride!

Now that we understand why dramatics are beneficial to children in the classroom, here are some ways to fit dramatics into your busy day!

Not only is it fun to act out stories of the past, but as the children act out different parts, their movements settle into their memories. I often had my students act out the Pilgrims on the Mayflower, including saying goodbye to loved ones, the constant rocking, eating the ship's food, seasickness, (they loved that part) seeing a newborn baby on the ship, and sighting land. As I described each detail, they went through the motions, and were totally engaged in the trip! The best part? They remember it because they were physically involved as well as emotionally involved.

Similar to the above, but this one doesn't have to be from factual information. It works particularly well with group read-alouds, or if a group is all reading the same book.  It might sound something like this, "Show what Wilber's face looks like when Charlotte wove her web." Or maybe, "Show Max's face when he realizes his dinner is still warm."

Having to recreate these moments helps them build empathy and develop feelings for the characters in their stories.

I remember having to memorize a list of vocabulary words every week. Do I remember those words now? Not many of them! Acting out the words makes them real. Plus, it works across the curriculum! Yes, even math!

Encourage writing stories that have characters having conversations! Kids are so creative, they might enjoy a writing prompt that encourages unusual "personalities" having a discussion, for example, "What would your pencil say to your paper?" or "What would your desk say to your chair?"  This really gets them thinking about conversations and personalities.

 

Reader's Theater is a favorite of the students as well as the teachers! Why? The kiddos like it because it's fun! The teachers like it because it incorporates so many important skills: reading, speaking, thinking, building empathy for others, and working together, to name a few! 

Here are a few Reader's Theater resources for you to explore:

What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg? A Reader's Theater about Life Cycles

Here's a series of character-building Reader's Theater where the children make up the ending:

Starring Empathy

Starring Kindness

Starring Respect 

Here's one more fun resource that the children love, especially when they can make up a voice for each character:

Reading Words in Quotes

I hope you enjoy using dramatics in the classroom as much as I do!

Space Balls: Build Community and Team Building as Well as Imagination and Concentration!

Space Balls: 

It sounds like something odd, but it really is as simple as can be!

 

Space Balls are balls that are made up of nothing but space!

Space Balls is a great game for team building, but also works on focus, concentration, and imagination! It works well in morning meeting, or any time of day they need a break.

To start, establish what a space ball actually is: a ball made of space! Since you can't see the ball, it's important to show the size, shape, and weight of the ball by the way you hold the ball. 

Then, slowly pass the space ball around the circle. 

Students should watch to see that the ball maintains its size and shape. 

For many students, that's enough for the first time.

Later, or on another day, introduce a "new" space ball, and review the concept by passing the ball around the circle again. Make the new space ball somewhat different from the first one. (smaller, heavier, etc.)

When the ball completes the circle, it's a good time to break the group into groups of 2 or 3 to play catch with the space balls. (Have some fun passing out space balls to each small group! Encourage their creativity by asking what sort of ball they want, then slowly taking that ball out of your "box" for them to see!)

Another option is to toss the space ball to someone across the circle. (See photo at top.) In these cases, remind the children to show the size and shape of the ball, remembering to maintain the size and shape.

On another day, introduce the idea of changing the space ball. Model squishing the space into a very small ball, or stretching it into a very large ball. The space can also become quite heavy (grunting is encouraged) or it can become quite light like a balloon. The students' hands and body language should always show the size, shape, and weight of the space ball, so their partner can follow. 

Now it's time to let the children be creative: pass a space ball around the circle, letting children change the space ball any way they want to.  The students should be very clear in taking the space ball from the previous person, maintaining its shape, then showing the group how they are changing the space ball.

 I'll bet you (or your students) can think of more variations of "Space Balls!" 

Can you think of a way to include curriculum concepts?
Please share these variations in the comments!

You might even see them playing it at recess time!

 

Looking for some other team building games?  

•  60 Team Building Games and Activities

 

Looking for something that can be used for socially distant or remote learning? 

•  20 Socially Distant Team Building Games 
  

 

 

Side note: the teacher in the photo above is my daughter playing space balls with her students at summer music camp! She has her own blog, Me vs Rent!