group problem solving for middle school

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

• Classroom Ideas
• Teacher’s Life
• Deals & Shopping
• Privacy Policy

20 Problem-Solving Activities For Middle School: Discussions, Games, Strategies, And Resources

November 20, 2023 //  by  Lesa M.K. Bullins, EdS

Problem-solving skills are important to the building of critical thinking, which in turn strengthens student executive function. Good problem solvers can build stronger cognitive flexibility, a critical component of executive functioning.

The teenage years are a crucial time for neuroplasticity, so it is a prime time for learning and developing important cognitive skills along with critical information. Bring problem-solving to life in your middle school classroom with these 20 activities.

1. Feelings Expression Scenarios

A huge part of problem-solving is properly expressing your own feelings. Students often struggle to state how they feel without combative, aggressive, or accusatory language; therefore opportunities to practice with realistic situations is a key problem-solving component. You can create scenario task cards to support students in realistic applications for relatable situations, or use pre-made cards.

Learn More:  Pinterest

2. Empathy Empowered Discussions

In addition to being able to calmly and kindly express one's feelings, empathy is a key problem-solving component. Teens can often struggle to express empathy as they have difficulty recognizing and interpreting due to the teenage brain functioning.

Teenage brains are still developing, so different areas of the brain are controlling different functions than we see in adult brains; furthermore, since teens are still figuring out what they think and feel about a variety of things, it can be difficult for them to recognize and consider the feelings and thoughts of others. You can instigate empathy discussions through relatable content like this short video.

Learn More:  Austin Wideman

3. Model, Model, Model...and then Model Some More!

Students learn more from what they see you do than what they hear you say! This means you have to be an active and purposeful model of what you expect. So make sure you are aware of your actions and words in front of your students!

Learn More:  Education World

4. Get Out of the Way

We need to allow students the time and space to solve problems. We cannot intervene every time they struggle to find the answer right away. Constant intervention hinders critical thinking and decision-making skills.

Make sure to leave some room for students to figure out solutions. Keep safe proximity so students have the comfort to know you are there if they cannot find a solution, but resist the urge to jump in as soon as you see them struggling.

Learn More:  Brookings

5. Plan a Road Trip

Engage problem-solving skills within context while reinforcing math, research, geography, and communication skills, too! Students can plan a road trip from start to finish in small groups. As an added bonus, you can let students travel virtually to the places they planned for their trip using Google Earth.

If time allows, they can even take screenshots and stage selfies for a presentation to share their trip with the class! This is a really great cross-curricular activity for the digital classroom, too!

6. Escape the Room

Escape rooms were made for problem-solving, so what better way to build these skills for students in an exciting way! Create different challenge activities surrounding a variety of subjects and skills to reinforce while lettings students put problem-solving to use finding practical solutions to escape the room!

Divide kids into teams and get on this engaging problem-solving activity!

7. Teach Explicit Strategies for Reflection

Students can build analytical skills by reflecting on their problem-solving process. Teach explicit skills to help students recognize and reflect on how they solve problems to reinforce future use and strengthen overall critical thinking abilities. Check out how Ellie from Cognitive Cardio made it work even in the time constraints of middle school schedules!

Learn More:  Cognitive Cardio With MSMM

8. Daily Practice

Give students short, interesting, and challenging problems to solve during the morning and afternoon transition times. Daily practice solving challenges is important for cognitive development and reinforces academic skills! You can find tons of daily challenges online or create your own.

9. Build Something

Let students work together in teams to build something from simple building materials. Increase the challenge by limiting resources or requiring students to pick their own resources for building blocks from a variety of random items. You can check out the marshmallow toothpick tower-building activity!

Learn more: Wow Sci

10. Blind Drawing Partners

Students can work in partner pairs or small groups to develop a vast array of abilities through this problem-solving activity. Blind team-building activities are excellent, low-prep ways to engage students' critical thinking and communication!

There are different ways you can implement this, but check out this video for an example of one application of the blind drawing game.

Learn more: Philip Barry

11. Laser Maze

Create a laser maze for students to get active in problem-solving. Create and implement different time durations to increase the challenge. Do not have lasers? No budget for lasers? Don't worry, red painter's tape will do the job!

Learn More:  That Phillips Family

12. Shared Story Puzzles

Creating story puzzles that force students to work in groups together to put together, add on, and create a cohesive story that is meaningful is another challenging task to engage in collaborative problem-solving.

Learn More:  Secondary English Coffee Shop

13. Yarn Webs

This social-skill-building collaborative problem-solving activity is fun for any age. Organize students into teams then let them choose a color of yarn, build a team web, and see who can navigate. There are so many ways this activity can be adapted, but you can watch a video of one interpretation here .

Learn More:  KEYSAmeriCorps

14. Scavenger Hunt

Create a series of clues that students must solve to progress through the game. Working in groups can help build conflict resolution and social skills as well. Check out how to create scavenger hunts for the classroom in this video by Learning Life.

Learn more: Learning Life

15. Boom! Math!

An excellent way to build advanced problem-solving skills, as well as mathematical analysis, is to create math Boom Cards with word problems like these from Math in the Middle. Boom cards are a great activity for students to practice and build skills!

Learn more: Boom Learning

16. Wheel of Solutions

Give students practice in exercising a number of different kinds of problem-solving skills by spinning and communicating a solution using the skills on which they land. You can make one in the classroom with a posterboard or create a digital wheel. Such a fun interactive resource! Use this great pre-made digital activity from Resource Haven on Boom Learning or create your own!

Learn More:  Boom Learning

17. Collaborative Math

Another activity for team building that supports mathematical concept reinforcement is students working together to collaboratively solve math problems. Check out how Runde's Room made sure everyone is engaged in working on solving parts of the problem through the sticky-note collaborative math activity.

18. Get Mysterious

Math Mysteries are a fun activity that builds out-of-the-box thinking and creates an inquisitive environment. Problem-solving develops through the process of inquisition! You can create your own or use Lee and Miller's 40 Fabulous Math Mysteries Kid's Can't Resist Scholastic book found here.

19. Logic Puzzles and Games

In addition to logic-building games like Chess, you can provide logic puzzles for morning and afternoon transitions, during downtime, or for early finishers. Logic puzzles help students think critically. You can make your own or get some prefabricated resources like the ones found in this book by Chris King .

Learn More:  Brainzilla

20. Lead Number Talks

Number talks are important to building problem-solving. Number talks allow students to build on one another in a collaborative way, discuss how they have solved problems before, consider how those solutions may be applicable to new skills they are about to learn, and build depth in math concepts.

So instead of getting quiet, get them talking!

Learn More:  North Dakota Teaching Kayla Durkin

10 Best Problem Solving Activities For Middle School

Published on april 24, 2017 at 8:43 am by amber hewitt in lists , news.

If you’re a teacher or a parent looking to engage young students in a more interesting way, you might like this list of the best problem solving activities for middle school .

I wonder if middle schoolers could solve my life problems. Can they file my taxes or pay my rent? Those are some real problems that I have and I think they could be somewhat fun activities for middle schoolers. It’s interesting how problem-solving scenarios change as we age because I genuinely can’t identify with the struggle of theoretical problems involving trains or the alphabet, but I’m sure I enjoyed them when I was younger. I think my friends and I really used to love finding these things and solving them together, which is kind of a cute group activity.

pathdoc/Shutterstock.com

Problem solving is a great way to strengthen and train the brain for more difficult things as we age. They teach you teamwork, logic, and skill, which are all extremely important for developing minds. Even into adulthood you should continue solving theoretical problems like these because they’ll keep your brain strong and focused so your other issues like “how late can I sleep while still getting to work on time?” or “how much money will I have in my bank account if I order dinner every single night this week?” Those are obviously much more challenging than the fun problem-solving activities for preschoolers , or even this list with activities for kids in middle school.

In order to create this list, we used Concordia University and IceBreaker as some primary sources. We took the suggestions that were the highest ranked on both sources and averaged their rankings. If they were on both lists, they’re at a higher position on ours. Overall, each of these activities is well suited for middle school-aged children who need a little mental exercise.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best problem solving activities for middle school.

Slideshow List XFinance problem solving games for kids group problem solving scenarios Animals Problem Solving Activity short problem solving activities problem solving games for groups Laser Web Problem Solving Activity Clue Me In Problem Solving Activity creative problem solving activities problem solving activities for kids Alphabet Game Problem Solving Activity Group Drawing Problem Solving Activity Moral Dilemma Problem Solving Activity Walking The Plank Problem Solving Activity Survivor Scenarios Problem Solving Activity Brainstorm Bonanza Problem Solving Activity 18 fun problem-solving activities for preschoolers The Problem-Solving Box Activity for Middle School 10 Best Problem Solving Activities For Middle School Show more... Show less

ChatGPT for Teachers

Trauma-informed practices in schools, teacher well-being, cultivating diversity, equity, & inclusion, integrating technology in the classroom, social-emotional development, covid-19 resources, invest in resilience: summer toolkit, civics & resilience, all toolkits, degree programs, trauma-informed professional development, teacher licensure & certification, how to become - career information, classroom management, instructional design, lifestyle & self-care, online higher ed teaching, current events, 5 problem-solving activities for the classroom.

Problem-solving skills are necessary in all areas of life, and classroom problem solving activities can be a great way to get students prepped and ready to solve real problems in real life scenarios. Whether in school, work or in their social relationships, the ability to critically analyze a problem, map out all its elements and then prepare a workable solution is one of the most valuable skills one can acquire in life.

Educating your students about problem solving skills from an early age in school can be facilitated through classroom problem solving activities. Such endeavors encourage cognitive as well as social development, and can equip students with the tools they’ll need to address and solve problems throughout the rest of their lives. Here are five classroom problem solving activities your students are sure to benefit from as well as enjoy doing:

1. Brainstorm bonanza

Having your students create lists related to whatever you are currently studying can be a great way to help them to enrich their understanding of a topic while learning to problem-solve. For example, if you are studying a historical, current or fictional event that did not turn out favorably, have your students brainstorm ways that the protagonist or participants could have created a different, more positive outcome. They can brainstorm on paper individually or on a chalkboard or white board in front of the class.

2. Problem-solving as a group

Have your students create and decorate a medium-sized box with a slot in the top. Label the box “The Problem-Solving Box.” Invite students to anonymously write down and submit any problem or issue they might be having at school or at home, ones that they can’t seem to figure out on their own. Once or twice a week, have a student draw one of the items from the box and read it aloud. Then have the class as a group figure out the ideal way the student can address the issue and hopefully solve it.

3. Clue me in

This fun detective game encourages problem-solving, critical thinking and cognitive development. Collect a number of items that are associated with a specific profession, social trend, place, public figure, historical event, animal, etc. Assemble actual items (or pictures of items) that are commonly associated with the target answer. Place them all in a bag (five-10 clues should be sufficient.) Then have a student reach into the bag and one by one pull out clues. Choose a minimum number of clues they must draw out before making their first guess (two- three). After this, the student must venture a guess after each clue pulled until they guess correctly. See how quickly the student is able to solve the riddle.

4. Survivor scenarios

Create a pretend scenario for students that requires them to think creatively to make it through. An example might be getting stranded on an island, knowing that help will not arrive for three days. The group has a limited amount of food and water and must create shelter from items around the island. Encourage working together as a group and hearing out every child that has an idea about how to make it through the three days as safely and comfortably as possible.

5. Moral dilemma

Create a number of possible moral dilemmas your students might encounter in life, write them down, and place each item folded up in a bowl or bag. Some of the items might include things like, “I saw a good friend of mine shoplifting. What should I do?” or “The cashier gave me an extra $1.50 in change after I bought candy at the store. What should I do?” Have each student draw an item from the bag one by one, read it aloud, then tell the class their answer on the spot as to how they would handle the situation.

Classroom problem solving activities need not be dull and routine. Ideally, the problem solving activities you give your students will engage their senses and be genuinely fun to do. The activities and lessons learned will leave an impression on each child, increasing the likelihood that they will take the lesson forward into their everyday lives.

You may also like to read

• Classroom Activities for Introverted Students
• Activities for Teaching Tolerance in the Classroom
• 5 Problem-Solving Activities for Elementary Classrooms
• 10 Ways to Motivate Students Outside the Classroom
• Motivating Introverted Students to Excel in the Classroom
• How to Engage Gifted and Talented Students in the Classroom

Categorized as: Tips for Teachers and Classroom Resources

Tagged as: Assessment Tools ,  Engaging Activities

• Online & Campus Doctorate (EdD) in Higher Edu...
• Degrees and Certificates for Teachers & Educa...
• Programming Teacher: Job Description and Sala...

The Edvocate

• Lynch Educational Consulting
• Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
• Write For Us
• The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
• The Edvocate Podcast
• Terms and Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Assistive Technology
• Best PreK-12 Schools in America
• Child Development
• Classroom Management
• Early Childhood
• EdTech & Innovation
• Education Leadership
• First Year Teachers
• Gifted and Talented Education
• Special Education
• Parental Involvement
• Policy & Reform
• Best Colleges and Universities
• Best College and University Programs
• HBCU’s
• Higher Education EdTech
• Higher Education
• International Education
• The Awards Process
• Finalists and Winners of The 2022 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
• Award Seals
• GPA Calculator for College
• GPA Calculator for High School
• Cumulative GPA Calculator
• Grade Calculator
• Weighted Grade Calculator
• Final Grade Calculator
• The Tech Edvocate
• AI Powered Personal Tutor

Tips for Finding Time for Hobbies as a Busy Medical Student

What is a interrogative pronoun examples, teaching students about the tallest basketball player: a lesson in inspiration, what are adaptive skills for special needs, what are adaptive goals for iep, what are adaptive skills on an iep, what are 4 examples of adaptive behavior, what is an adaptive behavior classroom, is adaptive teaching the same as differentiation, is adaptive learning artificial intelligence, problem-solving activities for middle school students.

In middle school, students are faced with a lot of new challenges. From making friends to figuring out their future: these years can be full of new opportunities and challenges. If your child is facing a problem they can’t solve, there are a variety of activities available to help them out. Here are ten problem-solving activities for middle school students:

1. Brainstorm with a group: Group brainstorming can be great for solving problems. By coming up with as many ideas as possible, your child can get a greater variety of perspectives on the problem. This can help them to find solutions they may not have thought of on their own.

2. Research the problem: If your child is having trouble understanding the problem they’re facing, researching the topic can help. This can help them to understand the root cause of the problem and how to fix it.

3. Try different solutions: If your child is stuck on a problem, trying different solutions can help. This can help them to find the best solution for the situation.

4. Take breaks: If your child is struggling with a problem, taking a break can help them to clear their head. This will allow them to come back to the problem with a fresh perspective.

5. Draw a diagram: If your child is having trouble understanding a complex problem, drawing a diagram can help. This can help them to visually understand the problem and how to solve it.

6. Use puzzles and games: Puzzles and games can be great for helping your child explore and learn new concepts. This can help them to understand the problem and how to solve it.

7. Take a test: If your child is having trouble understanding the material, taking a test can help. This can help them to understand the material and how to solve the problem.

8. Try different methods: If your child is having trouble solving a problem, trying different methods can help. This can help them to find the best way to solve the problem.

9. Get help from a tutor: If your child is struggling with a difficult problem, getting help from a tutor can be a great solution. This can help them to understand the material and how to solve the problem.

10. Talk to a parent or guardian: If your child is having trouble dealing with a problem, talking to a parent or guardian can be a great solution. This can help them to understand the problem and how to solve it.

1st Grade Math Games to Enhance Math ...

Student-centered learning environments: how and why.

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author, the power of literature circles in the classroom.

Student Teaching: Everything You Need to Know

Student Information Systems Apps, Tools, and Resources That We Love

How to Meal Prep in College

How to study spelling words: a spelling strategy for students, blended learning models: when blended learning is what’s up for successful students.

• WordPress.org
• Documentation
• Learn WordPress
• Members Newsfeed

20 Critical Thinking Activities for Middle Schoolers

• Middle School Education

Introduction:

  Critical thinking is vital for middle school students, as it helps them develop problem-solving skills, make informed decisions, and understand different perspectives. Integrating critical thinking activities into classroom learning experiences can greatly enhance students’ cognitive abilities. The following are 20 engaging critical thinking activities designed for middle school students.

1. Brain Teasers: Use age-appropriate puzzles to challenge students’ cognitive abilities and encourage them to find creative solutions.

2. Socratic Circles: Divide the class into groups and encourage them to participate in a philosophical discussion on a given topic, asking questions that stimulate critical thinking and deeper understanding.

3. Compare and Contrast: Assign two similar but different texts for students to compare and contrast, analyzing similarities and differences between each author’s perspective.

4. What-If Questions: Encourage children to think critically about hypothetical scenarios by asking what-if questions, such as “What if the internet didn’t exist?”

5. Debate Club: Organize a debate club where students are encouraged to research and defend differing viewpoints on a topic.

6. Mind Mapping: Teach students how to create a mind map – a visual representation of their thoughts – to help them brainstorm complex issues effectively.

7. Mystery Bag: In small groups, give students a bag containing several random objects and ask them to invent an innovative product or story using all items in the bag.

8. Critical Thinking Journal: Have students maintain journals where they analyze their thought processes after completing activities, promoting self-reflection and metacognition.

9. Moral Dilemmas: Present students with moral dilemmas, requiring them to weigh pros and cons before making ethical decisions.

10. Fact or Opinion?: Give students various statements and ask them to differentiate between fact or opinion, helping them build critical thinking skills when handling information.

11. Research Projects: Assign project topics that require deep research from multiple sources, developing students’ abilities to sift through information and synthesize their findings.

12. Think-Pair-Share: Have students think individually about a complex question, then pair up to discuss their thoughts, and finally share with the class.

13. Art Interpretation: Display an artwork and ask students to interpret its meaning, theme, or message, pushing them to look beyond the surface.

14. Reverse Role Play: Assign roles for a scenario where students exchange positions (e.g., teacher-student, parent-child), fostering empathetic understanding and critical thinking skills.

15. Critical Evaluation of Media: Analyze news articles, commercials, or social media posts by asking questions about their purpose, target audience, and accuracy.

16. Six Thinking Hats: Teach students Edward de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” technique to improve critical thinking by exploring diverse perspectives when solving problems.

17. Analogy Building: Encourage students to create analogies from one concept to another, enhancing abstract thinking and problem-solving abilities.

18. Current Events Analysis: Keep track of current events and have students critically evaluate news stories or blog posts to encourage informed decision-making in real-world contexts.

19. Brainstorming Sessions: Hold group brainstorming sessions where students invent solutions for complex problems while practicing active listening and critical thinking.

20. Reflection Activities: Use reflective writing prompts at the end of lessons or activities to foster metacognition, self-awareness, and the development of critical thinking skills.

Conclusion:

Critical thinking activities are vital for middle schoolers as they foster intellectual growth and prepare them for future learning experiences. By incorporating these 20 activities into your classroom curriculum, you can help students develop essential critical thinking skills that will serve them throughout their academic careers and beyond.

Related Articles

Starting at a new school can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience…

Introduction: As middle schoolers transition into more independence, it's crucial that they…

1. Unpredictable Growth Spurts: Middle school teachers witness students entering their classrooms…

Pedagogue is a social media network where educators can learn and grow. It's a safe space where they can share advice, strategies, tools, hacks, resources, etc., and work together to improve their teaching skills and the academic performance of the students in their charge.

If you want to collaborate with educators from around the globe, facilitate remote learning, etc., sign up for a free account today and start making connections.

Pedagogue is Free Now, and Free Forever!

• New? Start Here
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Registration

Don't you have an account? Register Now! it's really simple and you can start enjoying all the benefits!

We just sent you an Email. Please Open it up to activate your account.

I allow this website to collect and store submitted data.

• Health Science
• Business Education
• Computer Applications
• Career Readiness
• Teaching Strategies

«  View All Posts

Career Readiness | Middle School | Critical Thinking

Problem Solving Lesson Plans Your Middle School Students Will Love

• Share This Article

July 11th, 2022 | 5 min. read

Print/Save as PDF

Need resources for teaching problem solving in your middle school career readiness classes?

As a career readiness curriculum developer, middle school teachers often ask if we have resources to help teach problem solving.

While our digital curriculum includes content on critical thinking, decision making, and other 21st Century skills, our solution may not be the best fit for everyone.

Our Middle School Digital Literacy & Career Exploration curriculum is designed to teach dozens of skills such as professionalism, communication, digital literacy, and more.

However, some teachers are only looking for supplemental problem solving lessons and activities to add to their existing curriculum.

To help you teach these skills, we've found four popular providers of problem solving lessons and activities for middle school:

• TeacherVision
• Ed Creative

All of these resources have both pros and cons, so looking at each one individually is key when planning your problem solving lessons!

1. TeacherVision's Problem Solving Lesson

TeacherVision is a digital resource that offers free online lesson plans, including a problem solving lesson.

This problem solving lesson has two key objectives:

• Students will be introduced to a problem-solving procedure
• Students will participate in a structured practice of resolving conflict

Along with the lesson objectives, you'll find the materials list and the procedure for completing the lesson.

That makes TeacherVision a robust resource with an easy-to-follow lesson plan for introducing students to problem solving .

On the downside, the lesson is listed as appropriate for students between first and eighth grade.

That means you may want to bulk it up a bit in order to really be relevant and engaging to your middle school students .

2. Ed Creative's Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Lesson Plans

Ed Creative is a subdivision of Education.com that collects lesson plans from other online resources.

That makes Ed Creative one of the best lesson plan databases online.

It includes a variety of lesson plans and activities to teach creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.

Many of these lessons are intended for children up to eighth grade. That means you'll likely find resources that fit perfectly in your middle school classes.

In addition, some lessons overlap with other subjects you may need to teach in your career readiness classes . For example, one resource is entitled Thinking Critically About Advertising and would tie in well with lessons on media literacy .

The lesson encourages students to consider behind-the-scenes angles when presented with ads, encouraging them to think critically and logically about why the ad is what it is.

Still, these resources are a little disorganized which means it will take you time to review each option and decide if it's a good fit.

3. BrainPOP's Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Activities

BrainPOP is an educational resource provider with many teaching resources for every grade level.

In this case, their critical thinking and problem solving lesson plan is intended for any sixth to 12th grade student.

In this lesson, students will:

• Apply critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills to online gameplay and writing tasks
• Analyze situations from multiple perspectives and viewpoints
• Distinguish between facts, opinions, and solutions
• Demonstrate 21st Century skills such as global awareness, information literacy, communication, and collaboration

BrainPOP lays out the procedure, materials, and everything else you’ll need for the lesson — even time approximations!

That thorough approach to detail makes it easier to plan different tasks you’ll carry out throughout the lesson each day.

Even if the lesson takes a full week, you can still plan appropriately and stay on task.

Unfortunately, BrainPOP doesn’t have many downloadable resources you can print and use in the classroom.

4. TEDEd's Resources for Teaching Problem Solving Skills

TEDEd is an active advocate of education and learning materials. That’s why they have an enormous section of their website dedicated to problem solving skills .

In this section, you’ll find videos and interactive tasks that walk students through riddles, problems, and complications to find desirable results.

Every riddle and problem has an answer, so you don’t have to worry about figuring it out yourself. Even better, you can be sure there’s a practical solution to every issue.

Best of all, you leave students with the freedom to innovate their own solutions, potentially creating a new solution that a riddle maker hadn’t considered.

The varying complexity and length of these lessons make them ideal for various grade levels. However, you can choose to filter specifically for middle school.

On the downside, these aren’t literal “lesson plans.” TEDEd provides many resources, but they’re not contextualized for a classroom.

Instead, you’ll have to build your lessons around these resources to get the best results.

This makes TEDEd an excellent catchall whenever you need problem solving materials.

You’ll just have to do a little extra work to make it classroom ready.

Which Problem Solving Lessons Are Best?

Overall, there isn't a simple "best" option for teaching problem solving in middle school. It all depends on the needs of you, your course, and your students.

Each resource we've shared could be a great addition to your career readiness curriculum.

However, if you need a curriculum that includes problem solving skills among other career readiness topics, consider looking into iCEV’s career readiness and digital literacy curriculum.

Thousands of teachers like you use the curriculum to teach career exploration , personal financial literacy , communication skills and more.

Overall, it helps you save time with planning, assessing, and grading student work all while maximizing student understanding and information retention.

Wondering if iCEV could work for your middle school classroom? Check out our Middle School digital Literacy & Career Exploration curriculum :

Problem Solving Activities: 7 Strategies

• Critical Thinking

Problem solving can be a daunting aspect of effective mathematics teaching, but it does not have to be! In this post, I share seven strategic ways to integrate problem solving into your everyday math program.

In the middle of our problem solving lesson, my district math coordinator stopped by for a surprise walkthrough. 

I was so excited!

We were in the middle of what I thought was the most brilliant math lesson– teaching my students how to solve problem solving tasks using specific problem solving strategies. 

It was a proud moment for me!

Each week, I presented a new problem solving strategy and the students completed problems that emphasized the strategy. 

Genius right? 

After observing my class, my district coordinator pulled me aside to chat. I was excited to talk to her about my brilliant plan, but she told me I should provide the tasks and let my students come up with ways to solve the problems. Then, as students shared their work, I could revoice the student’s strategies and give them an official name. 

What a crushing blow! Just when I thought I did something special, I find out I did it all wrong. 

I took some time to consider her advice. Once I acknowledged she was right, I was able to make BIG changes to the way I taught problem solving in the classroom. 

When I Finally Saw the Light

To give my students an opportunity to engage in more authentic problem solving which would lead them to use a larger variety of problem solving strategies, I decided to vary the activities and the way I approached problem solving with my students. 

Problem Solving Activities

Here are seven ways to strategically reinforce problem solving skills in your classroom. 

Seasonal Problem Solving

Many teachers use word problems as problem solving tasks. Instead, try engaging your students with non-routine tasks that look like word problems but require more than the use of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to complete. Seasonal problem solving tasks and daily challenges are a perfect way to celebrate the season and have a little fun too!

Cooperative Problem Solving Tasks

Go cooperative! If you’ve got a few extra minutes, have students work on problem solving tasks in small groups. After working through the task, students create a poster to help explain their solution process and then post their poster around the classroom. Students then complete a gallery walk of the posters in the classroom and provide feedback via sticky notes or during a math talk session.

Notice and Wonder

Before beginning a problem solving task, such as a seasonal problem solving task, conduct a Notice and Wonder session. To do this, ask students what they notice about the problem. Then, ask them what they wonder about the problem. This will give students an opportunity to highlight the unique characteristics and conditions of the problem as they try to make sense of it. 

Want a better experience? Remove the stimulus, or question, and allow students to wonder about the problem. Try it! You’ll gain some great insight into how your students think about a problem.

Math Starters

Start your math block with a math starter, critical thinking activities designed to get your students thinking about math and provide opportunities to “sneak” in grade-level content and skills in a fun and engaging way. These tasks are quick, designed to take no more than five minutes, and provide a great way to turn-on your students’ brains. Read more about math starters here ! 

Create your own puzzle box! The puzzle box is a set of puzzles and math challenges I use as fast finisher tasks for my students when they finish an assignment or need an extra challenge. The box can be a file box, file crate, or even a wall chart. It includes a variety of activities so all students can find a challenge that suits their interests and ability level.

Calculators

Use calculators! For some reason, this tool is not one many students get to use frequently; however, it’s important students have a chance to practice using it in the classroom. After all, almost everyone has access to a calculator on their cell phones. There are also some standardized tests that allow students to use them, so it’s important for us to practice using calculators in the classroom. Plus, calculators can be fun learning tools all by themselves!

Three-Act Math Tasks

Use a three-act math task to engage students with a content-focused, real-world problem! These math tasks were created with math modeling in mind– students are presented with a scenario and then given clues and hints to help them solve the problem. There are several sites where you can find these awesome math tasks, including Dan Meyer’s Three-Act Math Tasks and Graham Fletcher’s 3-Acts Lessons . 

Getting the Most from Each of the Problem Solving Activities

When students participate in problem solving activities, it is important to ask guiding, not leading, questions. This provides students with the support necessary to move forward in their thinking and it provides teachers with a more in-depth understanding of student thinking. Selecting an initial question and then analyzing a student’s response tells teachers where to go next. 

Ready to jump in? Grab a free set of problem solving challenges like the ones pictured using the form below. 

Which of the problem solving activities will you try first? Respond in the comments below.

Shametria Routt Banks

• Assessment Tools
• Content and Standards
• Differentiation
• Math & Literature
• Math & Technology
• Math Routines
• Math Stations
• Virtual Learning
• Writing in Math

You may also like...

2 Responses

This is a very cool site. I hope it takes off and is well received by teachers. I work in mathematical problem solving and help prepare pre-service teachers in mathematics.

Thank you, Scott! Best wishes to you and your pre-service teachers this year!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

©2024 The Routty Math Teacher.   All Rights Reserved.  Designed by Ashley Hughes.

Privacy overview.

• How To Help Kids With Nightmares
• How To Help Kids With Anxiety
• T.R.I.U.M.P.H. Principles For Child Success
• Unlock Best Methods For Elevating Phonemic Awareness
• How Cognitive Self-Optimization Shapes Successful Children

16 Team Building Activities For Middle School (With Video Examples)

Middle school can be a tough time for children.

At this stage in a student’s life, they are more interested in connecting with peers and making friends than anything else.

This is why team-building activities are a great way to start the school year out right or to help reconnect an existing class that needs a little help.

Also, team building allows students to develop stronger relationships and trust among each other.

As well, team building activities are a great way to help students learn how to communicate with each other effectively which is one of the most important skills a middle school student can learn.

In this article, we have found 16 of the best team building activities for middle school students and we have also included video examples so it is much easier for you to implement them at your school.

Feel free to change and mold the activities to what works best for your students.

If you are not a teacher, these activities still work great in any situation where team building is necessary.

Before we get into the more intricate team building games I wanted to remind everyone that just some good ol’ outside time on the court or play area is one of the best ways to get kids to work together.

Whether it is just traditional recess or a more structured game getting kids to work together through physical activities is one of the best ways to create a team both inside and outside the classroom.

Here is some good quality equipment to get you started:

Click on the picture or link below for more information and pricing.

Easy Play Sports and Outdoor Equipment

The effort you put into getting kids to work together, in the beginning, will pay dividends thought the whole school year.

1. Group Paper Tower

In this great team building activity, students will be tasked with building the tallest tower possible with 20 sheets of plain computer paper.

Students are timed but feel free to make a time limit that best fits your students and schedule.

This game is excellent at helping students be creative and really encourages problem-solving.

At the end of the time, each group’s tower is measured to see which one is the tallest.

The activity is also great at helping students learn from their mistakes and learn from how other’s solved a problem.

This activity is not only a great team building activity for middle school but it is a lot of fun.

A very important part of any team building activity is the student’s ability to listen to both peers and teachers alike.

To get more information about how parents and teachers can help children listen go to our article How To Get A Child To Listen In School .

Your Kids And Students Are Too Important!

Signup For To Get The Information You Need To Make Their Lives Awesome!!   

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

2. Centipede Ski Challenge

The Centipede or Group Ski Challenge is most likely an outdoor activity.

Although, you could do the activity in the hallway or large space in the school.

In this activity, a group of students will step on the group skis and hold onto the handles.

In order for the students to move, they have to move in un

ison with each step or the ski will not move.

The students will race and move together to see who can get to the finish line first.

The activity does a great job of teaching students about cooperation and how without the help of others it can hard to accomplish a goal.

This activity will not only get the student’s heart racing but it will also be a class favorite.

4 Legged Race Bands is designed to spice up team-building and any outdoor activities as long as 4 players are involved! Work together as a team to walk faster and farther to win the competition.

Click on the picture or link above for pricing and information!

3. Magic Carpet

The Magic Carpet or Tarp Flip is a great way to get kids moving and problem-solving at the same time.

This is a great activity that can be done inside or outside depending on the size of each group.

If you would like to make the number of students smaller in each group you could use a towel rather than a “carpet”.

A group of students stand on a “carpet”, tarp or blanket and try to flip it over while all the students are standing on it.

If a student steps off the “carpet” then the group has to start over.

The students that are able to flip over the “carpet” first (without stepping off of it) are the winners.

This activity does an excellent job of encouraging students to communicate efficiently in order to complete a goal.

Artoflifer Hole Tarp Team Building Game The aim of the challenge is for the tennis ball to travel around the tarp for the longest time possible without falling through the holes or coming off the tarp.

Click on the picture or the link above more more information and pricing

4. Team Pen

Team Pen is a perfect in classroom team building activity.

The teacher will need to tape strings to a large pen before the activity begins.

Students will be placed into teams and each student will hold on to one of the strings connected to the pen.

The teacher will give each group a word to write on a piece of blank paper.

The students within the group will have to navigate the pen together to write the word.

Start out with easy and short words at first but eventually once the kids get better at it this can be a great way to help students practice for their spelling tests or phonics work.

The best part of this activity is seeing what the word ends up looking like once the students are done.

This is such a fun activity I can hear the laughter from here!

Laughter makes everything better! For more laughs please read our article T eacher Jokes (One For Each Day Of The School Year)

Cooperative Stretchy Band 

Made with soft, elastic latex tube and multi-colored fleece fabric that is both strong and stretchy. When children run to different directions, it will not hurt them, making it very safe to use.

Cooperative band adopts soft latex tube that covered with soft multi-colored fabric that encourages group cooperation, interaction and creative movement.

Click on the picture or link above for more information and pricing

5. Pipe Line

Pipe Line can be an indoor or outdoor activity.

Students will each get half of a PVC pipe or long “U” shaped item.

If you do not have a half-pipe piece you can have students create a “U” shape out of a piece of paper or even better a piece of card stock.

This does work well but does increase the difficulty as it is hard to keep the paper stable enough to create the “U” shape and in enough time to let the ball pass through it.

Once you have your “U” shaped item for each of the students they will be put into groups.

The teacher will place a ping pong ball or golf ball at the beginning of their half-pipe and they must tilt it until the ball starts to roll down it.

Once the ball gets to the end another student will have to catch the ball with their half-pipe to continue the ball rolling down the track.

The student who just had a turn and the ball is off their half-pipe will run to the end of the line to help continue the game.

The team that gets to the finish line without their ball falling off the track will win.

6. Knee Relay Race

This is a classic relay race with a twist.

Students will be split into teams and each team will have a medium size ball.

Each team will have to put the ball between their knees and run knock-kneed to a hola-hoop or bucket at the end of the relay.

Once they get to the hula-hoop or bucket they must drop the ball from their knees into the hula-hoop or bucket.

Depending on how difficult you want the game to be you can make a rule that if the student drops the ball outside of the hula-hoop or bucket they have to start over.

Which ever team gets all their balls to their target and back wins.

This game will help create a sense of comradery as it can be a difficult challenge.

7. Cross The Lava Challenge

Cross The Lava is both a great indoor or outdoor team building activity depending on the sizes of the teams.

In this activity, students are put into teams and each student on the team will get a ” Magic Lava Stone” otherwise known as a carpet square, piece of fabric or piece of paper (card stock will work better than regular paper).

The students in each team will stand in a line and the first person will start laying the “Lava Stone” down for them and other students to stand on.

Each student in the team will step forward on the stones until there are no more stones to put down.

At this time the last person in the team will have one empty stone and they will pass the stone up to the front of the line so they can use it to continue the path.

This will continue until one of the teams crosses the finish line or the end of the “Lava”.

This team building activity for middle school students is extremely fun and it fosters critical thinking and teamwork.

This activity really gets kids moving. To learn more about keeping kids healthy please read our article A Complete List Of The Best Exercises For Kids

8. Caterpillar Race

The Caterpillar Race is a fun team building activity for middle school students that promotes teamwork and communication.

Before this activity, the teacher must tape together strong pieces of paper or sew together a long piece of fabric in order to make the “Caterpillar”.

Students will be placed in teams and each team will step into the paper or cloth caterpillar.

They will have to move their feet and their hands to help move it in the direction of the finish line.

Students will have to keep pace with the students in front of them and behind them to be successful.

The students that are able to navigate their caterpillar to the finish line first are the winners.

To make the activity more difficult, use paper to make the caterpillar so that the students have to be very careful not to tear it before they finish which could be quite difficult depending on the materials used.

Learning and having fun is the best way to teach and the Caterpillar Race is a perfect example of that.

Run Mat for Kids is a roll mat race. A racing game that requires team work and coordination, in order to keep tour team running and your mat rolling

For Field Day, Active Play, Balance and Flexibility Team Building & Collaboration, Obstacle Course, Training Tool, Kids Grown-Ups, Group Work, etc.

Group activity for 3-4 adults or 5-7 children

Click on the picture and link above for information and pricing

9. Hula Hoop Pass

One of the best parts about team building is that it helps students understand both their strengths and weaknesses.

It also helps them by seeing how other students handle problems and how they handle the stress associated with those problems.

the Hula Hoop pass seems like an easy task until you try it yourself.

Students will get into teams, make a circle and link hands.

Two people will start the game by putting their hands through the middle of the hula hoop and then linking hands with their partners.

Once the game has started each team will have to move the hula hoop across and over their body to the next student where they will do the same.

The team that is able to move the hula hoop around the entire circle ending with the students who started the game are the winners.

While this game seems simple it does take some coordination.

This game is the perfect opportunity to help teach your students constructive praise techniques.

10. Quadropus Cup Stacking

The Quadropus Cup Stacking game is one of the coolest on our list but it does take a little “crafting” to get started.

Before the game, the teacher or the students will need to make the “cup mover” by fastening a certain number (depending on the size of the teams) of pipe cleaners to a rubber band to create a contraption that will allow the students to pull the pipe cleaners to expand the rubber band and relax the pipe cleaners to contract the rubber band.

The cup mover contraption will allow the students to grasp the cups only if they work cooperatively.

Once the cup mover has been made then students are given different tasks to move and stack the cups in certain patterns.

The best part of this game is that the students must work together in order to move the cup.

If even one student is not working with the team the cup mover will not be effective.

The game is the perfect example of how teamwork is only accomplished when everyone works together.

11. The Human Knot

The Human Knot is similar to the Hula Hoop pass but now there is no hula hoop but you still need to maneuver your body and work together to win the challenge.

The students will be placed into teams and will need to make a circle.

Each student will hold out their right hand and grasp the student’s hand cross from them.

They will do the same with their left hand.

Now it is time for the students to try to maneuver themselves so that they are back in a similar position as they started and “untied”.

This game is a great game to teach direction skills and to help students problem-solve when things don’t go quite right (and they will!).

While this game can get complicated it sets up so many teachable moments that you will have to try it.

12. Marshmellow Tower Challenge

The Marshmallow Tower Challenge is the pinnacle of problem-solving and critical thinking challenges.

Students must use all their team building strategies to complete this task.

Students will be given a certain number of materials and one marshmallow to build a structure the best they can.

While the materials are helpful, there is only a limited amount which makes using them efficiently important and encourages strategy.

Students are encouraged to plan and strategize before making their structure which is a great lesson in itself.

When students are given the opportunity to work together and communicate regardless of how the tower turns out the activity will be successful.

13. Escape Classroom

The Escape Room or Escape Classroom is one of the most engaging and exciting team building activities ever but it takes a lot of planning.

The idea behind this team building activity is that the students are locked in the classroom and have to get out by finding all of the clues left by their capture. ( This is all pretend of course)

The students are split up into teams and must find clues (activities) to move on to the next clue.

The Teacher sets up a group of activities that the students must do in order to get to the next clue which leads them closer to solving the main problem which is escaping from the classroom.

The theme of this team building activity can be anything from a book theme to having students solve certain math problems to escape and win the game.

The first team that can “escape” (by solving all the clues) from the classroom is the winner.

If the teacher can pull off this activity, it will be talked about all school year long.

14. Blind Minefield

The Blind Minefield game is not only a great team-building activity but it is an amazing game for building trust within the teams as the students are blindfolded and they have to rely on their teammates to be successful.

The teacher will set up obstacles either outside or inside the classroom and the students have to navigate through the obstacle course while blindfolded.

Students will be put into teams and each person is selected one at a time to go through the course blindfolded.

The other team members have to call out directions to help the blindfolded person get through the course without touching any of the obstacles.

If the blindfolded person from a team touches an obstacle they lose their turn and another team member gets a turn.

The team with the most people that can get through the obstacle course without touching anything wins.

Everyone will love this one!

15. Pencil Grab

The great part of the team building activity is that it is super simple and it uses one of the most abundant school supplies in the classroom…

The teacher will place pencils on a table or a desk in four or five groups with the number of pencils ranging from smallest to largest. (Group 1- two pencils, Group 2- 4 pencils…)

The students will start the game off with small increments of pencils such as one or two in the first pile.

Students get into teams and they race to see who can grab the most pencils by placing them on the back of their hand.

Once the pencils are placed on the back of the student’s hand they will pop up the pencils in the air and try to grab them with the palm of their hand.

If they can grab all of the first group of pencils they will go to the next group of pencils until they complete all of them or they can not grab them all at the same time and they lose their turn.

The team that can grab the most pencils is the winner!

16. Balloon Pyramid Relay Race

The Balloon Pyramid Relay Race is a great cooperative team building activity.

In this game, each student has to help stack the cups into a pyramid by inflating and deflating a balloon.

Only one student is allowed to work at a time.

Once they are finished with their task they stop and go to the end of the line.

Then it is the next student’s turn to continue the next step of the pyramid.

If a student knocks down a cup they must set the cup up where they found it, go to the end of the line and let another student try. (You can come up with your own rule here that best fits your class).

The team that creates the pyramid first wins.

For more information about why team building is so important please read Michigan State’s article Why is team building so important?

Please Comment Below!

If you have any comments or you have another team building activity that you would like to add to the list, we would love to hear from you!

• Preventing Computer Related Pain During Distance Learning
• How To Help A Child With Dyslexia At Home

You May Also Like

How To Get A Child To Listen In School

Why Sports Are Important

The Importance Of Emotional Intelligence In Early Childhood

10 thoughts on “ 16 team building activities for middle school (with video examples) ”.

This is really a great and useful piece of information. I am glad that you shared this useful information with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

Awesome games! I’m looking for fun games for our 8th grade retreat and these are great examples.

Thank you so much!

These are great! Thanks for sharing!

Loved these easy and affordable ideas for games!

These are very useful, thanks for sharing. Definitely will use them!

So happy to help! Middle school can be a tough time but with the right activities and help they grown into amazing people!

Fantastic team-building activities! thank you for sharing!

I’m so glad that you found them helpful. Middle school friends need all the help they can get! =)

Thank you for sharing these activities! These will really be enjoyed by students. I think it would be good to try these at the start of the school year and also at the end to see how much they have grown with each other.

We agree wholeheartedly!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Get our FREE Mother's Day Printable 💐!

43 Awesome Team-Building Activities for Kids

Build trust and community in your classroom.

Looking for great ways to help students learn to work together, listen carefully, communicate clearly, and think creatively? Try some of these awesome team-building activities for kids. They’re a super way to give your students the chance to get to know one another, build trust as a community, and, best of all, have fun!

1. Seeing Spots

The Teacher Dish: Brain Break Dots via theteacherdish.blogspot.com

For this activity, you’ll place a colored sticker dot (blue, red, green, or yellow) on each student’s forehead without them knowing what color it is. When the game begins, each “team” of students (with the same color) must find each other— without speaking. This is a wonderful team-building activity because it encourages non-verbal communication and cooperation.

2. Elbow Pass

Looking for team-building activities for kindergarten kids? This silly activity helps them make new friends and learn to work together. Not only do they get to work on hand-eye coordination, they are looking each other in the eye and having a laugh together.

3. Common Thread

Fun 365/Team-Building Banner via fun365.orientaltrading.com

Divide students into groups of four and have them sit together in these small groups. Give each group five minutes to chat among themselves and find something they all have in common. It could be that they all play soccer, or pizza is their favorite dinner, or they each have a kitten. Whatever the common thread, the conversation will help them get to know one another better. Check in with the groups after five minutes to see if they need more time. After each group has come up with their common element, have them work together to create a flag that represents it.

4. Fingertip Hula-Hoop

There are quite a few team-building activities for kids that use Hula-Hoops. In this game, your students stand in a circle and raise their arms with only their index fingers extended. Place a Hula-Hoop so that it rests on the tips of the children’s fingers. Tell the students they must maintain a fingertip on the Hula-Hoop at all times, but they are not allowed to hook their finger around it or otherwise hold the hoop; the hoop must simply rest on the tips of their fingers. The challenge is for the children to lower the hoop to the ground without dropping it. To make this more challenging, you can place communication constraints on the children—no talking or limited talking, for example. Watch the video for a demonstration.

5. Four-Way Tug-of-War

This classic outdoor activity is double the fun of the traditional tug-of-war. Tie two long jump ropes together at their center points, creating an X shape. Tie a bandanna around the center point. Next, use cones to form a circle that fits around the X. Form four equal teams, and have each team stand at one of the four ends of the ropes. At your signal, each team begins pulling. The objective is to be the first team to pull the others in their direction far enough for the bandanna to cross to the outside of the circle of cones. Students who feel nervous about participating can serve as referees who make sure everyone is safe.

6. Hot Seat

This fun game is a lot like the game show Password . Split your class into two teams and have them sit together in teams facing the whiteboard or chalkboard. Then take an empty chair—one for each team—and put it at the front of the class, facing the team members. These chairs are the “hot seats.” Choose one representative from each team to come up and sit in the “hot seat,” facing their teammates with their back to the board.

Flash images one at a time on the screen behind the people in the hot seat. Taking turns, each team will offer one clue to their representative. If they guess the image correctly, their team gets one point. If not, it’s the other team’s turn to help their representative. Continue until one of the representatives gets the image correct. Then switch out students in the hot seat and continue.

7. Classification

Inspiration Laboratories/Classification Practice via inspirationlaboratories.com

For this activity, prepare a tray with 20 unrelated items—for instance, a spool of thread, an eraser, a juice box, etc. Alternatively, create a document with 20 images of items to put up on the screen. Divide your class into even groups. Set a timer and have each group divide the 20 items into four categories that make sense to them. For example, they may put an earring, a glove, a headset, a sock, and a smile into the category “things you wear.” Have groups work quietly so that their ideas are kept secret. When each group is finished, give each one time to present their categories and their rationale behind each category.

8. Yes, No, Stand Up

The version of the game above is designed specifically to help English-language learners, but it can also be used as a good “get to know you” game for younger kids. Prepare a list of yes or no questions to ask your students. For example, do you like chocolate? Is your favorite color blue? If their answer is yes, the student stands up. If their answer is no, they sit down. Pause between questions to give students time to look around and find students they have answers in common with.

9. Balloon Battle

Happy Mom Hacks/Balloon Games via happymomhacks.com

This fun game teams students up as they try to bat a balloon over each other’s goal line. Divide students into two teams. Each team will have five players on the field at one time. Periodically blow a whistle to have students substitute in so that everyone gets a chance to play. The first team to score 10 points wins. For more fun balloon games check out Happy Mom Hacks .

10. Move On, Look Back

This hopping game will crack your students up. Start with students in a circle with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. When you say “Move on,” students will take one hop forward together. When you say “Look back,” students will take one hop backward together. And when you say “Forever alone” (or any other phrase you’d like, such as “180” or “Turn around”), students will turn 180 degrees and place their hands on the shoulder of the person who was behind them.

11. Birthday Line-Up

Did you know there are team-building activities for kids that can help teach students how to line up? It may take 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the age of your students, so plan accordingly. The objective is to have students line up in order of their birthdays—January 1 through December 31. To do this, they will need to know the order in which the months fall as well as their own birthday. They will also need to talk with one another in order to figure out who goes in front of whom. To make it super challenging, tell them they must do it without speaking at all, only using hand signals. Other ways to line up include by height, alphabetically, or by foot size.

12. The Perfect Square

This activity requires strong verbal communication and cooperation. All you need is a long rope with the ends tied together and something to serve as blindfolds for students, such as bandannas or fabric strips. Have students stand in a circle holding the rope in front of them. Signal them to put their blindfolds on and set the rope on the ground in front of them. Ask students to turn and walk a short distance away from the circle. Assign a partner to any students who may need help. Finally, have everyone come back to the rope and try to form a perfect square with their blindfolds on. Set a time limit to make it more challenging.

13. Rock, Paper, Scissors Tag

If you have a large space for kids to do team-building activities, try this one. Divide students into two teams. Before you begin, stake out the boundaries and position a home base at either end for each team. For each round, each team must confer and decide whether they will be rock, paper, or scissors. Have the two teams line up facing each other, and on your signal, have all players flash Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot! The kids on the losing team must run back to their base before they are tagged by one of the kids on the winning team.

14. Flip-the-Tarp Challenge

Looking for creative-thinking team-building games and activities for kids? Divide students into two teams. One team will do the challenge first while the other team watches, then they will switch places. Have all members of the team stand on a flat bedsheet, tarp, or blanket (kids should fill up all but about a quarter of the space). Challenge the team to flip over the sheet/tarp so that they are standing on the other side of the sheet/tarp without stepping off or touching the ground.

15. “Get To Know You” Balloons

Beth Smith/ABC Scavenger Hunt via darlingtonschool.org

Give each student an empty balloon and a slip of paper. Ask them to write a get-to-know-you question on their paper, such as How many brothers and sisters do you have? Do you have any pets? What’s one fun thing you did this summer? Next, have them put their question inside the balloon, blow it up, and tie the end.

When everyone is ready, have them gather on the rug and, on your signal, toss their balloon up in the air. Give them a couple of minutes to bat the balloons around, then call stop . Have each student grab one balloon and come sit in a circle. Go around the circle and, one at a time, have students pop their balloon, read the question inside, and answer the question. This is one of those team-building activities for kids that they will always remember.

And to help your students remember each others’ names, try these 30 Fun Name Games To Try With Your New Class .

16. Hot and Cold

Form groups of three to five students. One person from each group (the finder) steps out of the classroom. The rest of the group picks an object (for instance, the pencil sharpener) in the classroom for the finder to find. When the finder comes back in, they begin walking around the classroom in search of the object. The others guide the finder by saying “hot” or “cold” to lead them in the right direction. If the finder is far away from the object, the group will say “cold.” When the finder gets close, the group will say “hot” until the finder picks the correct object. Variation: Instead of saying “hot” and “cold,” have students applaud softly for cold and applaud vigorously for hot.

17. Marshmallow-and-Toothpick Challenge

Divide students into groups of equal numbers. Pass out an equal number of marshmallows and wooden toothpicks to each group. Challenge the groups to create the tallest, largest, or most creative structure in a set amount of time, each member taking turns doing the actual building. Afterward, have each group describe what they made.

18. Art Reproduction Puzzle

The Teaching Distillery/Puzzles via theteachingdistillery.com

Divide students into groups of six or eight (or larger if you want to make the task more difficult). Provide each team with an image and blank pieces of white card stock, one per team member. First, each team must cut up the image into the same number of pieces as there are group members. Then, each player will take one of the pieces of the image and reproduce it onto their blank piece of card stock with pencils, colored pencils, or markers. (If the team cuts the image into irregularly shaped pieces, each team member must then cut their blank paper into the same shape.) When every team has created the pieces of their puzzle, they will switch pieces with another team. The team will work together to solve the puzzle.

19. Hula-Hoop Pass

This activity helps kids work on listening, coordinating, and strategizing skills. It works best with smaller students. Have your students stand in a big circle. Place a Hula-Hoop on one student’s arm and have them join hands with the student next to them. Ask all the other students to join hands to close up the circle. The objective of the game is to pass the Hula-Hoop all the way around the circle without unclasping hands. Students will have to figure out how to maneuver their bodies all the way through the hoop to pass it on.

20. Bumpity-ump-bump-bump

Playworks/Bumpity Bump Bump via playworks.org

This is a fun name game that requires quick thinking! Students stand in a large circle. One student comes to the middle. That student walks around the inside of the circle, stops in front of one person, and gives them a direction. There are four choices: Left = say the name of the person to the left; right = say the name of the person on the right; it = say the name of the person who is it; or self = say one’s own name. After you give the student the direction, the designated person says “bumpity-ump-bump-bump!” out loud. The student who was given the direction races to say the name of the correct person before the student finishes the phrase. If they can’t, they’re the next person on the inside of the circle.

In this challenging trust-building activity, blindfolded students line up with their hands on each others’ shoulders. A person without a blindfold takes the end position. The object of the activity is for the sighted person to guide the non-sighted students without verbal communication to collect various soft objects scattered on the floor. Once the lead person finds an object, they must deposit it in a bucket. Extra challenge: Students must keep their hands on each others’ shoulders at all times.

22. No-Hands Cup-Stacking Challenge

Nick Cornwell/Stacking Cup Challenge via nickcornwell.weebly.com

If you’re looking for hands-on team-building games and activities that work for groups of kids, try this challenge. It’s an exercise in patience and perseverance, not to mention a total blast! Decide how many students you want in each group and tie that number of strings to a single rubber band, making one for each group. Each person in the group holds on to one of the strings attached to the rubber band, and, as a group, they use this device to pick up the cups (by expanding and contracting the rubber band) and place them on top of each other in order to build a pyramid. See detailed instructions here .

23. Mini Cup-Stacking Challenge

And for younger students, this simplified version of the game allows kids to partner up one-on-one. Using just a few pipe cleaners and a rubber band, each student can take a hold and work together to create a stack.

24. Body Parts

Karl Bastian/Head, Shoulders, Knees, Cup via kidologist.com

Students face off head-to-head in a squat position with a plastic cup on the ground between them. The leader calls out body parts and the players have to move their hands to that spot—head, knees, toes, eyes, nose, etc. But when they say “Cup!” the pair each tries to grab the cup. If they grab it, they remain in the game. The other player is “out” for the rest of the round.

Also, if a student touches the cup when “Cup!” was not called, they are immediately out! So they need to listen carefully as the leader attempts to trick them into lunging toward to the cup.

25. Human Alphabet

Nadine Silverthornes/Alphabet Game via todaysparent.com

If you have a large open space for your team-building games and activities, try this idea. Have students spread out and guide them through a few rounds of forming letters with their bodies. For instance, “Use your body to make a T. … Now make an O!”

Next, call out a simple short word, such as “so” or “dog.” Students will have to team up to form the word, with each student using their body to form one of the letters. Start with two-letter words, then three, then four. If students want more of a challenge, come up with a phrase that will take the whole class to complete.

26. Caterpillar

Divide students into groups of four. Lay out four Hula-Hoops per group and have one student stand in the center of each one to form teams of “caterpillars.” Line all of the teams up at the end of a field or large open space. Set out four or five objects in front of the lines, such as cones, foam blocks, or balls.

The goal of the game is to collect as many objects as possible by moving the caterpillar forward. To move forward, the last player in line steps into the hoop with the player in front of them, picks up their empty hoop, and passes it overhead to the front of the line. The front player then places the hoop on the ground in front of them and steps into it. Every player then shifts forward, moving the caterpillar. Only the front player may pick up objects, but it is the team’s job to carry the collected objects throughout the game. The game ends when there are no more objects on the ground.

27. Shrinking Vessel

For this activity, you will need a few jump ropes. Divide students into groups of six or eight. Have each group make a circle with their jump rope (their “lifeboat”) on the ground so that the ends are touching. Now have all the members of each group get into their lifeboat. This should be easy the first time. Then have all players get out and reduce the size of their circle by one foot. Again, all players need to get into the boat. Repeat this process, making the lifeboat smaller and smaller while you watch your students come up with creative solutions for making sure that everyone fits safely inside their boat.

28. Pretzel, Unpretzel

Susan Box Mann/The Human Knot Game via icebreakerideas.com

This is one of the all-time favorite team-building activities for kids. Divide your class in half and have each group choose one pretzel maker and two unpretzelers. Direct the unpretzelers to turn their backs. Have the rest of the students in each group form a circle and hold hands. Now, have the pretzel maker direct the students (with words only) to twist around, step over, and duck under each others’ arms to form a human pretzel. Once they are sufficiently twisted, call the unpretzelers over and have them try to direct the students (with words only) in order to untangle them. Students cannot drop their hands at any time. The first team that successfully unpretzels their group wins.

29. Zip, Zap, Boing!

This super-lively circle game involves three actions—zip, zap, and boing. Zip directs play in one direction around the circle. Boing reverses the direction of play. And zap passes play to the opposite side of the circle. See the video above for a full demonstration. A couple of rules: Boing cannot be performed when someone passes the signal using zap. And zap cannot be passed to the person standing right next to you.

30. Spiderweb

Heather Lynne/Would You Rather Web at raisingmemories.com

This team-building game will teach your students that even though they may be different in many ways, they are still connected to one another. Gather in a circle, standing or sitting. The game begins when the first person, holding a large ball of twine, tells the group a funny or embarrassing story about themselves.

Once they finish, they hold on to the end of the twine and throw the ball to someone else in the circle. Play continues until the twine has been passed to each person. The end result will produce a “spiderweb” out of the twine, connecting each student to all of the others.

31. Team Tic-Tac-Toe

This fun and active version of the old-fashioned game gets kids revved up about working as a team. Hula-Hoops are placed in the shape of a tic-tac-toe frame. Then students divide into teams and the race begins! One student from each team runs to the frame and drops a bean bag in a spot. They return and tag the next runner, who does the same thing. Play continues until one team achieves a tic-tac-toe!

32. Newspaper Fashion Show

Andrea and Rachel/Newspaper Fashion via mommylessons101.com

This is a great way to incorporate upcycling into your team-building games and activities. Divide students into groups of five or six, then give them a stack of newspapers, tape, and scissors. Set a timer and ask them to create the most fashionable outfit using only the supplies given. When time is up, have each group designate a model for the outfit, and have the group share information about the outfit. Once everyone shares, put on some rocking music and have a mini fashion show.

33. Back-to-Back Drawing

https://youtu.be/EqsL64uk1Q4

Need team-building games and activities that build communication skills? Ask students to pair up and sit back-to-back with their partner. Give one student a blank piece of paper and a pen or a marker. Give the other student a piece of paper with a simple drawing on it. The kid who receives the illustration will verbally describe the drawing to their partner. The other kid must draw the illustration by listening to the verbal instructions alone.

34. Changing Tableau

Ask for five or six volunteers to come up to the front of the class. Divide the rest of the students into two teams and have them sit together. Have the students up front arrange themselves into a tableau. Give the two teams a short time to observe the tableau, trying to memorize their physical arrangement.

After a couple of minutes, ask every person on both teams to face away from the team up front. The tableau team will decide on one thing to change about the tableau. When they are rearranged, the teams can turn around and try to figure out what changed. The first team to spot the difference gets a point. Continue play until one team receives 10 points.

35. Straw Challenge

Georgia Teen Institute/Straw Challenge via https://guidegti.wordpress.com

If you’re looking for team-building games and activities for kids that require coordination and cooperation, try this one. Have your students form a large circle and give each one a plastic straw. The objective of the challenge is to balance each straw between one person’s right pointer finger with the left pointer finger of the person next to them. Try making some movements such as rotating the circle to the left or right, raising one foot, etc. The challenge is to keep the connection of straws intact.

36. Group Juggle

Have students circle up and make sure you have a supply of small plastic balls at the ready. Start by tossing one ball from person to person in the circle. After a minute, add in another ball. Instruct students to mindfully toss the ball, avoiding a collision. After another minute, add in another ball. Continue adding balls each minute to see how many balls your students can successfully juggle.

37. Hula-Hoop Ring Toss

Team members take turns tossing a Hula-Hoop over colored cones. Each color has a different point value. This game also incorporates math practice when adding your team’s score.

38. Great Chain Race

Jennifer/Paper Chain STEM Challenge via themathchick.net

For this team-building activity, students split up into groups of three or four. Each group gets one sheet of paper (a different color for each group), one pair of scissors, and one glue stick. The teams then cut their paper to make a paper chain that’s as long as possible—they might choose to make many skinny rings or cut up small rings to get as many rings from their paper as possible. In the end, lay out the paper chains the kids created and see whose is the longest.

39. Team Pen

Working together, students try to create a drawing. Attach strings to a marker, however many you’d like. Have students each take one end and gather around a table. Together, they will need to communicate in order to manipulate the pen and draw the required image.

40. Knee Relay

This raucous activity will have your students rolling on the floor with laughter. Using only their knees, players must take turns picking up oranges one at a time from the ground and transfer them to a hoop across the room. The team to transfer the most oranges in 60 seconds wins. Plus, you’ll have a juicy snack for everyone when you’re done.

41. Human Caterpillar Activity

Students will work together to move a circle made of newspapers across the room. Before you begin, use strong tape to connect the sections of newspaper into a loop. To begin, students will step inside and move their feet and hands to help move the loop in the direction of the finish line, as shown in the video. The challenge is keeping pace with the students in front of them. The first team that is able to navigate their caterpillar to the finish line first is the winner.

42. Blind Minefield

Looking for obstacle course team-building activities for kids? This fun and challenging activity requires communication, listening skills, and trust. Students will navigate through an obstacle course while blindfolded with the help of a partner who will call out directions. If the blindfolded student touches any of the objects in the minefield, their turn is over and another pair gives it a try. The team with the most players to make it through without touching any hazards wins.

43. Paper Tower

Using creative problem-solving skills, each team of students must build the tallest tower possible with 20 sheets of plain computer paper. The tower must be stable enough to be measured. This activity is not only a great team-building activity, it’s a lot of fun!

Do you have favorite go-to team-building activities for kids? Come share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

For more great ideas, check out  45 of the best cooperative games to promote camaraderie and healthy competition ..

WeAreTeachers

You Might Also Like

45 Best Cooperative Games To Promote Comradery and Healthy Competition

Teamwork makes the dream work. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

How to Assess Group Projects: It’s About Content and Teamwork

• Share article

Group work is a time-tested strategy in many classrooms, but educators are starting to rethink how to evaluate these projects not just on the content students learn, but the skills they hone to work in teams as adults.

Collaborative problem-solving—the ability to work with others on new and complex problems—is one of the most highly sought-after skills by employers. It’s required under both the common-core math and reading standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. But it’s also notoriously tricky to pull off a project that builds both students’ cognitive and social skills as they meet content standards.

“As teachers, we assume students know how to collaborate,” said Diana Lowe, a curriculum director for math and science in the Texarkana, Ark., school district, which adopted project-based learning as part of its own shift to the Common Core State Standards.

In practice, though, Texarkana educators found group projects often foundered—not because students didn’t understand the content, but because they couldn’t work together successfully. The district has been working with the Buck Institute for Education, a nonprofit which provides teacher training on implementing project-based learning, to integrate both content and teamwork skills into assessing their group projects.

“Part of what makes it risky to launch collaborative problem-solving projects for a teacher is there’s a lack of research on how to set up contexts for problems,” said Art Graesser, a psychology professor at the University of Memphis in Tennessee who studies collaborative learning and problem-solving. “Emotions can be involved; the kids might fight over who gets to do what and ... have conflict because part of the construct is to try to get different people’s perspectives.”

Breaking Down Skills

In 2017, the Program for International Student Assessment released the first worldwide test of students’ collaborative problem-solving skills. U.S. 15-year-olds scored in the top 15 of the 52 participating countries, but fewer than 10 percent had strong collaboration skills. On average, U.S. students knew how to volunteer information or ask for clarification in a group, but they were less likely to be able to handle complex problems, mediate group conflicts, or evaluate the quality of their teammates’ work.

What Is Teamwork? PISA Parses Out the Skills

The Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, evaluates a dozen different aspects of collaboration for 15-year-olds across the globe. U.S. students have proven more adept at such group problem-solving than the international average, but girls outperformed boys in every country.

Here’s a breakdown of what that involves:

1. Understanding roles to solve the problem 2. Monitoring and repairing the shared understanding 3. Discovering the type of collaborative interaction to solve the problem, along with goals 4. Identifying and describing tasks to be repeated 5. Monitoring results of actions and evaluating success in solving the problem 6. Enacting plans 7. Discovering perspectives and abilities of team members 8. Building a shared representation and negotiating the meaning of the problem 9. Describing roles and team organization 10. Following rules of engagement 11. Communicating with team members about the actions to be/being performed 12. Monitoring, providing feedback, and adapting the team organization and roles

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

“Employers are asking us for specific things that kids can do ... to be able to solve problems on the road, to communicate well with each other,” said William Brazier, the professional-learning supervisor for the Loudoun County, Va., district, which launched a districtwide project-based and group-learning initiative in 2014. “Previously, the question was, ‘What information do I need to know for a test?’ Now that question is, ‘What work do I have to produce that will actually have an application in the world that makes collaboration much more important?”

More-typical group projects, such as science labs, don’t necessarily boost students’ collaboration skills. In fact, students who spent the most time doing practical experiments in science class performed 31 points lower on average on PISA’s collaborative problem-solving test than students who rarely did so.

That may be because group projects in which the answer is already known can make it easier for individual students to slack off, according to Graesser.

He recommended teachers instead set up problems in which students with different skill sets must come together to solve a new problem and produce something. “It’s very visible when you create something. Each person has to do their part or else it doesn’t work,” Graesser said.

The Loudoun district now requires its teachers to explicitly teach students collaboration skills as part of introducing project-based learning and has students develop “contracts” laying out roles and agreeing to rules to guide discussions, such as active listening.

“What we think is needed is not simply assessing the teamwork, but it is training, practice, and feedback,” said Stephen Fiore, director of the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory and team cognition researcher at the University of Central Florida. Research has shown that people in teams taught how to distribute expertise and evaluate what they are discussing, such as the pros and cons of the solutions they develop have been found to produce the best work, Fiore said.

For teachers, that means the process of assessing group projects should include “explicitly quizzing [students] on whether they know what their team members are doing,” Fiore said. “When we look at the kinds of teamwork processes, we would break it down into: How well are they sharing information? How well do they recognize the roles the team members are taking on? Are they trying to meet the goals that the team has identified? How well are they addressing any conflict?”

Building Trust

Teachers in the Texarkana district mapped out both individual benchmarks for content in each project and a “soft-skills rubric,” which they use to monitor students’ communication, creativity, and teamwork over the course of group projects.

“Even though you’re still measuring students’ individual progress toward the content standards, those soft-skill rubrics do give you a way to look at a team assessment that is not based on the student’s content knowledge,” said Rachel Scott, the director of the magnet program for the Texarkana district.

Teachers build up students’ skills in areas like listening, assigning roles, and monitoring each others’ work in short, low-stakes group activities before moving to major group projects, Texarkana’s Lowe said.

“It’s important as a teacher to establish a [collaborative] culture ... so that students develop some trust and appreciation for each other’s abilities and skill sets,” Lowe said. “It sets the tone for them being able to do more with their projects and teams.”

Renee Dooly, a 1st grade teacher at Chico Country Day School, a project-based charter school in Chico, Calif., said she builds in time for class reflections after group projects.

“Kids will be very honest,” Dooly said. “This year’s class ... they do have a hard time working together, but they are very good about saying, ‘Oh, this went well because we all had a turn to talk,’ or ‘This didn’t go well because so-and-so wouldn’t participate.’ ”

Emerging technology may also make it easier for teachers to assess students’ collaboration skills, by allowing teachers to track students’ participation in online planning discussions or edits to group projects.

Dooly said group projects allow students who struggle on traditional tests to show their academic strengths while also getting more support from their partners. For example, in an internal study of eight charter schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin, the EdVisions school network found students’ stronger scores on an assessment of collaboration skills were associated with better math and reading performance.

“You’re also going to have some kids who may not be able to perform at the 1st grade [level] work, but they really are putting the most effort into some part of the group project,” Dooly said. “Group work [becomes] a strength area for them.”

A version of this article appeared in the February 06, 2019 edition of Education Week as How to Assess Group Projects: It’s About Content and Teamwork

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Edweek top school jobs.

Sign Up & Sign In

15 Team Building Activities for Middle School Students

by Chad Davis | Team Building Tips

In the exciting world of middle school, every day is an adventure and every classroom is a chance to make a difference. You know better than anyone that these years are crucial for our young learners – it’s when friendships bloom and team spirits soar. That’s where team building activities for middle school students come into play. It’s the best way to add a whole lot of fun and a dash of learning to the mix!

Think of these activities as your secret ingredient for a vibrant school culture. These team-building exercises aren’t just games. They’re opportunities for students of all ages to connect, collaborate, and step out of their comfort zones. Whether it’s solving puzzles together, embarking on team challenges, or simply sharing laughs, each activity is a building block for stronger, more empathetic relationships. So, are you ready to add some extra zing to your middle school with activities that teach, inspire, and entertain? Let’s jump in!

1. Human Knot

Get ready for some twisty fun with the Human Knot! This classic team-building activity is all about getting students literally tangled up in teamwork. Everyone stands in a circle, reaches across to grab a random hand, and then the group works together to untangle themselves – without letting go of each other’s hands. It’s like a game of Twister, but with a teamwork twist!

Objective:  The Human Knot is perfect for teaching communication, problem-solving skills, and the importance of patience and collaboration. Plus, it’s a great icebreaker!

Materials Needed:  Just your students and a space where they can stand in a circle.

Instructions:

• Have students stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder.
• Each student reaches out to grab the hand of someone across the circle – making sure it’s not the person next to them.
• After everyone’s hands are connected, the challenge is to untangle the group back into a circle, without anyone releasing hands.
• Encourage students to communicate and work together to find a solution. There will be twisting, turning, and maybe some giggling!

2. Egg Drop Challenge

Ready to get a little messy and a lot creative? The Egg Drop Challenge is all about protecting a fragile egg from a high fall. Teams will use their wits and a variety of materials to build a structure that keeps their egg safe and sound. It’s part engineering, part art, and totally egg-citing!

Objective:  This activity encourages creativity, engineering skills, teamwork skills, and a bit of healthy competition.

Materials Needed:  Eggs, various building materials (like straws, tape, cotton, cardboard), and a high drop point (like a balcony or stairwell).

• Divide students into small teams and give each team an egg.
• Provide a range of building materials for the teams to use.
• Set a time limit for teams to build their egg-protecting contraption.
• Once time’s up, each team takes turns dropping their egg from the designated height to see if it survives the fall.
• Discuss what worked, what didn’t, and the different approaches each team took.

3. Treasure Hunt

Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned treasure hunt? This fun game turns your school into an adventure land where teams solve clues to find hidden treasures. It’s a fantastic way for the whole class to explore the school, work as a team, and challenge those brain cells!

Objective:  Enhances teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Plus, it’s a great way for students to familiarize themselves with the school environment.

Materials Needed:  Clues (riddles, puzzles, maps), treasures (could be anything from school supplies to a token), hiding spots.

• Hide the treasures around the school and create clues that lead to each one.
• Divide students into teams and give them their first clue.
• Teams follow the clues to find the treasures. Each found treasure leads to the next clue.
• The first team to find all the treasures or the final treasure wins!
• Debrief with the teams about their strategies and experiences during the hunt.

4. Blindfold Maze

Ready for a trust-building adventure? In the Blindfold Maze, one student becomes the navigator, and their partner, blindfolded, becomes the adventurer. The goal is simple but exciting: navigate through a maze using only verbal instructions. It’s like a real-life video game, but with trust as the main controller!

Objective:  This activity strengthens trust, listening skills, and verbal communication. Plus, it’s a great way for fellow students to learn to rely on and support each other.

Materials Needed:  Blindfolds, space to set up a safe maze (like a classroom with desks and chairs), and maybe some soft obstacles like plastic cones.

• Pair up students and decide who will be blindfolded first.
• Set up a maze in the classroom using desks, chairs, and soft obstacles.
• The non-blindfolded student must guide their team mate—the blindfolded students—through the maze using only their words. No touching!
• Once they reach the end, switch roles and go again!
• Encourage teams to reflect on the experience and discuss what strategies worked best.

5. Two Truths and a Lie

Want a super fun way to break the ice? Two Truths and a Lie is a classic get-to-know-you game where everyone gets a turn to share three statements about themselves – two are true, and one’s a fib. The challenge for the rest of the group? Guessing which one is the lie!

Objective:  A great team building activity for improving camaraderie and getting to know each other. This game also encourages creative thinking and a bit of harmless deception.

Materials Needed:  None! Just a group of students ready to share and guess.

• Have each student think of two true statements about themselves and one that’s not true.
• One by one, the next student shares their three statements with the group.
• The rest of the group then discusses and votes on which statement they think is the lie.
• Reveal the truth and enjoy the surprises and laughs that come with it!
• Rotate until everyone has had a turn.

6. Tower Building

It’s time to bring out the inner architects and engineers with the Tower Building Challenge! Teams compete to build the tallest, most stable tower using simple materials. It’s a perfect blend of creativity, strategy, and a bit of friendly competition.

Objective: This activity combines the best of team building activities for middle school students: teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving. Students will work together to construct their architectural masterpiece.

Materials Needed:  Straws, tape, paper, and any other lightweight building materials you can find.

• Divide students into small teams and provide each team with the same set of building materials.
• Set a time limit for the tower construction phase.
• Teams work together to build the tallest tower they can within the time limit.
• Once time is up, measure the towers to see which team built the tallest one.
• Discuss the different building strategies and what made some towers more successful than others.

7. Spider Web

Let’s get tangled in some fun with the Spider Web game! This activity turns your classroom into a giant spider’s web made of strings. The challenge? Students must pass through the web without touching the strings. It’s a thrilling mix of strategy, flexibility, and teamwork, as each student finds their unique way to traverse the web.

Objective:  This activity presents fun ways for teaching problem-solving, physical agility, and teamwork. It encourages students to plan, communicate, and support each other in overcoming obstacles.

Materials Needed:  String or yarn to create the web, a frame to attach it to (like a doorway or a freestanding frame), and some classroom space.

• Create a web by attaching strings across a frame or doorway at various heights and angles.
• Divide students into teams.
• The goal for each team is to get all members through the web without touching the strings.
• If a student touches a string, the team must start over or receive a penalty.
• Teams must strategize the best way for each member to pass through, considering different sizes and abilities.
• Once a particular section of the web is used, it can be declared ‘closed,’ increasing the challenge for subsequent team members.
• After the activity, discuss the strategies used, the challenges faced, and the teamwork involved.

8. Photo Scavenger Hunt

It’s time for some photo fun with a twist! In the Photo Scavenger Hunt, teams race against the clock to complete a list of photo challenges. Each challenge requires creativity, teamwork, and a good eye for details. Perfect for capturing memories while hunting for the next great shot! It doubles as a great game to play during the first week of school, when the students are new to the campus.

Objective:  Promotes teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking, as teams must decide how to best capture each challenge within the time limit.

Materials Needed:  A list of photo challenges, cameras or smartphones for taking pictures, and a timer.

• Prepare a list of creative and fun photo challenges. These can range from simple tasks to more complex ones that require some thought.
• Divide students into teams and give each team the list of challenges.
• Set a time limit for the scavenger hunt.
• Teams must complete as many challenges as possible and take photos as evidence during the set amount of time.
• After time’s up, review the photos together and share the fun moments captured.
• You can even award points for creativity and teamwork!

9. Balloon Keep Up

How long can your team keep a balloon in the air? It’s time to find out with Balloon Keep Up! This energetic activity is all about teamwork and coordination, as students work together to keep balloons from touching the ground. It’s simple, fun, and surprisingly challenging. This challenge also works well for younger students, too.

Objective:  Encourages teamwork, coordination, and strategic planning. Plus, it’s a great way to burn off some energy!

Materials Needed:  Balloons – lots of them!

• Divide students into teams and give each team a balloon (or multiple balloons for a bigger challenge).
• On your signal, teams must keep their balloon(s) in the air using any part of their body – no holding allowed!
• If a balloon touches the ground, that team is out or gets a point deducted.
• Keep the game going until only one team remains, or for a set time, and see which team can keep their balloon up the longest.
• This activity is great for some laughs and can be played in rounds to allow for different strategies.

10. Tug of War

Ready to test your team’s strength and strategy? Tug of War is a timeless outdoor game that’s all about pulling together – literally! It’s not just a test of muscle; it’s a lesson in teamwork, strategy, and determination. Whether on grass or sand, this game is sure to bring out the competitive spirit in everyone.

Objective:  Strengthens teamwork, physical endurance, and strategic planning. It’s a great way for students to learn about collective effort and unity.

Materials Needed:  A sturdy rope and a marker (like tape or a flag) to indicate the center of the rope.

• Divide students into two teams, trying to balance the strength and size on each side.
• Mark the center of the rope and lay it on the ground. Each team takes one end of the rope.
• On your signal, both teams pull the rope, attempting to bring the center marker past a predetermined point on their side.
• The game continues until one team successfully pulls the other over the line.
• Encourage teams to strategize and work in unison to maximize their pulling power.

11. Trust Fall

How much do you trust your teammates? The Trust Fall is a classic activity that puts this question to the test. It has been used for years in corporate team building and will work just as well in team building activities for middle school students. One student falls backward, relying solely on their teammates to catch them. It’s a powerful moment of trust and a real adrenaline rush!

Objective:  This activity is all about building trust, learning to rely on others, and understanding the responsibility of being trustworthy.

Materials Needed:  A soft surface like a grassy area or mats for safety.

• Organize students into small groups of about 6-8.
• One student stands up, with their back to the group.
• The group positions themselves to catch the falling student.
• The falling student must keep their body straight and fall backward, trusting their team to catch them.
• Each student in the group gets a turn to fall, and the roles of catcher and faller are rotated.
• Discuss the feelings and lessons learned after everyone has had a turn.

12. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower

Who knew spaghetti and marshmallows could be the ingredients for a towering challenge? In the Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower activity, teams compete to build the tallest tower using only uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. It’s a sticky, fun-filled, and creative engineering challenge!

Objective:  Encourages creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork. It’s a great activity to explore basic engineering principles and collaboration.

Materials Needed:  Uncooked spaghetti, marshmallows, and a flat surface for each team to build on.

• Divide students into small teams and provide each team with equal amounts of spaghetti and marshmallows.
• Teams work together to build the tallest freestanding tower using only the provided materials.
• Discuss the various designs and strategies used by each team, highlighting the importance of planning and collaboration.

13. Human Shapes

Ready for a twist on the classic game of charades? In Human Shapes, teams work together to form letters or shapes using their bodies. This activity is like human puzzle-making – each student becomes a piece of a larger picture. It’s a blend of creativity, physical coordination, and teamwork!

Objective:  Enhances teamwork, communication, and creative thinking. It’s a fun way for students to learn about cooperation and non-verbal communication.

Materials Needed: None! Just a group of students ready to twist and turn into different shapes. This is one of our most resourceful team building activities for middle school students.

• Divide the students into teams.
• Assign each team a letter, number, or shape to create with their bodies.
• Give teams time to plan and practice forming their assigned shape.
• Teams then present their shapes to the rest of the group.
• You can make it more challenging by timing the teams or asking them to interpret more complex shapes or words.

14. Friendship Bracelet Making

Let’s get crafty with Friendship Bracelet Making! This activity is all about creativity, sharing, and, of course, friendship. Students will create colorful bracelets to exchange with their classmates, fostering a sense of camaraderie and artistic expression.

Objective:  Encourages creativity, fine motor skills, and the value of giving. It’s a wonderful way for students to express themselves and create a classroom community with their peers.

Materials Needed:  Embroidery floss or yarn in various colors, scissors, and tape or safety pins to hold the bracelets in place while working.

• Provide each student with different colors of embroidery floss or yarn.
• Teach them basic patterns for making friendship bracelets, such as braiding or simple knotting techniques.
• Allow time for the students to create their bracelets.
• Encourage students to exchange bracelets with their classmates, promoting sharing and appreciation.
• You can also integrate lessons about different cultures and the significance of friendship symbols worldwide.

15. The Floor is Lava

Jump, hop, and balance – but don’t touch the floor, because it’s lava! The Floor is Lava is an energetic game that turns an ordinary room into a lava-filled obstacle course. Students must navigate from one end of the room to the other without touching the floor, using only furniture and objects as safe zones.

Objective:  Promotes physical agility, strategic thinking, and teamwork. It’s an exhilarating way to encourage students to work together and think on their feet.

Materials Needed:  Objects to serve as ‘safe zones’ (like mats, chairs, or cushions).

• Set up a course in the classroom or gym using the safe zone objects.
• Students start at one end of the room.
• On your signal, they must cross to the other side without touching the floor.
• Add variations by making some objects movable, requiring teamwork to navigate.
• Ensure safety by supervising the game closely and using soft, stable objects.

Closing Thoughts on Team Building Activities for Middle School Students

As we bring our exploration of team building activities to a close, remember that the heart of these exercises lies in fostering a sense of community and cooperation among middle school students. To make the most of these activities, here are a couple of overarching strategies to keep in mind:

Firstly, create an atmosphere of inclusivity and safety. This means choosing activities that cater to a variety of abilities and interests, ensuring everyone can participate and feel valued. Make sure to keep the age of your students in mind, for example. Encourage students to embrace each other’s differences and work together, reinforcing the idea that every individual brings something unique to the table. Also, don’t forget the power of reflection. After each activity, a brief discussion about what worked, what didn’t, and how students felt can provide valuable insights and deepen the learning experience.

Secondly, the role of the facilitator – that’s you – is crucial. Lead with enthusiasm and positivity, setting the tone for collaboration and fun. Be adaptive and patient, ready to tweak activities to suit the dynamics of your group. And most importantly, keep the focus on learning and growth. Celebrate successes, provide constructive feedback, and encourage students to recognize not just what they achieved, but how they achieved it.

In the end, the goal is to make team building a fun, engaging, and meaningful part of the middle school experience. By applying these strategies, you’ll help your students develop not just as individuals, but as integral members of a supportive and dynamic community.

Contact Us/Get a Price Quote

• Case Studies
• Team Building Tips
• Team Games and Activities

Recent Posts

• How to Lead Team Building Activities for Youth Groups
• Taking Advantage of Training and Development Programs Will Help You Grow In Your Role
• 5 Reasons to Hire a Team Building Company That Comes to You
• 7 Best Venues for Team Building Activities in San Francisco
• 7 Tips to Develop Leadership With Team Building Activities

Supporting physics teaching with research-based resources

• Expert Recommendations

Developed by: University of Minnesota Physics Education Research Group

Teaching Materials

What? Students work in groups using structured problem-solving strategy to solve complex, context-rich problems that are too difficult to solve individually.

Why? Unlike earlier traditional "group learning", Cooperative Group Problem-Solving rewards both individual and team accomplishments and allows all group members to rotate leadership roles. If implemented well, this method promotes collaborative skills valued in most work settings.

Why not? Assigning students appropriately to achieve heterogenous grouping is challenging at the undergraduate level. It takes time and effort to construct tasks with clear expectations for both individual and group responsibilities, and to teach relevant interpersonal skills required for group success.

Student skills developed

• Conceptual understanding
• Problem-solving skills
• Making real-world connections
• Using multiple representations

Instructor effort required

Resources required.

• Tables for group work

The University of Minnesota has created a free  online archive of context-rich problems , where you can find problems for many topics in introductory mechanics and electromagnetism to use with cooperative group problem-solving.

You can also use the cooperative group problem-solving approach with many other types of research-based activities .

• at least 1 of the "based on" categories
• at least 1 of the "demonstrated to improve" categories
• at least 1 of the "studied using" categories

Research Validation Summary

Based on research into:.

• theories of how students learn
• student ideas about specific topics

Demonstrated to Improve:

• conceptual understanding
• problem-solving skills
• beliefs and attitudes
• retention of students
• success of underrepresented groups
• performance in subsequent classes

Studied using:

• cycle of research and redevelopment
• student interviews
• classroom observations
• analysis of written work
• research at multiple institutions
• research by multiple groups
• peer-reviewed publication
• P. Heller, T. Foster, and K. Heller, Cooperative group problem solving laboratories for introductory classes , presented at the The changing role of physics departments in modern universities: International Conference on Undergraduate Physics Education, College Park, MD, 1996.
• P. Heller and M. Hollabaugh, Teaching Problem Solving Through Cooperative Grouping. Part 2: Designing Problems and Structuring Groups , Am. J. Phys. 60 (7), 637 (1992).
• P. Heller, R. Keith, and S. Anderson, Teaching Problem Solving Through Cooperative Grouping. Part 1: Group Versus Individual Problem Solving , Am. J. Phys. 60 (7), 627 (1992).

Compatible Methods

Similar method, physport data explorer.

Home | Expert Recommendations | Teaching Methods | Assessment | Workshops | Data Explorer | About | Help | Contact | Terms | Privacy | My Account

group problem solving activities

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types.

• Rating Count
• Price (Ascending)
• Price (Descending)
• Most Recent

Group problem solving activities

Conflict and Resolution Activities Bundle Friendship Small Group Problem Solving

Solve the mystery case files | Problem solving | Group activity for preschool

Balancing Equations Problem Solving Task Cards - Math Challenge Activity

• Google Apps™

Real World Problem Solving Group Presentations (College/Life Skills Activity )

Problem Solving /Overcoming Obstacles Group Activity -Grade 6-12

• Word Document File

Trial and Error Pass, Group Problem Solving Activity

• Easel Activity

Problem - Solving Group Work Activity : Let's Go Camping!

Realistic Group Problem - Solving Scenarios - Stations Activity

• Google Drive™ folder

Factoring by Grouping - Partner Activity ( Solving a problem in 2 different ways)

Psychology Marble Race Cognition Group Activity for Problem Solving Mental Set

Christmas Math Worksheets & Christmas Activities | Multiplication Worksheets

Counseling Activities Individual & Small Group Counseling CBT Based

Unit Rates Digital Math Escape Room Activity

Ratios Digital Math Escape Room Activity

Introduction to Division with Equal Groups , Division Word Problems & Activities

Problem Solving Scenarios | Social Skills Activities for Teens

Resiliency Skills Group Counseling Program: Resilience Activities for Kids

Solve to Create a Gingerbread Man | Christmas Word Problems | Math Activity

Solve to Create a Turkey | Thanksgiving Word Problems | Fall Math Activity

Solve to Create a Valentine's Day Love Bug Craft & Word Problem Activity

Ratios and Proportions Word Problems Coloring Activity

Social Problem Solving Activities For Social Skills & Size Of Problem Lessons

Size Of The Problem Activity With Scenarios For Social Problem Solving Lessons

Ratios and Proportions 6th Grade Math Task Cards Activity and Problem Solving

• We're hiring
• Help & FAQ
• Privacy policy
• Student privacy
• Terms of service
• Tell us what you think

Join Pilot Waitlist

Home » Blog » General » Creating Effective IEP Goals for Problem-Solving Skills in Middle School Students

Creating Effective IEP Goals for Problem-Solving Skills in Middle School Students

Introduction

Problem-solving skills are essential for students in special education, as they navigate through academic, social, and emotional challenges. Developing these skills empowers students to overcome obstacles, make informed decisions, and fosters independence.

Understanding Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills involve a series of steps that help students identify, analyze, and resolve issues they may face in various situations. These skills impact students’ learning, social interactions, and overall wellbeing by promoting critical thinking, effective communication, and emotional regulation.

The Role of Specialists

Different specialists play an essential role in supporting the development of problem-solving skills in students:

• Speech-Language Pathologists help students develop communication skills, essential for discussing and resolving problems.
• Social Workers support students in navigating social situations and understanding the impact of their decisions on relationships.
• Psychologists assist students in developing healthy coping mechanisms and emotional regulation to handle challenging situations.
• School Counselors guide students in making informed decisions and setting realistic goals for problem resolution.

IEP Goals for Problem-Solving Skills

Here are some specific SMART IEP goals to improve problem-solving skills in middle school students:

Goal 1: Identify Problems

By [date], the student will accurately identify the problem in various scenarios with 80% accuracy across 5 consecutive sessions.

Strategies and Activities: Role-play scenarios, guided discussions, and collaborative group activities.

Goal 2: Assess Problem Size

By [date], the student will categorize problems as small or big in 90% of presented situations across 5 consecutive sessions.

Strategies and Activities: Sorting tasks, scenario analysis, and comparing problem sizes.

Goal 3: Generate Solutions

By [date], the student will brainstorm at least three possible solutions for a given problem with 85% accuracy across 5 consecutive sessions.

Strategies and Activities: Brainstorming sessions, mind mapping, and group collaboration.

Goal 4: Evaluate and Choose the Best Solution

By [date], the student will evaluate each proposed solution’s pros and cons and select the most appropriate resolution with 80% accuracy across 5 consecutive sessions.

Strategies and Activities: Pros and cons lists, role-playing, and guided reflections.

Implementing and Measuring Progress

Implement these IEP goals by collaborating with specialists, incorporating strategies into daily routines, and providing ongoing feedback. Measure progress through data collection, observations, and assessments to ensure students are progressing towards their goals.

Developing effective IEP goals for problem-solving skills is crucial in helping middle school students succeed in special education. By applying these goals and strategies, educators can foster independence, confidence, and growth in their students. We invite you to explore more resources at Everyday Speech Sample Materials and engage in the conversation.

Related Blog Posts:

Effective iep goals for improving students’ point of view skills.

Introduction In special education, it is essential to address various skills that contribute to the overall development of students. One such significant skill is understanding others' perspectives, which plays a crucial role in fostering healthy social interactions...

Effective IEP Goals for PreK Students: Developing the Target Skill

In special education, it is crucial to identify and address target skills that can significantly impact a student's learning, social interactions, and overall wellbeing. One such essential skill is controlling strong emotions, which enables students to make better...

Effective IEP Goals for Developing Problem-Solving Skills

Special education plays a crucial role in helping students develop essential life skills. One such skill is problem-solving, which has a significant impact on students' learning, social interactions, and overall wellbeing. In this blog post, we will explore...

FREE MATERIALS

Better doesn’t have to be harder, social skills lessons students actually enjoy.

Be the best educator you can be with no extra prep time needed. Sign up to get access to free samples from the best Social Skills and Social-Emotional educational platform.

Get Started Instantly for Free

Complete guided therapy.

The subscription associated with this email has been cancelled and is no longer active. To reactivate your subscription, please log in.

If you would like to make changes to your account, please log in using the button below and navigate to the settings page. If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it using the button below.

Unfortunately it looks like we’re not able to create your subscription at this time. Please contact support to have the issue resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience. Error: Web signup - customer email already exists

Welcome back! The subscription associated with this email was previously cancelled, but don’t fret! We make it easy to reactivate your subscription and pick up right where you left off. Note that subscription reactivations aren't eligible for free trials, but your purchase is protected by a 30 day money back guarantee. Let us know anytime within 30 days if you aren’t satisfied and we'll send you a full refund, no questions asked. Please press ‘Continue’ to enter your payment details and reactivate your subscription

Notice About Our SEL Curriculum

Our SEL Curriculum is currently in a soft product launch stage and is only available by Site License. A Site License is currently defined as a school-building minimum or a minimum cost of $3,000 for the first year of use. Individual SEL Curriculum licenses are not currently available based on the current version of this product.

By clicking continue below, you understand that access to our SEL curriculum is currently limited to the terms above.

• Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu

An unusual outbreak of the disease has spread to dairy herds in multiple u.s. states..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.”

[MUSIC PLAYING]

The outbreak of bird flu that is tearing through the nation’s poultry farms is the worst in US history. But scientists say it’s now starting to spread into places and species it’s never been before.

Today, my colleague, Emily Anthes, explains.

It’s Monday, April 22.

Emily, welcome back to the show.

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

So, Emily, we’ve been talking here on “The Daily” about prices of things and how they’ve gotten so high, mostly in the context of inflation episodes. And one of the items that keeps coming up is eggs. Egg prices were through the roof last year, and we learned it was related to this. Avian flu has been surging in the United States. You’ve been covering this. Tell us what’s happening.

Yes, so I have been covering this virus for the last few years. And the bird flu is absolutely tearing through poultry flocks, and that is affecting egg prices. That’s a concern for everyone, for me and for my family. But when it comes to scientists, egg prices are pretty low on their list of concerns. Because they see this bird flu virus behaving differently than previous versions have. And they’re getting nervous, in particular, about the fact that this virus is reaching places and species where it’s never been before.

OK, so bird flu, though, isn’t new. I mean I remember hearing about cases in Asia in the ‘90s. Remind us how it began.

Bird flu refers to a bunch of different viruses that are adapted to spread best in birds. Wild water birds, in particular, are known for carrying these viruses. And flu viruses are famous for also being shapeshifters. So they’re constantly swapping genes around and evolving into new strains. And as you mentioned back in the ‘90s, a new version of bird flu, a virus known as H5N1, emerged in Asia. And it has been spreading on and off around the world since then, causing periodic outbreaks.

And how are these outbreaks caused?

So wild birds are the reservoir for the virus, which means they carry it in their bodies with them around the world as they fly and travel and migrate. And most of the time, these wild birds, like ducks and geese, don’t even get very sick from this virus. But they shed it. So as they’re traveling over a poultry farm maybe, if they happen to go to the bathroom in a pond that the chickens on the farm are using or eat some of the feed that chickens on the farm are eating, they can leave the virus behind.

And the virus can get into chickens. In some cases, it causes mild illness. It’s what’s known as low pathogenic avian influenza. But sometimes the virus mutates and evolves, and it can become extremely contagious and extremely fatal in poultry.

OK, so the virus comes through wild birds, but gets into farms like this, as you’re describing. How have farms traditionally handled outbreaks, when they do happen?

Well, because this threat isn’t new, there is a pretty well-established playbook for containing outbreaks. It’s sometimes known as stamping out. And brutally, what it means is killing the birds. So the virus is so deadly in this highly pathogenic form that it’s sort of destined to kill all the birds on a farm anyway once it gets in. So the response has traditionally been to proactively depopulate or cull all the birds, so it doesn’t have a chance to spread.

So that’s pretty costly for farmers.

It is. Although the US has a program where it will reimburse farmers for their losses. And the way these reimbursements work is they will reimburse farmers only for the birds that are proactively culled, and not for those who die naturally from the virus. And the thinking behind that is it’s a way to incentivize farmers to report outbreaks early.

So, OK, lots of chickens are killed in a way to manage these outbreaks. So we know how to deal with them. But what about now? Tell me about this new strain.

So this new version of the virus, it emerged in 2020.

After the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus, authorities have now confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of influenza, a kind of bird flu.

And pretty quickly it became clear that a couple things set it apart.

A bald eagle found dead at Carvins Cove has tested positive for the highly contagious bird flu.

This virus, for whatever reason, seemed very good at infecting all sorts of wild birds that we don’t normally associate with bird flu.

[BIRD CRYING]

He was kind of stepping, and then falling over, and using its wing to right itself.

Things like eagles and condors and pelicans.

We just lost a parliament of owls in Minneapolis.

Yeah, a couple of high profile nests.

And also in the past, wild birds have not traditionally gotten very sick from this virus. And this version of the virus not only spread widely through the wild bird population, but it proved to be devastating.

The washing up along the East Coast of the country from Scotland down to Suffolk.

We were hearing about mass die-offs of seabirds in Europe by the hundreds and the thousands.

And the bodies of the dead dot the island wherever you look.

Wow. OK. So then as we know, this strain, like previous ones, makes its way from wild animals to farmed animals, namely to chickens. But it’s even more deadly.

Absolutely. And in fact, it has already caused the worst bird flu outbreak in US history. So more than 90 million birds in the US have died as a result of this virus.

90 million birds.

Yes, and I should be clear that represents two things. So some of those birds are birds who naturally got infected and died from the virus. But the vast majority of them are birds that were proactively culled. What it adds up to is, is 90 million farmed birds in the US have died since this virus emerged. And it’s not just a chicken problem. Another thing that has been weird about this virus is it has jumped into other kinds of farms. It is the first time we’ve seen a bird flu virus jump into US livestock.

And it’s now been reported on a number of dairy farms across eight US states. And that’s just something that’s totally unprecedented.

So it’s showing up at Dairy farms now. You’re saying that bird flu has now spread to cows. How did that happen?

So we don’t know exactly how cows were first infected, but most scientists’ best guess is that maybe an infected wild bird that was migrating shed the virus into some cattle feed or a pasture or a pond, and cattle picked it up. The good news is they don’t seem to get nearly as sick as chickens do. They are generally making full recoveries on their own in a couple of weeks.

OK, so no mass culling of cows?

No, that doesn’t seem to be necessary at this point. But the bad news is that it’s starting to look like we’re seeing this virus spread from cow to cow. We don’t know exactly how that’s happening yet. But anytime you see cow-to-cow or mammal-to-mammal transmission, that’s a big concern.

And why is that exactly?

Well, there are a bunch of reasons. First, it could allow the outbreak to get much bigger, much faster, which might increase the risk to the food supply. And we might also expect it to increase the risk to farm workers, people who might be in contact with these sick cows.

Right now, the likelihood that a farmer who gets this virus passes it on is pretty low. But any time you see mammal-to-mammal transmission, it increases the chance that the virus will adapt and possibly, maybe one day get good at spreading between humans. To be clear, that’s not something that there’s any evidence happening in cows right now. But the fact that there’s any cow-to-cow transmission happening at all is enough to have scientists a bit concerned.

And then if we think more expansively beyond what’s happening on farms, there’s another big danger lurking out there. And that’s what happens when this virus gets into wild animals, vast populations that we can’t control.

We’ll be right back.

So, Emily, you said that another threat was the threat of flu in wild animal populations. Clearly, of course, it’s already in wild birds. Where else has it gone?

Well, the reason it’s become such a threat is because of how widespread it’s become in wild birds. So they keep reintroducing it to wild animal populations pretty much anywhere they go. So we’ve seen the virus repeatedly pop up in all sorts of animals that you might figure would eat a wild bird, so foxes, bobcats, bears. We actually saw it in a polar bear, raccoons. So a lot of carnivores and scavengers.

The thinking is that these animals might stumble across a sick or dead bird, eat it, and contract the virus that way. But we’re also seeing it show up in some more surprising places, too. We’ve seen the virus in a bottle-nosed dolphin, of all places.

And most devastatingly, we’ve seen enormous outbreaks in other sorts of marine mammals, especially sea lions and seals.

So elephant seals, in particular in South America, were just devastated by this virus last fall. My colleague Apoorva Mandavilli and I were talking to some scientists in South America who described to us what they called a scene from hell, of walking out onto a beach in Argentina that is normally crowded with chaotic, living, breathing, breeding, elephant seals — and the beach just being covered by carcass, after carcass, after carcass.

Mostly carcasses of young newborn pups. The virus seemed to have a mortality rate of 95 percent in these elephant seal pups, and they estimated that it might have killed more than 17,000 of the pups that were born last year. So almost the entire new generation of this colony. These are scientists that have studied these seals for decades. And they said they’ve never seen anything like it before.

And why is it so far reaching, Emily? I mean, what explains these mass die-offs?

There are probably a few explanations. One is just how much virus is out there in the environment being shed by wild birds into water and onto beaches. These are also places that viruses like this haven’t been before. So it’s reaching elephant seals and sea lions in South America that have no prior immunity.

There’s also the fact that these particular species, these sea lions and seals, tend to breed in these huge colonies all crowded together on beaches. And so what that means is if a virus makes its way into the colony, it’s very conducive conditions for it to spread. And scientists think that that’s actually what’s happening now. That it’s not just that all these seals are picking up the virus from individual birds, but that they’re actually passing it to each other.

So basically, this virus is spreading to places it’s never been before, kind of virgin snow territory, where animals just don’t have the immunity against it. And once it gets into a population packed on a beach, say, of elephant seals, it’s just like a knife through butter.

Absolutely. And an even more extreme example of that is what we’re starting to see happen in Antarctica, where there’s never been a bird flu outbreak before until last fall, for the first time, this virus reached the Antarctic mainland. And we are now seeing the virus move through colonies of not only seabirds and seals, but penguin colonies, which have not been exposed to these viruses before.

And it’s too soon to say what the toll will be. But penguins also, of course, are known for breeding in these large colonies.

Probably. don’t have many immune defenses against this virus, and of course, are facing all these other environmental threats. And so there’s a lot of fear that you add on the stress of a bird flu virus, and it could just be a tipping point for penguins.

Emily, at this point, I’m kind of wondering why more people aren’t talking about this. I mean, I didn’t know any of this before having this conversation with you, and it feels pretty worrying.

Well, a lot of experts and scientists are talking about this with rising alarm and in terms that are quite stark. They’re talking about the virus spreading through wild animal populations so quickly and so ferociously that they’re calling it an ecological disaster.

But that’s a disaster that sometimes seems distant from us, both geographically, we’re talking about things that are happening maybe at the tip of Argentina or in Antarctica. And also from our concerns of our everyday lives, what’s happening in Penguins might not seem like it has a lot to do with the price of a carton of eggs at the grocery store. But I think that we should be paying a lot of attention to how this virus is moving through animal populations, how quickly it’s moving through animal populations, and the opportunities that it is giving the virus to evolve into something that poses a much bigger threat to human health.

So the way it’s spreading in wild animals, even in remote places like Antarctica, that’s important to watch, at least in part because there’s a real danger to people here.

So we know that the virus can infect humans, and that generally it’s not very good at spreading between humans. But the concern all along has been that if this virus has more opportunities to spread between mammals, it will get better at spreading between them. And that seems to be what is happening in seals and sea lions. Scientists are already seeing evidence that the virus is adapting as it passes from marine mammal to marine mammal. And that could turn it into a virus that’s also better at spreading between people.

And if somebody walks out onto a beach and touches a dead sea lion, if their dog starts playing with a sea lion carcass, you could imagine that this virus could make its way out of marine mammals and into the human population. And if it’s this mammalian adapted version of the virus that makes its way out, that could be a bigger threat to human health.

So the sheer number of hosts that this disease has, the more opportunity it has to mutate, and the more chance it has to mutate in a way that would actually be dangerous for people.

Yes, and in particular, the more mammalian hosts. So that gives the virus many more opportunities to become a specialist in mammals instead of a specialist in birds, which is what it is right now.

Right. I like that, a specialist in mammals. So what can we do to contain this virus?

Well, scientists are exploring new options. There’s been a lot of discussion about whether we should start vaccinating chickens in the US. The government, USDA labs, have been testing some poultry vaccines. It’s probably scientifically feasible. There are challenges there, both in terms of logistics — just how would you go about vaccinating billions of chickens every year. There are also trade questions. Traditionally, a lot of countries have not been willing to accept poultry products from countries that vaccinate their poultry.

And there’s concern about whether the virus might spread undetected in flocks that are vaccinated. So as we saw with COVID, the vaccine can sometimes stop you from getting sick, but it doesn’t necessarily stop infection. And so countries are worried they might unknowingly import products that are harboring the virus.

And what about among wild animals? I mean, how do you even begin to get your head around that?

Yeah, I mean, thinking about vaccinating wild animals maybe makes vaccinating all the chickens in the US look easy. There has been some discussion of limited vaccination campaigns, but that’s not feasible on a global scale. So unfortunately, the bottom line is there isn’t a good way to stop spread in wild animals. We can try to protect some vulnerable populations, but we’re not going to stop the circulation of this virus.

So, Emily, we started this conversation with a kind of curiosity that “The Daily” had about the price of eggs. And then you explained the bird flu to us. And then somehow we ended up learning about an ecological disaster that’s unfolding all around us, and potentially the source of the next human pandemic. That is pretty scary.

It is scary, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by it. And I feel like I should take a step back and say none of this is inevitable. None of this is necessarily happening tomorrow. But this is why scientists are concerned and why they think it’s really important to keep a very close eye on what’s happening both on farms and off farms, as this virus spreads through all sorts of animal populations.

One thing that comes up again and again and again in my interviews with people who have been studying bird flu for decades, is how this virus never stops surprising them. And sometimes those are bad surprises, like these elephant seal die-offs, the incursions into dairy cattle. But there are some encouraging signs that have emerged recently. We’re starting to see some early evidence that some of the bird populations that survived early brushes with this virus might be developing some immunity. So that’s something that maybe could help slow the spread of this virus in animal populations.

We just don’t entirely know how this is going to play out. Flu is a very difficult, wily foe. And so that’s one reason scientists are trying to keep such a close, attentive eye on what’s happening.

Emily, thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Here’s what else you should know today.

On this vote, the yeas are 366 and the nays are 58. The bill is passed.

On Saturday, in four back-to-back votes, the House voted resoundingly to approve a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, delivering a major victory to President Biden, who made aid to Ukraine one of his top priorities.

On this vote, the yeas are 385, and the no’s are 34 with one answering present. The bill is passed without objection.

The House passed the component parts of the $95 billion package, which included a bill that could result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.

On this vote, the yeas are 311 and the nays are 112. The bill is passed.

Oh, one voting present. I missed it, but thank you.

In a remarkable breach of custom, Democrats stepped in to supply the crucial votes to push the legislation past hard-line Republican opposition and bring it to the floor.

The House will be in order.

The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as Tuesday.

Today’s episode was produced by Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Eric Krupke, and Alex Stern. It was edited by Lisa Chow and Patricia Willens; contains original music by Marion Lozano, Dan Powell, Rowan Niemisto, and Sophia Lanman; and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Andrew Jacobs.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Sabrina Tavernise. See you tomorrow.

• April 24, 2024   •   32:18 Is $60 Billion Enough to Save Ukraine?
• April 23, 2024   •   30:30 A Salacious Conspiracy or Just 34 Pieces of Paper?
• April 22, 2024   •   24:30 The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin
• April 15, 2024   •   24:07 Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel
• April 14, 2024   •   46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
• April 12, 2024   •   34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma

Hosted by Sabrina Tavernise

Produced by Rikki Novetsky ,  Nina Feldman ,  Eric Krupke and Alex Stern

Edited by Lisa Chow and Patricia Willens

Original music by Marion Lozano ,  Dan Powell ,  Rowan Niemisto and Sophia Lanman

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

The outbreak of bird flu currently tearing through the nation’s poultry is the worst in U.S. history. Scientists say it is now spreading beyond farms into places and species it has never been before.

Emily Anthes, a science reporter for The Times, explains.

On today’s episode

Emily Anthes , a science reporter for The New York Times.

Background reading

Scientists have faulted the federal response to bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms .

Here’s what to know about the outbreak.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Special thanks to Andrew Jacobs .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Advertisement