Doing this effectively is going to be really easy, because we have done all the work for you! The "Spiral Studies" team is a group of 4 teachers from different subject areas working together to integrate curriculum seamlessly (Read more about the team below).
We think that one of the most important tips is to keep a focus on why you are incorporating a team building day or lesson into your curriculum. The goals listed here are what we feel are most important in each individual subject during a team building lesson. WHY
The goal of any community-building activity in the middle grades should be more than just getting to know one another. In fact, it should even go beyond trusting and respecting one another. Trust and teamwork is obviously important, but there is so much more that you can do with this type of activity.
Make your team-building exercise a learning experience that sets expectations for all cooperative learning for the rest of the year! Our team decided to target an essential question across the 4 major subject areas: "What does a team player look like in______ class?" We incorporated the most important skills that we want kids to have within each specific classroom. Collaboration in math class has a different look than collaboration in English class, and we wanted our team building day to reflect that. As a math teacher, I want my students to know how to describe and discuss a problem solving approach. I want them to be able to reach out to another group when they get stuck. I want them to be able to explain their own strategies and try to understand a classmate's strategy. I want them to keep going when a problem seems impossible. I don't want them to give up when they get stuck. A Science teacher wants different results. In a lab, it is important for each team member to know their own lab role. We broke it all down and came up with the following "WHY" goals for the reason behind a solid team building day in each class: HOW
It is amazing to be able to meet all these goals in just one class period for each subject area! Here are some key tips for how we make it happen:
Here's the Best Part!
We created the full lessons for each subject area, including student printables and lesson plans. Each has one version of the bookmark, which requires students with different versions to work together to fill in the blanks! The entire integrated project has been built for your teaching team to try!
And it's all completely FREE! Click the images to download all four lessons. Meet the Team
Click the links to visit the blogs and learn more about the "Spiral Studies" team:
We hope that your students love these lessons, and that they help you teach the guidelines for collaboration that will work well in your classroom.
This set of activities is great for the first day of school, and also works really well on those weird last days before a break. You can really insert this in anywhere you want throughout the school year. Please let us know what you think! You may also like...
6 Comments
3/3/2021 05:43:23 am
Students Factory
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Laveena Nair
4/8/2021 02:12:39 am
Students Factory
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8/3/2021 09:57:09 am
This complete integrated lesson plan for team-building activities in middle school is phenomenal. I love this guide, and I would appreciate it if more content like this was shared soon.
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4/30/2023 07:50:45 am
The fact that team building is being introduced in middle school is great and is the right way to go.
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10/2/2024 11:36:01 am
Hi, thanks so much! You can use this same activity for high school if you want.
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