Team building activities go a long way in making students work in a group. From improving problem-solving and creative thinking skills to building leadership qualities, team building activities for students help nurture several essential skills in children.

As school is categorized under secondary socialization, group activities for students fortify their social skills, along with emotional intelligence, decision-making, leadership, conflict resolution, listening, confidence, and time management.

Team building activities for students

Now that you are aware of the benefits, let us help you in planning some fun and didactic team-building activities for your students. Take a look:

1. Spot the spots

It is one of the most interesting activities for little kids. You will only require some colored stickers for this activity.

All you need to do is place the colored sticker on the forehead of each student. You can use any random color on any student. The catch is that students should not know the color of the sticker on their forehead.

Once you have placed stickers on the foreheads of all children, gather them in the center of the classroom. Ask the students to figure out the color of the sticker on their forehead and find other students who have the same color on their foreheads. This should all be done without any verbal communication.

How does this activity help?

This team-building activity promotes cooperation, understanding, and non-verbal communication skills.

2. Flip the sheet

Divide children into two teams. Take a bed sheet or a tarpaulin sheet and spread it in the classroom. Ask one team to stand on the sheet. Now the students should flip over the sheet while standing on it. They must not place their foot on the ground. If any member touches the ground while flipping the sheet, the team will be disqualified.

The teams can either go one by one or simultaneously. If the teams play this game simultaneously, make it a time challenge. Whichever team flips the sheet first, wins.

How does this activity help?

It is an excellent activity that fosters creative thinking, cooperation, time management, and teamwork.

3. Hula-hoop balance or race

Children love hula-hoop, and this group activity for kids will be no exception.  

Pick a group of students and make them stand forming a circle. Ask them to extend their hands and stick their index fingers out. Place the hula-hoop on the tip of their index fingers. Make sure the kids don’t cup the hoop with their fingers or grip the hoop in any way. It should rest only on the tip of their fingers.

Once you have placed the hoop on the fingertips, students must bring it down without dropping it. You can also set a race between two teams, where the teams balance the hoop on their fingers and run from the starting point to the finish line without dropping the hoop.

How does this activity help?

This fun hula-hoop group activity helps in establishing understanding and collaboration among children.

4. Pass the hoop

It is another fun hula-hoop group activity for a smaller group of students.

Make the group stand forming a circle and hold hands with their peers standing on either side of them. Place a hoop on the arm of any one student and ask them to join hands again.

When the game starts, the students have to pass the hoop to their neighbor without letting go of their hands. The students have to complete a full circle passing the hoop.

How does this activity help?

This activity emphasizes listening and coordination skills. It will also help children hone their strategizing skills.

5. Build a tower

This group activity lets children get in touch with their creative side. Divide the students into a group of three to ten students and provide them with some materials to build a tower. Materials could be anything – from marshmallows to dry spaghetti, paper cups, etc., along with adhesives and toothpicks.

Ask them to create a tower with these ingredients. Set the timer. The team with the tallest structure wins. An alternative to this game is the marshmallow structure game. Provide each team with a set number of materials – marshmallows and toothpicks. Each team member takes turns to add one marshmallow and toothpick at a time. The team that erects the most creative or tallest structure wins.

How does this activity help?

This group activity encourages creativity, time management, and teamwork in children.

Team activities for teenage children

Here are some team building activities for students in standard six and above:

6. Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunt is one of the most interesting and fun activities for large group of students. However, it requires some planning and preparation beforehand.

Divide the students into groups, each with five to ten students. Make a list of things you have hidden in the classroom, playground, or the activity space, wherever you conduct this activity. The students need to find the hidden items in a set time.

You can determine the difficulty level as per the age of the students. To make the game more interesting, provide them with clues instead of a straightforward list.

How does this activity help?

This exciting activity puts all the thinking muscles in action and fosters collaboration, critical thinking, strategy planning, and communication among many other essential skills.

7. Hidden structures

It is another great team-building activity for students. For it, you will need a large structure created with building blocks. Once you have created the structure, hide it from the class.

Start the activity by dividing students into teams and asking them to choose a leader. Now, ask the leader to view the hidden structure. Give them at least 15 seconds to observe it.

The leader has to explain the structure verbally to the team. The team then gets one minute to create the structure based on the explanation.

The team that manages to create the structure closest to the original wins.

How does this activity help?

This team-building activity promotes creative thinking, imagination, collaboration, listening, and cooperation.

8. Snakes

Divide your class into smaller groups, each with five to six members. Ask them to stand in a line with their hands on the shoulder of the one standing right ahead. Blindfold all the students except the one standing at the last position. Scatter some soft stuff on the floor.

Each team has to navigate the floor and collect the objects scattered on the floor. The students standing at the end position without the blindfolds must guide the team members without any verbal communication.

How does this activity help?

It helps to strengthen non-verbal communication strategies and fosters trust between peers.

9. Cup pyramid

Cup pyramid is one of the best classroom games for kids. You will need some rubber bands, strings, and paper cups for this activity. Make smaller groups with at least four to five members in each group.

Now take a rubber band and attach strings to it. Number of strings depends on the number of students in each group. For instance, if there are five members in one group, attach five strings to the rubber band.

Each team has to grab the cup with the help of this rubber band device. Each member must grab the rubber band with the help of the string and pick up cups without touching it with their hands. The teams have to make a cup pyramid without touching the cups.

Make it a time-based task. The team that makes the tallest pyramid in set time wins.

How does this activity help?

The cup pyramid game helps in promoting teamwork and coordination.

10. Discussions in a circle

The ideal group size for this group activity for students is 20. Divide students into groups of ten and ask each group to create two concentration rings – an inner circle and an outer circle with each student facing the one standing opposite to them in the other circle.

Ask a question aloud or give a topic for discussion. Give three minutes to the pair to discuss the answer or the topic. After five minutes, ask the students in the outer circle to move one step ahead. This will change the partners.

Now ask another question or provide a topic for discussion. Give another three minutes to the new pair to discuss the responses, and so on and so forth.

This is a great exercise to let students indulge in educational, informative, and meaningful discussions with their partners.

How does this activity help?

This team-building activity for large groups makes way for some healthy discussions, stimulating knowledge, friendships, trust, and mutual respect among peers.

The bottom line

Team building activities aren’t just icebreakers for adults. They serve a better purpose for children. From encouraging teamwork, critical and creative thinking these activities are more than simple fun. These also teach time management skills, non-verbal and verbal communication skills, active listening, and coordination. The true essence of teamwork begins from home and school to create friendships, understanding, and mutual respect.