Vol. XII No. 2
January 2000
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Classroom building and teambuilding activities
Source: Abrami, P.C., Chambers, B., Poulsen, C, DeSimon,
C, D'Apollonaia, S. & Howden, J. (1995). Classroom Connections. Harcourt
Brace & Company.
Ice Breaker Activities
Human Treasure Hunt - "find someone who..."- (also known as Human
bingo and people search) This activity asks members of a group to find
out a bit more about their classmates by finding a person who corresponds
to a variety of descriptions (e.g., find someone who… has lived
in another country, is afraid of heights, likes to garden, etc.)
Name Cards - Students are given name tags on which they indicate
their own name in the middle and then words representing a variety of
information that they wish to share about themselves (e.g., their birthplace,
a favorite activity, a memorable event) in each of the four corners. After
the sharing time, students are then grouped and asked to decide on a group
name based on things they have in common.
Appreciation and Trust Activities
Uncommon commonalties - Both an activity for exploring diversity
and building team identity, this small group discussion activity pushes
a team to determine a tight connection that binds all members together
(e.g., we all dislike peas, we all sing in the shower, etc.)
Star Discoveries - the objective of this activity is to find
five reasons that a certain group member deserves recognition without
asking that person. Each group member is given a person to research and
they are permitted to ask everyone in the class questions about that person
except the given person!
Goal and Norm Setting Activities
Class contract - brainstorm a list of things that happen in the
classroom which make it difficult to learn and from that list come to
a consensus on a series of "We will…" statements which becomes
the official classroom contract to be posted on the wall.
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