Whether you're lost at sea, lost in the woods, or testing communication skills, teamwork is always important. Build your middle and high schoolers' cooperative and collaborative skills with four activities that prompts groups to compete in role-play situations, all focused on the need to communicate clearly with each other.

Concepts

teamwork, group discussions, making decisions, communication, problem solving strategies, competition

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Additional Tags

physical education

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Instructional Ideas

• Use in the first week of school as an ice-breaker, with randomly assigned groups trying out each activity over a week's time
• Bring to a sports team or peer counseling group to stress the importance of listening and communicating clearly

Classroom Considerations

• Some activities may be more competitive and/or frustrating to learners than others, particularly the final testing activity and Prisoner's Dilemma

Pros

• Games are engaging and will likely result in a feeling of kinship in your class
• Exciting for the competitive learners and well-organized for those who prefer to work in a more straightforward way

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.6.1.a SL.7.1.a SL.8.1.a SL.9-10.1.a SL.11-12.1.a