Community Building with Games and Activities

Necessary Elements for a Healthy Classroom Community

• Positive Interdependence means that all group members have a specific goal and have to inter-depend on each other to achieve a  task. (See assigning group roles)
• Face-to-face interaction refers to group members supporting, assisting, influencing, motivating, trusting, and challenging other group members to facilitate the achievement of the group’s goals. 
• Interpersonal Skills teaches students how to use group social skills. Examples of social skills are staying with one’s group, speaking in a low conversational voice, trusting other group members, managing conflict, and sharing leadership responsibilities.

Assigning Group Roles

When students have different roles in a group, we maximize learning. These are the roles I usually give to my learners! It is essential to rotate roles so that everyone has the chance to perform different tasks within the group.

• The facilitator moderates the discussion and makes sure that everyone has a chance to contribute. They also keep the group on task.
• The Spokesperson presents the group’s ideas to the rest of the class.
• The Organizer checks that the material is organized and monitors time.
• The checker makes sure the project is aligned with the rubrics/assessment criteria.

Now, let’s have a look at some activities you can do with your learners to reinforce collaboration and classroom community!

• Escape rooms! Students work together to escape the classroom. They have to look for clues and codes on their computer or classroom. Check out these Escape Rooms in my store! CLICK HERE!
• Creative Solutions: The teacher shows students different objects and presents a scenario that can be solved with one of those objects. Students have five minutes to figure out the solution. 
• Projects: Collaboration is a critical element of project-based learning. Students have to learn to listen to each other, negotiate, deal with conflict, and share responsibilities. They can also benefit from each other as they create together and work towards achieving a common goal. You have lots of Project Based Learning Units in my store! Check them out HERE. 

Some fun games!

• Where’s my team? For this activity, put a colored sticker (blue, red, or yellow) on your students’ foreheads without them knowing what color it is. When you say “find your team”, each student must find other students with the same color but without speaking. This is a great team-building activity because it encourages non-verbal communication and cooperation.
• Balloon walking: Have your students pair up side-by-side and hold hands. Then place a balloon in between the shoulders of each pair. The object of the activity is to walk in a line without any of the balloons popping or falling to the ground. It’s heaps of fun!
• Body Parts! In this game, students move around the room, calling out a body part and a number, for instance, “four knees!” Students have to form a group of four and join together one knee each or two with both knees. 
• Would you Rather Questions: Would you rather questions are so fun, whether you use images or just words. My students love the idea of asking them silly questions like, ” Would you rather be quarantined with a lion or with a bear?” “Would you rather be covered in fur or in scales?” You can check out these super funny  “Would you rather Game” in my store. CLICK HERE!

Remember that building a community in your classroom is a process; it takes time and needs to be planned the same way you plan your lessons. I hope you can take some of these ideas to your classroom; please let me know what YOU do to build classroom community! We can all grow as teachers when we share our tips and strategies!

Have a fantastic day!

Paula.