Introduction

Working in a team can be a challenging experience, especially for elementary students who are still learning how to navigate social situations. The ability to compromise and work effectively in a group is a crucial skill that will benefit students throughout their lives. In this blog post, we will discuss an activity that encourages teamwork and compromise, as well as provide discussion questions and related skills for educators to help their students develop these essential abilities.

No-Prep Activity

This no-prep activity is called “The Team Tower Challenge.” The goal of this activity is for students to work together to build the tallest tower they can using only their bodies. Begin by dividing the class into groups of 4-5 students. Ask the groups to stand in a circle, facing inward. The challenge is for each group to create a tower by having one person stand on the shoulders of two others while the remaining group members support and balance the tower.

During this activity, students will need to communicate, cooperate, and compromise to achieve their goal. They will need to decide who will be the base, who will be the support, and who will be at the top of the tower. Encourage the students to listen to each other’s ideas and work together to find the best solution for their group.

Discussion Questions

1. How did your group decide who would be the base, support, and top of the tower? Did everyone agree? If not, how did you resolve the disagreement?
2. What challenges did your group face while trying to build the tower? How did you work together to overcome these challenges?
3. How did it feel to work together as a team to accomplish a goal? What did you learn from this experience about teamwork and compromise?
4. Can you think of a situation in your daily life where you might need to compromise and work with others to achieve a goal? How can you apply what you’ve learned in this activity to that situation?

Related Skills

Developing teamwork and compromise abilities is closely related to several other essential social-emotional learning skills, including:

• Active listening: Being able to truly hear and understand what others are saying is a vital part of effective communication and collaboration.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others can help students be more open to compromise and working together as a team.
• Problem-solving: Groups will inevitably face challenges, and developing problem-solving skills will allow students to work together to find solutions.
• Resilience: Learning to bounce back from setbacks and continue working together is an important part of being a successful team member.

Next Steps

Now that you have an understanding of how to help students develop teamwork and compromise skills, why not explore more resources to support their social-emotional learning? We invite you to sign up for free samples of skill-building resources and activities from Everyday Speech. These materials will provide you with even more tools to help your students develop essential social-emotional abilities, setting them up for success in and out of the classroom.