Team building has nothing to do with school? Let us prove you wrong! Team building games for students are not only effective, but also teach your students important lessons for their later life, such as cooperation, team spirit and communication. If the activities are also fun, it’s a win-win situation for you and your students. That’s why we show you the 7 best team building ideas for students.
Psst: Looking for some booze-free game option to play with your adult group of friends or colleagues? Then check out our list of fun group games for adults.
As a teacher, you play a key role in preparing students for their future lives at university and in the workplace. Team building games can help you to introduce your students to topics such as group dynamics, working in a team and collaboration in an effortless way.
We show you the most important advantages of team building in the classroom, and introduce you to the best team games for students, including learnings and instructions. Our list is concise, but multi-faceted: from classic get-to-know activities to fun online games, everything is included. So there surely will be something for everyone! Look at our 8 favorite team building games without materials that require (almost) zero prep time for more inspiration!
Team building at school: Benefits
Regular team building is very common in the corporate world. But many of its principles can be applied to school as well. The right team building activities are like a toolbox full of games that help students work better together and feel like a team. Here are some reasons why this is important:
- Improved collaboration: When students can work as a team in the classroom, they find it easier to share ideas, solve problems together, and support each other. This is important for projects and tasks they need to complete together.
- Strengthening self-confidence: Team building can strengthen self-confidence. When students realize that they are valued in the group and their contributions are important, their self-confidence will also increase.
- Fun and motivation: Team building is fun! If pupils or students have fun, they are more motivated to go to school or university and also actively participate there. This also increases the enthusiasm for learning.
- Social Skills: Team building activities help young people develop better social skills. They learn how to communicate well with each other, listen and resolve conflicts – skills that are very useful in life.
- Friendships: Team building can help foster friendships. When students get to know each other better and feel comfortable in class, they can make new friends more easily.
- Positive Learning Environment: When the class feels like a team, the learning environment becomes more positive. Students are more likely to ask questions, actively participate in class, and learn better when they are in a supportive community.
- Preparation for the future: In later life, most people will have to work in teams. Team building at school or university helps young people develop important skills for the future.
Big Group Games
Entertaining a large group of people can be a challenge, whether it be students or colleagues. Take a look at our list of fun big group games to find the right fit for your needs!
7 Team building ideas for students
Theoretically, almost all team building games that used by teams can also be implemented in the classroom. However, especially for young people, we recommend choosing activities that are as exciting and fun as possible. We’ve collected 7 entertaining team games, that will also take the team spirit of your class to the next level.
1. Team-Bingo
Bingo reminds you more of a retirement home game than something that would work at school? We understand, but our team bingo will definitely convince you otherwise! Team bingo is a simple and effective team building activity that is great for the classroom, especially when there isn’t much time. The game’s goal is for participants to get to know each other better and discover commonalities.
This is how it works:
The preparation for this game is minimal. All you need are prepared bingo slips with different activities, traits, or characteristics listed in each box. Make sure the bingo slips are appropriate for the age group and context. Here are a few examples:
- “Find someone who has a sister”
- “Find someone who speaks more than two languages”
- “Find someone who has been abroad for an extended period of time”
- “Find someone who plays a musical instrument”
The students are then each given a bingo slip and a pen. Their task is to walk around the class talking to their classmates. The goal is to find as many people as possible who match a trait or characteristic on the bingo slip. The first person to fill a row wins!
Educational benefits:
Team bingo is very beneficial in the classroom for the following reasons:
- Icebreaker: The game helps to reduce inhibitions and facilitate the beginning of a group interaction, as participants are forced to engage with each other.
- Getting to know each other: The activity allows participants to get to know each other on a personal level and discover commonalities they might not have immediately recognized.
- Communication: Interaction while filling out the bingo encourages communication and sharing of information between students.
- Group dynamics: The game helps to create a positive group dynamic and strengthens the team feeling, because students get in contact with each other in an effortless manner.
- Fun: Team Bingo is entertaining and provides a casual atmosphere that makes the team building experience positive.
2. Monax Island: Gamification in Education
Monax Island is the first team building online game specifically designed to improve teamwork with the use of gamification. Especially for students, the game is great because it introduces aspects like group dynamics, social learning and communication in a playful setting. In addition, online games are an exciting medium for students to engage with. Learn more about Monax Island as a new social learning method.
This is how it works:
Only one thing is certain on Monax Island: You can only escape together! Let one team member start the session and invite the others to join. The game is intuitive and well explained, so getting started does not take a lot of work. Your main task on Monax Island is to work together as a team to escape from the deserted island where you are stranded. Solve the puzzles and excel at the clever mini-games that take skills to solve. Oh, and beware of the native species that lives on Monax Island – they might have it in for you….
To maximize the educational benefits of the game, we recommend that you work on a few reflection questions with the students afterward to better understand the dynamics in the group. Who took which role in the game and why? Who took the helm? Who was reserved?
Educational benefits:
- Group Dynamics: Monax Isand aims to improve group dynamics within teams. Especially in school, a good community and dynamic within the class is crucial to resolve conflicts and build good relationships.
- Social Learning: Monax Island is an excellent soft skill training for communication and teamwork. Student’s behavior during the game can showcase strengths and weaknesses of the individuals within the group.
- Personality test: On the basis of Monax Island, you can determine certain character traits of your students. The game will reveal who likes to take the helm, who listens to their gut feeling, or who is more inclined to make strategic decisions. Getting to know your own strengths, weaknesses, and behavior patterns is not so straight-forward. In the game, you can then analyze how and in what form the individual personalities came through. Discuss the results with the students afterward.
Useful for the classroom:
3. Team Film Production
The “Team Film Production” game is an entertaining and educational team building activity that is particularly suitable for students. Here, students can let their creative side shine through and work together on an exciting project.
Here’s how it works:
The process of the game is quite simple. First, the teams are given a predetermined topic or overarching theme with some keywords. This can be a general concept such as “friendship” or something more specific, such as “environmental protection.” The teams then have the task of creating a short video or film on this topic within a given time (for example, 1 to 1.5 hours).
Students must plan creatively, develop ideas, assign roles within their team (e.g., actor, director, camera operator), shoot, and finally edit. Several skills are encouraged, including teamwork, creativity, communication, problem solving, and technical skills if they use video editing software.
After the videos have been created, the teams have the opportunity to show their work to the entire group. Afterwards, a discussion can take place about how the students felt about the collaboration, what challenges they overcame, and what lessons they can learn from the process.
Educational benefits:
This team building activity offers various learning opportunities for students.
- Firstly, it promotes team work, since participants must work closely together to achieve a common goal.
- Secondly, it strengthens creative skills, as students must be able to develop and implement innovative ideas.
- Lastly, it provides an opportunity for personal development as participants take responsibility and improve their skills in various areas such as planning, acting, and editing.
In addition, this activity enables an effortless and fun learning environment that increases motivation. Students can express themselves creatively in an informal atmosphere, something that is often neglected in everyday school life anyway. At the same time, they develop important team skills that will be of great benefit in their future academic or professional lives. In summary, the mini-film production is a great way to foster students’ teamwork and creative skills while they have fun and learn from each other.
4. Low-Tech Social Network
By now, most young people are very familiar with social networks. In this game, however, the social network is not experienced on a cell phone or laptop, but in the physical classroom. The game is great for getting to know each other and breaking the ice, especially when you’re working with a new class.
This is how it works:
As a group, you will build the social network that is currently in the room. Use either a poster board, a flip chart, or simply the whiteboard. All students create a small card with their name as well as a drawn profile picture (a very fun way to start) and attach it to the big board.
Then, students can make connections within the network. They draw lines between people they already know or have been in contact with before. We recommend labeling the lines e.g. “Friendship”, “Common Kindergarten”, “Same Hobby” etc…. Who knows, maybe the students will even discover connections they were unaware of?
Educational benefit:
The initial creation of the network will be a bit messy. We recommend that, if possible, you leave the network hanging for a few more weeks. This will allow students to add or edit new connections over the course of the semester. Observe how the social network changes over the weeks. In a follow-up lesson, discuss what new connections students made in class or if they rediscovered old ones.
5. Boat building
Simple but effective, “Boat building” is interactive and offers a change of scenery from the classroom that will further engage students. The game is designed to be fun, but it also strengthens cooperation and the ability to solve problems.
Here’s how it works:
The game preparation is simple and inexpensive. You will need empty milk or juice cartons, tape, and balloons. You can also use other materials that are just lying around and are suitable for the challenge. Turn the milk cartons to small boats by assembling them using the tape. Each team receives the same number of cartons, tape and balloons.
The rules of the game are also straightforward. Teams have a limited amount of time to construct their ships. In doing so, they must be creative and make efficient use of limited resources. Once the ships are built, a competition course is set, such as a body of water like a pond or stream. Teams place their ships in the water and inflate balloons to use as propulsion. The team whose ship travels the farthest wins the game.
Educational benefit:
This game has several advantages for pupils and students:
- Teamwork: The participants must work together to build their ships and successfully use them in the competition. This promotes team spirit and cooperation.
- Creativity: The game requires creative problem-solving skills as teams must use their limited resources to build a functioning ship.
- Communication: Teams need to communicate effectively to share their ideas and plan their strategy.
- Competition: The competitive aspect of the game motivates participants to do their best and make their ships the best they can be.
- Resource Management: The game teaches the importance of resource management and how to work effectively with limited resources.
- Fun: The game is fun and an entertaining way to promote team building and create a positive group dynamic.
6. TED-Talks
This team building activity allows students to prepare and present their own TED Talks in teams. This game not only promotes the development of public speaking skills, but also storytelling and teamwork. Practice makes perfect, as we all know. And who knows what brilliant minds you work with in your class? Let your students prepare their own talks and find the inspirational speakers of tomorrow!
Here’s how it works:
The teams, consisting of about 3 to 5 participants, choose a topic that is interesting and relevant to them. This can be a current social issue, a scientific concept, or a personal concern. The variety of topics encourages creative diversity in the group. Preparation for this TED Talk includes gathering information, developing a clear message or idea, and writing an engaging presentation. Teams should focus on telling a compelling and engaging story to engage the audience.
Each team then presents their TED Talk to the entire group or class. The presentations should have a specific time limit, about 10 to 15 minutes, to ensure that participants learn to speak accurately and effectively.
After each presentation, the other teams and the teacher can give feedback. This helps to improve presentation skills and get suggestions for improvement. Afterward, a discussion can be held about the ideas and topics presented.
Educational benefits:
Overall, this activity provides students with an opportunity to learn important skills, including public speaking, storytelling, teamwork, and creative thinking. It also builds self-confidence and allows participants to express themselves with confidence. In addition, it helps to strengthen bonds and trust within the group.
7. Werewolf
“Werewolf” is a popular group dynamics game well suited for high school and college students. It promotes collaboration, communication, critical thinking and social skills in a fun and interactive environment.
Here’s how it works:
You don’t need any special materials for the game, just instructions and a way to keep the players’ roles secret. It may also be helpful to prepare some cards or pieces of paper on which the roles of the participants are written. The rules of the game are relatively simple, but they require attention and discussion in the group.
The game “Werewolf” is based on a story in which some of the players are secretly werewolves while others are villagers. The goal of the werewolves is to gradually eliminate the villagers without being discovered, while the villagers try to expose the werewolves and banish them from the village.
The game can be played with different roles, and the exact rules may vary because of this. You can find a comprehensive description of the game here.
Learning effect:
“Werewolf” promotes various skills and learning objectives:
- Communication: Players must communicate with each other to share information, exchange suspicions and make joint decisions.
- Critical thinking: The game requires critical thinking to interpret clues and make strategic decisions.
- Teamwork: The villagers must work together to defeat the werewolves, while the werewolves try to conceal their identity together.
- Social skills: “Werewolf” offers opportunities to develop social skills such as observation, empathy and persuasion.
- Fun and social interaction: The game offers a fun way to strengthen group dynamics and create a positive group atmosphere.
Overall, Werewolf is a versatile and educational team building game that is not only fun, but also develops participants’ social and cognitive skills. It can be used in school and university contexts to improve collaboration, strategic thinking and social interaction.
