25 Best Team-Building Games and Activities for the Classroom

Are you searching for engaging methods to teach students to collaborate, listen attentively, communicate effectively, and think innovatively? Look no further! Here are some exciting team-building activities designed specifically for children. These activities not only provide a platform for students to get to know each other, but they also foster trust within the community, helping them acquire essential life skills that extend well beyond the classroom.

Benefits of Team-Building Games for Kids

Implementing team-building games for kids is an excellent way to cultivate a sense of community at the beginning of the school year or any time throughout the year. These activities are not only enjoyable (and what child doesn’t enjoy having fun?), they also help children:

Develop Communication Skills

Through teamwork, students learn to articulate their ideas clearly and engage in active listening. Both verbal and non-verbal communication skills are crucial for classroom engagement and success in everyday life.

Encourage Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Many of these activities involve puzzles or challenges. Collaborating to tackle these problems encourages students to think creatively, plan strategically, and stay persistent even when faced with difficulties.

Foster Collaboration and Cooperation

Teamwork can be challenging at times. Kids need to learn to respect differing ideas and perspectives while also learning to advocate for their own thoughts and actively engage.

Boost Confidence and Promote Leadership Skills

Contributing to a team effort and achieving a collective goal can be incredibly fulfilling. When a student gains the confidence to take on a leadership role, it positively impacts their self-esteem in enduring ways.

Promote Social Inclusion and Foster Friendships

Interacting with unfamiliar peers can sometimes feel daunting. However, team-building games provide a structured environment that encourages students to venture outside their comfort zones. It also allows them to connect with new friends, develop empathy, and strengthen their sense of belonging.

Teach Conflict Resolution Skills

Team-building activities are ideal for teaching conflict resolution skills. Conflicts can arise in any group setting, and these moments offer a valuable opportunity for you, as their teacher, to model and guide students through constructive resolution processes.

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Problem-Solving Activities for Kids

1. What’s My Name

• Objective: This game encourages students to mingle, ask questions, and use deductive reasoning as they attempt to guess the name attached to their forehead.
• Materials: Sticky notes
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Write the names of well-known figures (like actors, athletes, or characters from popular media) on sticky notes.
2. Once every student has a name on their forehead, set a timer and instruct students to circulate the room, asking yes-or-no questions to deduce their identity.
3. Continue until everyone guesses their identity or time runs out.

2. Categories

• Objective: Students collaborate in small groups to categorize items.
• Materials: A tray with 20 unrelated items, or an image of 20 unrelated items
• Participants: Groups of 3 or 4

How to play:

1. Prepare a tray with 20 unrelated items (e.g., a book, an eraser, a juice box), or create a document with images to project on a screen.
2. Divide students into groups and set a timer.
3. Each group should categorize the items into four logical categories (e.g., clothing items, tools, etc.).
4. Groups should work quietly to keep their ideas confidential.
5. Once finished, allow each group to present their categories and the rationale behind their choices.

3. Flip the Tarp Challenge

• Objective: Students work together to flip over a tarp while standing on it.
• Materials: A flat sheet, tarp, or blanket
• Participants: 2 teams

How to play:

1. Split students into two teams. One team will attempt the challenge while the other team observes, then they will switch roles.
2. Gather one team on a flat sheet, tarp, or blanket, ensuring they occupy all but a quarter of the space.
3. Students must collaborate to figure out how to flip the sheet/tarp without stepping off or touching the ground.

4. Scavenger Hunt

• Objective: Students work together to explore the classroom/school and learn about each other through a scavenger hunt.
• Materials: Scavenger hunt lists
• Participants: Pairs

How to play:

1. Randomly pair up students.
2. Create a list of important items to find within the classroom and have students write them in their journals (e.g., a pencil sharpener, non-fiction books, etc.).
3. Students work with their partner to check off all items on their list.
4. This is also a great way to familiarize students with the layout of the school (e.g., the library, nurse’s office, lost and found, etc.).

Get To Know You Team-Building Activities

5. Yes, No, Stand Up

• Objective: This simple yes-or-no game is a fun way for younger kids or English language learners to learn about one another.
• Materials: A list of yes-or-no questions
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Before starting, prepare a list of yes-or-no questions for students (e.g., “Do you like chocolate?” “Is your favorite color blue?” “Do you enjoy soccer?”).
2. If a student answers “yes,” they stand up; if “no,” they remain seated.
3. Pause between questions to allow students to look around and find peers with similar answers.
4. If time allows, let students create their own questions.

6. Spiderweb

• Objective: Students sit in a circle and pass a ball of yarn around while sharing about themselves.
• Materials: Ball of multi-colored yarn
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Have students sit in a circle. The leader chooses a topic (favorite food, favorite place, a funny story, something that makes them unique, etc.).
2. The first person, holding the yarn, shares their answer with the group.
3. Holding onto one end of the yarn, they toss the ball (gently) to someone else in the circle.
4. Continue until everyone has had a chance to share.
5. At the end, the yarn will create a colorful “spiderweb,” symbolizing their connection as a community.

7. Birthday Line-Up

• Objective: Students must communicate and cooperate to line up according to their birthdays.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Set a timer for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your students’ age.
2. The goal is to line up in order of their birthdays—January 1 through December 31—before the time runs out.
3. To achieve this, they must talk to one another to figure out their positions.
4. Try this activity using alternative methods, such as by height, alphabetically, or by shoe size.

Outdoor Team-Building Activities for Kids

8. Caterpillar

• Objective: Groups of students (caterpillars) move forward without stepping outside of their Hula-Hoops.
• Materials: 1 Hula-Hoop per student
• Participants: Groups of 4 (if possible)

How to play:

1. Line up teams of four at one end of a field. Each student should stand inside a Hula-Hoop, forming a “caterpillar.”
2. To advance, the last player steps into the hoop with the person in front, lifts their empty hoop, and passes it overhead to the front of the line.
3. The front player places the hoop in front of them and steps into it. All players then shift forward, moving the caterpillar.
4. The first team to cross the finish line wins.

9. Balloon Battle

• Objective: Students race to score a goal using a pool noodle and a balloon.
• Materials: Pool noodles, balloons
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. In this exciting game, students work in teams to bat a balloon over each other’s goal line using a pool noodle.
2. Divide students into two teams and let the game commence.
3. Periodically blow a whistle to allow students to substitute in, ensuring everyone gets a chance to play.
4. The first team to score 10 points wins.

10. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

• Objective: In this playful tag game, students use Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who chases whom.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Before starting, define the boundaries and set a home base at each end for the teams.
2. Divide students into two teams.
3. At the start of each round, both teams huddle to decide whether they will be rock, paper, or scissors.
4. The two teams line up facing each other, and on your signal, all players reveal their choice.
5. The losing team must run back to their base before being tagged by the winning team.
6. If your students enjoy this game, consider trying various fun tag game variations.

11. Orange Relay

• Objective: Students race to pick oranges up using only their knees and hop to transfer them to a target.
• Materials: Oranges, Hula-Hoops
• Participants: 2 teams

How to play:

1. Have students form two equal lines.
2. Place a bowl of oranges at the front of each line. The first two students each take an orange and squeeze it between their knees.
3. Next, they hop or take tiny steps to deposit their orange into a Hula-Hoop located across the field.
4. Once their teammate’s orange is deposited, the next student goes. This continues until time runs out.
5. The team that transfers the most oranges within the time limit wins.

12. Tic-Tac-Toe Relay

• Objective: Students engage in a real-life tic-tac-toe game.
• Materials: Hula-Hoops, beanbags
• Participants: Teams

How to play:

1. Set out Hula-Hoops to form a tic-tac-toe grid.
2. Divide students into two teams and provide each team with a supply of differently colored beanbags.
3. One student from each team runs to the grid and drops a beanbag in their chosen spot.
4. After tagging the next runner, the process repeats.
5. The game continues until one team gets three beanbags in a row!

Team-Building Games for Kids That Foster Cooperation

13. Hula-Hoop Pass

• Objective: Students collaborate to pass a Hula-Hoop around a circle.
• Materials: Hula-Hoop
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Students stand in a circle and join hands.
2. Unclasp one pair’s hands and place the Hula-Hoop between them, then have them rejoin their hands.
3. The goal is to pass the Hula-Hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of each other’s hands.
4. Students will need to work together, listen, coordinate, and strategize to navigate the Hula-Hoop successfully.

14. Elbow Pass

• Objective: This simple passing game encourages students to cooperate, maintain eye contact, and share some laughs.
• Materials: Four-square ball or similar-sized ball
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Students form a line.
2. The first student holds a ball between their elbows in front of their chest and passes it to the next player.
3. This continues down the line.
4. If the ball drops, they start over at the beginning.

15. Move On, Back Up, Flip

• Objective: Students form a circle and must cooperate to follow instructions.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Students form a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.
2. When you say “Move on,” students make a hop forward together.
3. When you say “Back up,” they hop backward together.
4. When you say “Flip,” they turn 180 degrees and place their hands on the shoulders of the person who was behind them.

16. Straw Balance

• Objective: This fun balancing activity requires coordination and teamwork.
• Materials: Plastic straws
• Participants: Whole group

How to play:

1. Students form a large circle and each one receives a plastic straw.
2. The challenge is to balance each straw between one person’s right pointer finger and the left pointer finger of the person next to them.
3. Encourage students to make movements like rotating the circle, squatting, or raising one foot while maintaining the straw connections.
4. The objective is to complete these movements while keeping the straws balanced.

Circle Games That Build Community

17. Bumpity-ump-bump-bump

• Objective: Students race to follow directions and learn each other’s names.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. Students form a large circle with one student in the center.
2. The student in the middle walks around the inside, stops in front of another student, and gives them a direction.
3. There are four options: Left = say the name of the person to their left. Right = say the name of the person to their right. It = say the name of the person who is “it.” Self = say one’s own name.
4. After giving the direction, they say “bumpity-ump-bump-bump!”
5. The student who was given the direction races to say the correct name before the phrase ends.
6. If they fail, they switch places with the student in the center.

18. Zip, Zap, Boing!

• Objective: This lively game involves strategy and quick thinking.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Whole group

How to play:

1. In this energetic circle game, players must listen carefully, think quickly, and perform actions—Zip, Zap, and Boing.
2. Zip means pointing to the person on your right, Zap means pointing to the person on your left, and Boing means pointing to someone directly opposite in the circle.
3. All students place their palms together at their chest as pointers.
4. The first player initiates by calling one of the actions and pointing appropriately. The next player chooses the subsequent action, and play continues around the circle.
5. Try to play as quickly as possible. If a player executes the wrong action, they are out. The last player standing wins.

STEM Team-Building Activities

19. Marshmallow Tower Challenge

• Objective: This STEM challenge encourages students to construct a sturdy tower.
• Materials: Marshmallows, wooden toothpicks
• Participants: Partners or small groups

How to play:

1. Divide students into pairs or small groups of equal sizes.
2. Provide each group with an equal number of marshmallows and wooden toothpicks.
3. Challenge the groups to build the tallest, largest, or most creative structure within a set timeframe, with each member taking turns to build.
4. Afterward, have each group present their creation.

20. No-Hands Cup-Stacking Challenge

• Objective: Students will use patience and teamwork to stack cups using pipe cleaners (or strings) and a rubber band.
• Materials: Stacking cups, rubber band, pipe cleaners, or string
• Participants: Pairs or small groups

How to play:

1. Pair up younger students and start with a rubber band attached to two pipe cleaners.
2. Each student takes one end of a pipe cleaner.
3. Together, they must maneuver the rubber band to fit over the top of a stacking cup (without using their hands!).
4. They will work together to create a tower of stacked cups.
5. You can divide older students into groups of four or five, adding more strings to the rubber band and completing the same task.

21. No-Hands Drawing Challenge

• Objective: Students will collaborate to maneuver a pen using strings.
• Materials: Markers, string, paper
• Participants: Small groups

How to play:

1. This fun “no hands” activity requires teamwork and patience.
2. Divide students into small groups and give each group a marker attached to strings.
3. Tell them what they need to draw, such as a tree, a house, or a shape.
4. Groups will gather around a desk or small table, with each student holding the end of their string to support the pen over the paper.
5. The challenge is to manipulate the pen to draw the specified image.

More Team-Building Games and Activities for Kids

22. Hot and Cold

• Objective: Students guide a “finder” to locate an object in the classroom using the prompts “hot” or “cold.”
• Materials: Classroom objects
• Participants: Whole class

How to play:

1. One student, the “finder,” steps out of the classroom.
2. The rest of the class selects an object in the room for the finder to locate.
3. When the finder returns, they start searching for the object.
4. If they are far from the object, the group will say “cold.” When they get closer, they will say “hot.”
5. Continue until the finder successfully identifies the object.
6. Variation: Instead of “hot” and “cold,” students can softly applaud for cold or applaud vigorously for hot.

23. Body Parts

• Objective: Following instructions, students aim to be the first to grab a plastic cup.
• Materials: Small plastic cups
• Participants: Pairs

How to play:

1. Students stand facing their partner, with a plastic cup on the ground between them.
2. When the leader calls out a body part, players must move both hands to that spot—knees, toes, shoulders, hips, etc.
3. Upon saying “Cup!” each person tries to snatch the cup.
4. The student who successfully grabs the cup remains in the game, while the others are out for the round.
5. Students then pair with new partners, and play continues until one winner remains.

24. Human Alphabet

• Objective: Students will form letters of the alphabet using their bodies.
• Materials: None
• Participants: Individuals and partners

How to play:

1. Students spread out and learn how to form letters with their bodies (e.g., standing tall with arms out to form a T, or raising arms at angles to form a V).
2. Once they grasp individual letters, call out short words. Start with two-letter words (e.g., on, so, it), then progress to three-letter words (e.g., and, now), and finally four-letter words (e.g., past, four).
3. Students must collaborate to correctly form each word with their bodies.

25. Back-to-Back Artists

• Objective: This blind drawing activity requires teamwork and clear communication as one student directs the other to draw a picture.
• Materials: Drawing paper, pen or marker, sample drawings
• Participants: Partners

How to play:

1. Students pair up and sit back-to-back.
2. One student receives a blank piece of paper and a pen or marker, while the other gets a picture of a simple object.
3. The student with the illustration describes how to draw it step-by-step without revealing the name of the object.
4. The other student must create the drawing based solely on verbal instructions.
5. Afterward, the pair compares the drawing to the original image to see how closely they matched.

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For more great ideas, check out 45 of the Best Cooperative Games To Promote Camaraderie and Healthy Competition.