Cooperative games elementary

Next, que the student who is next to continue the story. This is a great team-building activity for high school students and can be played virtually or in-person. To begin, provide each team with four different images and ask students to come up with a short story that connects all the objects together. For example, the images can be a person, an object, a location, etc.

Give students about minutes to discuss and come up with a story, then present their story to the class. Well-designed cooperative learning games provide opportunities for experiential learning. They also teach valuable lessons of cooperation, collaboration, and communication. Around this time…. Search for:. Janelle Cox. November 1, Classroom Activities. Home Teacher Resources Classroom Activities. Share on facebook. Share on linkedin.

Share on twitter. Share on print. What is Cooperative Learning? Cooperative Classroom Games to Try with Your Students The objective in cooperative learning games is for all members of the team to succeed. Vocabulary Circle This is an easy game that can be played virtually or in-person.

Mental Telepathy This game challenges students to work together, either in-person or virtually, to figure out what answer you are thinking. Grades 5 Word Story You are going to tell a class story and in order to participate each student must listen carefully. To keep things more interesting, toss another rabid nugget into the fray every 10 seconds or so. Invite each team to share their chosen words with the rest of the class.

Not only does this provide the group with a fun sharing activity, it will help to ensure that each word pairing is unique. Next, have the students scatter to various areas within a safe playing field.

Ask them to close their eyes or use blindfolds if necessary. Blow a whistle to signify the start of play, at which time the players should begin calling out their assigned words. There are three six-sided dice, all printed with five different types of food and one X; and a playing surface, featuring the same food images and, of course, the cat. If the dice turn up any food images, the player must place at least one die on the corresponding food square located on the board.

The player is permitted to go on rolling the dice for as long as he or she is able to place at least one die on the board. The reverse side of the playing surface offers a more challenging version of the same principle. The deck includes 50 cards, 36 of which represent colors, and 14 of which represent the sun. When a player receives a sun card, they must use it to move the sun token forward one space on the board, after which they discard the sun card.

If a player has all color cards on their turn, they must discard one and move one of the owls to the first available open space in the corresponding color. If one of the owls surpasses another owl on the board, the players all make a hooting sound to cheer it on. If all of the owls have made it back to the nest before the sun completes its track, then the team wins! To make the game more challenging, add more owls to the board at the start of play the game includes six owls total. The next player then repeats the process, until all the snacks are gone.

If the Woozle has gotten 12, then the team wins; if not, the beast remains hungry until the next round of play. Likewise if the players accuse a suspect who turns out to be innocent. However, if the correct culprit is named, the detectives win. For more information on the rules of Outfoxed! Balloon Bop Remember playing a game of catch and trying to see how many passes you could make without allowing the ball to hit the ground?

This game has a similar objective, but it utilizes a balloon or multiple balloons and a larger group of people. To begin the teacher should invite children to form a loose circle by holding hands.

To do this, the students may use any part of their body except for their feet knees are acceptable. This game is better suited to children at the upper grade-school level say, third grade and up. To make it more challenging, add a second or third balloon. Earlier versions of this game supplied each team with a box of plastic straws, with which they would then build a cushioning device. No verbal communication or hand signals are allowed during play.

If a player breaks this rule, he or she is disqualified, and their place is taken by one of the observers. Once everyone in the round has made eye contact and give up their place in the circle, switch teams until all the observers have had a chance to play as well. Spaceteam In this game recommended for older children, ages 10 and up , players are tasked with repairing a damaged spacecraft while dodging asteroids and wormholes along the way.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read the full disclosure here. Cooperative Games for Kids Everyone likes to win at games, especially young children who might have not yet learned to take minor losses in stride. First, use cones or other stationary markers to create a circle, and place one player at each marker.

Place a Nerf football or any soft object in the center of the circle. First, split students into teams of 4 or 6, depending on the size of the class and the number of playing surfaces you have on hand. Give each team a playing surface old sheets and tablecloths are preferred. Have each team lay out their playing surface on the floor. Divide players up into teams of four to six, depending on group size.

Scatter a total of five bean bags for each team across the playing surface. Caterpillar Note that players should be comfortable doing a forward roll before attempting this activity. Line up each team, single file, and have each player pass their right hand through their own legs before reaching out their left hands to take the right hand of the person in front of them. The player in front will still have a free left hand, while the rear player has a free right hand.

Rope Circle Divide players into groups of two. Have one partner tie a jump rope loosely around their own wrists one end on the right wrist, one on the left. The players should then attempt to separate from one another without untying the ropes or freeing themselves from their own circles.

Ball Builders Divide players into groups of two or three. Assign one player on each team to be the holder, and the rest to be the builders. The objective is to see how many tennis balls the holder can hold on to at one time, without using their pockets or any other article of clothing. Additionally, the balls cannot be touching anything aside from each other and the holder, and must be held for at least 10 seconds.

Players are welcome to switch roles after a few attempts. Crossing the River This game can be played with groups of two to five participants, depending on age group.

The smaller the group, the more challenging the game becomes. In order to cross, they must move as a group without breaking this contact. Shipwrecked Divide players into teams of eight to 10 students apiece, and assign a large hoop to each team. Note that all team members must be touching the ship at all times during this portion of play. Played the same as Duck-duck-goose, but instead of touching the heads of those not picked they have a little bit of water from a cup dropped on their head.

The person picked gets the rest of the cup poured on their head. Select a volunteer from the group. Divide the remainder into two teams. Each team then sits on the ground back to back. Set a water …. Work with the people next to you to form animals. Arrange your group into a circle with one person, the caller, in the center.

Tell the children to close their eyes. Give each child a card with a picture on it of an animal, color, shape…etc. When they find their match they run to a designated area.

Have everyone count the number of letters in their first name. Now ask them to find someone who has the same number of letters. Those two are now partners. Everyone sits in a circle. Three or four players are chosen to be the ghosts.

The rest of the group needs to scatter across the playing space and choose a spot to stand in. All players need to close their eyes. The ghosts will roam about the playing space. They will try to eliminate the others by standing close behind the players for 10 seconds …. You need a least 2 people that know the game. Continue doing this and increase …. Tips for leading cooperative games: Create an interesting storyline.

Instead of telling your group to get up on the log and balance, ask them to imagine that they are secret agents who are escaping the evil enemy and that they must wait patiently on the beam suspended feet above the ground while the guards leave, etc.

Make the rules age appropriate. Some children can do a challenge using a "quick as you can" or "world record" approach, while other groups can be challenged with blindfolds, consequences, or a "countdown clock" time challenge. Introduce activities that are easiest first and make them progressively harder.

You want your group to experience success and fun early and be relaxed working with each other. Sometimes games that are too challenging create disinterest and frustration in the group at the start - and that's rarely good!

Debrief the activities by discussing the different things participants did to accomplish the different steps of the activity. Call out any lessons to be learned or remembered for future challenges.

For example, "You mentioned that choosing a leader made the activity go faster. How do you think that helped? If an activity was stressful for your group, throw in a quick fun activity to reset the mood before moving on to the next challenge.