Back to School TeamBuilders

Back to school week and we will do a lot to help construct a collaborative science classroom.  Here are 3 quick & fun activities I use to close a period or fill time in an extended class (our lunch period is always long the 1st few days) during Back to School week.

#1: A to Z TeamBuilder

This is my favorite teambuilding activity. You can do one topic at the end of a class period (5 or 6 minutes), or do all 4 if you have extended time. 

Have students pair up with a neighbor (make a group of 3 if your class is odd numbered). You could have them change partners after each topic to have them work with more people.

The goal is to come up with words that start with each of the 26 letters of the alphabet which fit in a topic you will give them. They likely will NOT get all 26 in 4 minutes. Give them a few examples from a sample topic:   “If we did CITIES… C for Chicago, L for Los Angeles, B for Boston”

RULES/TIPS FOR STUDENTS

• Write a word that starts with each of the 26 letters of the alphabet which fits the topic.
• Do NOT go in alphabetical order (this is too hard).
• You must pass the paper back and forth and each person must write.
• If you get stuck, you can pass the paper back to your partner (once or twice).
• NO TALKING (or have them whisper). If they are talking loudly other groups will “steal” their answers.

Give them 4 Minutes. Announce the 2 minute & 30 seconds time remaining marks.

When you call "Time!," announce:

“Circle the Letters you did not get. Subtract that number from 26 and write your score. Show of hands, how many groups got…” Start at about 18 and keep raising the number until you have the winner(s). Poll the class for answers they used for the tough letters that other groups didn’t get.

A to Z Topics

Musical Acts

Bands/Groups: First Letter in First Word of their name
Solo performers: First Letter of Last Name unless they go by one name only

Clothing & Shoes

Can use brands or generic names … S for Shirt, or P for Polo

Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles

Makes or models

Food & Places to Buy Food

Types of Food or brands (includes candy) … C for Cake, L for Little Debbie 
Restaurants, grocery stores, convenience store

Subject Specific

“Things we will do in Chemistry Class this year”

“Jobs that use Math”

#2: Guess the Fib

This will take 5-10 minutes. Students write 4 statements about themselves with one of them being false. Have them exchange their sheet a few times with different neighbors allowing them to guess which statement is their fib. (Don’t write on another person’s paper when guessing.) They might write: number of siblings, where or who they visited this summer, hobbies, sports, number of pets, their age, their favorite color/food/music group/restaurant/teams.You can start them off by showing or reading a Guess the Fib for yourself and let the class guess your fib.

#3: Line Up

This one is quick, easy, quiet, and gets the students up and moving. Students are not allowed to talk. They can use hand signals only.

Line Up Topics

1) Start with an easy one:  Height: Make one side of the room shortest and other tallest

2) A good one is Birthdate (Month & Day). Check their line up by having them announce their birth date down the line.

3) # of Siblings

4) # of Pets

Grab these TeamBuilding worksheets and explanations Free from my TpT store: