Team Building

Zack Dee, Petaluma Junior High

What is Team Building?

Team building can be defined as group cooperative learning to try and solve a challenge.Team building is structured so that everyone in the group succeeds and so that nobody in the group loses - everyone is a winner.

Important Parts of Team Building

Perseverance - It is important for students to understand that success doesn't always come easy. Failure only means the need to try again or to re-think strategies.

Rules - In team building there must be clear rules that are followed and if they are not then consequences should result. Whether the rules are for a game or for expected behaviors, they must be set up to promote respect, responsibility, and safety but at the same time they must be open enough to allow for student creativity, exploration, and experimentation.

Social Development - It is important to remember in Team Building that the main objective is not always if the group solves a challenge, but how the group works together to try and complete the task at hand

Why Develop Teamwork?

(A)To improve communication - For teambuilding to be effective everyone must be involved. By developing teamwork students will learn to encourage one another by talking and by listening to each other in order to solve a challenge.

(B)To learn different roles - By working together in groups natural leaders and followers will emerge. Students put into new activities and into new positions will establish new roles and be able to experience new things.

(C)To improve risk taking - When students have the support of a group around them they are more willing to take greater risks and to try new things. In short like the saying goes: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Students will often develop more self confidence when they have the comfort of others behind them.

(D)To develop a more positive class environment - When students have to work together to solve a common goal it can reinforce current friendships and develop a new respect for others. Teamwork can have a long lasting positive influence throughout your classroom in many different areas.

Teaching Hints in Team Building

(A) Remember that safety is always the number one concern. Make sure rules are clear on what is appropriate uses for equipment and what is expected behavior for each challenge.

(B) Keep in mind that the main goal of team building is for students to work together and support one another (it is not always how fast you can complete the challenge). This means positive comments only and definitely no putdowns towards others.

(C) Team building should stress cooperation over competition

(D) Note that most team building activities can be modified to fit students of all ages and abilities. Changing the rules, equipment, and/or distances can make a big difference in the challenge (to make it easier or harder depending on your students abilities).

(E) Praise students when you see examples of positive life-skills, cooperation, and/or sportsmanship. You can even award points in many of the games based solely on positive behavior or words. This will help reinforce those positive behaviors in your class.

(F) As a teacher you want to make sure that you don't solve the challenges for the students. It is important that they work together and even struggle together to take on a challenge. Remember we often learn best from our struggles and our mistakes. If they really are struggling you can modify the activity or give little hints; but don't make it so easy that they don't have to think for themselves.

(G) One of the best parts of team building activities is the discussions that can follow up a group challenge. Some good questions to ask your students after participating in a team building activity include:

(H) You can also use team building activities to discuss (but not limited to) the following life-skills in relation to the challenges:

(I) Another good reminder for students (and teachers) is that just because one solution doesn't work doesn't mean it is the wrong way to do it and just because a solution works the first try doesn't mean it was the most effective way to do it!

How Team Building Ties Into the State and National PE Standards

Team building activities and cooperative games can be used to fit into the following National PE Standards).

National Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.

National Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.

National Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Team building activities and cooperative games can be used to fit into the following California PE Standards).

Kindergarten: How I Move in My Environment

Team building activities can help children at this stage acknowledge that others may occupy there space, learn to move without interfering with others, and begin to take turns and share in interaction with others.

First Grade: Moving Through Space and Time

Team building activities can be modified to include qualities of space and time by learning to move in different directions (forward/backward), at various speeds (fast/slow), and at different levels (high/low).

Second Grade: My Partner and I - How We Move in Space

Many team building activities give students the opportunity to learn about relationships between themselves and others and they can begin to embrace the concept of we and partners by working with others.

Third Grade: Continuity and Change In Movement

Here students become more capable of working together towards a common goal as they grow in their ability to cooperate and take turns; team building also gives opportunity for natural leaders and followers to emerge.

Fourth Grade: Manipulating Objects in and Through Space

The challenge at this level is to improve and develop more complex games and challenges that increase coordination and fine motor skills. Cooperative games are a good chance for students at this age to increase their performance of physical skills and to enhance their social skills by working with the group.

Fifth Grade: Manipulating Objects with Speed and Accuracy

Here accuracy and speed become more important (activities can be tied into your cooperative challenges that address these areas). Socially children at this age begin to appreciate fairness and individual differences which often come into affect during team building group activities.

Sixth Grade: Working Cooperatively To Achieve a Common Goal

This is what team building is all about! Through the team building challenges students at this age can combine various physical and social abilities to develop the skills required for cooperative effort towards a common goal.

Additional Team Building Resources

Education World

Contains sample lessons and articles on promoting sportsmanship, establishing a positive environment, and the importance of fitness

The Educator's Reference Desk

Contains various sample lesson plans in physical education

Game Central Station

Contains over 200 games in physical education for grades K-12 and links to other resources

PE Central

Contains lesson ideas, tips for creating a positive environment, and other resources

PE Lesson Plan Page

Contains lesson ideas submitted by teachers across the country

Assorted Team Building Activities

Cows and Ducks (7-50+ players; low activity) Every player must choose to be a cow or duck, and the goal is to find and join others of the same species. Each player must make the sound of their animal to locate others because everyone has their eyes closed. Game finishes when all the cows and ducks have found each other. In a place with obstacles, one player may be asked to keep their eyes open to watch over the others. Also, players may pick the animals; an excellent game for making teams or groups.

Detective (5-50+ players; low activity) Group stands in a circle. Several persons are chosen as the detectives. Their task is to find the leader of the "gang." Leader actually leads the group by making movements - group copies to hide the leader. The detective(s) attempt to find the first one who changes the movement. Leader needs to change at least every 10 seconds.

Face Pass (2-25 players; low activity) Players are in a close circle. The leader starts by making a funny or unusual face and passes it to a person next to her, who must copy it. Both then turn to show everyone the faces. The second person makes a new face to pass to a third person, next to her. Everyone gets a turn.

I Have A Friend Who - (5-50 players; moderate activity) Circle game. One less chair (or place marker) than number of people. One person standing says, "I have a friend who wears white shoes (for example)." People wearing white shoes get up and switch chairs with each other. (You can't sit in the same chair you just sat in.) The person left standing (who has no chair) is the next leader. Other examples: I have a friend who loves to read; plays soccer; has a birthday in July.

Knots (6-12 players; moderate activity) The circle of players stand close together putting their hands in a clump in the middle, mingling them. Everyone can then close their eyes and take hands. Upon opening eyes, check to see all have two different hands. Players, without losing contact try to untangle into a circle. To add challenge, see that players do not take the hand of the person next to them. Variation: Have everyone hold hands in a circle to start and then have them tangle to form a Giant Knot. This way you always end in a circle, regardless of numbers.

Monarch (5-50 players; active) Play in a fairly large area, with boundaries. One player starts with a foam ball, everyone he hits joins the monarchy. After one person is hit, the person with the ball can not run, though those without the ball who are part of the monarchy can run. People in the monarchy must use teamwork and pass the ball to catch those who haven't yet been hit by the ball.

Octopus (10-50+ players; active) Two parallel safety lines (shores) are at least 30 feet apart. Group starts on one shore. Octopus is in the middle with a foam ball. When octopus says "swim", players swim across to other line, avoiding octopus, who is trying to tag or hit swimmers with ball. If the person is touched by the ball, he freezes his legs and his arms become seaweed trying to touch swimmers to make them seaweed also. Last one left is new octopus.

Blob (5-50+ players; active) Play in a large area with boundaries. One player starts as the "blob." When she tags someone, that person joins hands with her and they try to catch others together. When there are at least four, they can split into two blobs. This repeats until everyone is caught.

Elbow Tag (8-30 players; active) Everyone takes a partner and links together at the elbow (one threesome with an odd number). The leader and his partner have a game of tag, but when the person being chased wishes to quit running, she can take an elbow (saying "go")- thereby making the player on the other end the new person being chased. After a while, the "it" chaser can also take an elbow, passing on his "it-ness" to the person on the end. The "it" tells the new "it", "You're it."

Additional Team Building Activities can be found in the Lesson Activities section of the PPEP webpage.

Text Box: