The Best Team Building Activity for Middle School Students
Team building activities are an important way to begin the school year, especially in middle school.
Why are Team Building Activities Important?
Team building activities spark essential classroom discussions that remind middle school students to
Treat one another kindly.
Build one another up when speaking.
How to be respectful to other students’ ideas
How to communicate with one another
All of the above are important so that all students feel comfortable asking questions or making mistakes in the classroom.
Not only that, but team building activities can also be fun and engaging icebreakers that can have students laughing and getting to know one another as they begin a new school year.
Tallest Paper Tower Challenge
This team building activity is, in my opinion, the best because it requires supplies you already have in your classroom and encourages great discussion and teamwork! This activity also includes creativity and STEM skills.
Here are the details on how to incorporate this simple but effective team building activity.
Materials Needed for Each Group of Students:
1 Large Piece of Construction Paper (2 Smaller pieces also works)
Approximately 2 Feet of Tape (Masking Tape or Painter’s Tape)
1 Pair of Scissors
You will also need one yardstick to measure the towers
You will need a large piece of construction paper and a foot of masking tape (or painter’s tape) for each group of students.
How to Implement the Tallest Paper Tower Challenge
Have a discussion before starting about what it means to work as a group and to speak kindly to one another. If possible create a poster web of teamwork.
Break students into groups of four or five students in each group.
Tell students that the challenge will be to build the tallest paper tower with the given supplies. Then, give the groups 5-10 minutes to discuss a plan, using paper and pencil.
When you are ready, hand out the supplies. Give groups 20-25 minutes to create their tower. Remind them that the tower needs to stand on its own when the timer goes off.
When time is up, measure each group’s tower and recognize the top towers.
Most importantly have students reflect on how they worked as a team. Ask them questions such as:
What was most challenging about this activity?
What did your group do well during this activity?
What would your group do differently if you were to do it again?
What did this activity teach you about working as a team?
If you made a teamwork web before the activity, you could also have students add more ideas to the poster.
More Team Building Ideas
Looking for more engaging team building activities? Check out my Team Building Activities packet that includes detailed directions for five activities (including the tallest paper tower challenge), as well as a booklet with before and after reflection questions. Best of all, these fun activities can be used with any subject.
