An idea that allows students to express themselves and also gives the classroom a sense of community is to create an art project, which everyone contributes to, that can be displayed all year. Make a sculpture out of clay that air dries; give students lumps of clay and ask them to create something to represent themselves. Share what each student creates and connect each piece together however you can, by stacking, sticking and pressing, until you have one large class sculpture consisting of many small ones. A less intense version of this is to make a collage wall where students color and cut out their own pieces to represent themselves and then all the pieces are taped or stapled together to hang on the wall.
Asking students to think about something outside of themselves is a way to get them focused on how others might feel, which is a vital skill for teamwork. As a class, undertake a project to do community service or help someone less fortunate; adopt a highway, a soldier or fundraise to donate to victims of a natural disaster. Let students use a democratic process to choose what cause they want to support and how. This will encourage them to make group decisions and hear all voices. Talk about the processes they are using to make the decisions and point out the elements of good teamwork as the project progresses. Then celebrate what a group of people can accomplish when they work together.
Write a detailed scenario, such as a shipwreck on a deserted island, and tell each student they are a character in the story. Begin by asking students what three things they would like to have with them if they were stranded on an island and incorporate these items into the story. Lead the activity as a "choose-your-own-adventure" story by asking students to make decisions about what they would like to do. Create situations or tasks that the students need to complete, such as building a fire or going fishing. Remind students to use what they brought. Have the students work together to get rescued or build an island paradise.
Put up cardboard dividers between desks, or just ask students not to look at their neighbors' creations for this activity. Give each student exactly the same blocks and give instructions, such as, "Stack two blocks on top of each other" or "Make a bridge between two blocks" until all blocks are incorporated into a structure. Then remove the cubicles and see how many different structures have been created from the same instructions. Talk about how important communication is and how differences can be appreciated. Try this activity in small groups and with a larger number of blocks for more discussion about teamwork during the building.