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Group Work Activities for the 8th-12th Grades

One life skill students from the 8th to 12th grade need to learn is how to collaborate with members in a group. A way to accomplish this skill is through group activities. Group work activities require the students to work together to solve a problem. With your imagination and a few ideas, you can organize team activities to encourage learning in the classroom.

Team Building
- Create a few team building activities for your students. Have the students stand in a circle and give them five balloons to toss in the air. They must bump the balloons in the air to keep them from hitting the ground. In five-second increments, add two more balloons into the group. The students must work together to keep the balloons from hitting the ground. When a balloon touches the ground, the activity is over. Create a game by having two groups compete against each other to see who can keep the most balloons in the air.
Sports
- Playing different sports will help preteen and teenage students learn to work together and communicate. In physical education class, students can play a game of volleyball, baseball, soccer, basketball and football. Put a funny twist on team sports with a game of wacky baseball or balloon volleyball. Duct tape a large beach towel around a baseball bat and use a beach ball instead of a baseball for wacky baseball. Use a balloon instead of a volleyball for a game of volleyball.
Games
- Different types of games can teach students how to work together. For a problem-solving game, have the students stand in a circle. Tell everyone to walk towards the middle of the circle and grab the hands of two other students. Each player should have the hands of two different players. Once everyone in the circle has the hands of two different players, the entire group should be tangled up together. When you say ̶0;Go,̶1; they must work together to untangle themselves without letting go of each others' hands. Alternatively, divide the students into two teams and have them compete to see who can complete the task the fastest. An ideal size for this game is 7 to 16 students per group.
Role Playing
- Divide the students into groups of four or five. Give the groups a topic to create a skit about, such as drugs or manners. The students have 30 minutes to work together to create a skit about one of the topics. Tell the students that each person in the group must have a part. After 30 minutes, allow the groups to perform their acts to the class. Encourage the students to try their best by awarding prizes to the most informative, most creative and funniest skits. Prize ideas include decorative pens and notepads.

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