Here is a fun activity that gives kids a chance to work together and practice listening. I purchased plastic baby spoons online in bulk to have on hand for this activity, and so that the students could play the card game "Spoons" during indoor recesses.
Read this story, or a similar one, to the students. Have the class sit in a circle and give each student a spoon. Each time they hear the word "left" in the story, they pass the spoon to the left. Each time they hear the word "right" in the story, they pass a spoon to the right.
Left and Right Pencil Pass
Story Game
I LEFT home this morning
thinking I would go RIGHT to school.
Then I realized I LEFT my lunch on the kitchen table. I turned RIGHT around and went back
home. My daughter had LEFT her
rollerblades RIGHT by the back door.
I tried to step around them, but I stepped RIGHT on them. I fell RIGHT onto a potted plant by the
door. By now I was wishing I had
just LEFT my lunch at home instead of coming back for it. All RIGHT, all RIGHT, I said to myself,
just make the best of what is LEFT of your day. I looked at the kitchen table. Sure enough, my lunch bag was RIGHT where I had LEFT
it. As soon as I had my lunch, I
LEFT my house and headed RIGHT back to school. I pulled RIGHT into the parking lot at school and LEFT my
car in a parking space. RIGHT when
I entered the building, my principal said, “Looks like you are organized
today.” Yeah, RIGHT I thought to myself. But as soon as I entered my classroom, I LEFT my crazy
morning behind me. I knew my
students would help to make my day RIGHT.
I do a lot of team building activities and I have been trained in Project Adventure Based Learning. My favorite is Minefield. I use my children's toys and scatter them around a 6 x 4 rectangle that I taped off. One student has to direct a blind-folded student from one-side to the other without stepping on one of the "mines". The student who is giving the directions may not touch the blindfolded student but may only give verbal directions such as "take one small step to your left, shuffle to the right, put one foot in front of the other". This activity builds trust.
ReplyDeleteAll team-building activities must be briefed and debriefed. Remember to answer the questions in the debriefing: What?, So what?, and Now what? and make a connection back to the classroom setting and real-life experiences.
Project Adventure Based Learning sounds like a great program for training!
DeleteThe kids always seem to like the minefield activity. That was a good one to share! Thanks for the reminder to be diligent in making the connection back to the classroom.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa, Thanks for the activity! I will save it for when I need a group game or fill in some extra time at school. Hope you had a fantastic trip to Costa Rica. I was there years ago and it changed my life!
ReplyDeleteAmazing Blog. Indoor team building activities
ReplyDeletelike the Domino Effect Challenge and Bridge Builders are a great opportunity to create something solid for your team. It enhances fun, excitement, and engagement with your team.
Thanks for the virtual resource for people.
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ReplyDeleteNice Post!
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