A team contract is an agreement between all the members of a team, where each member commits to spending a certain amount of time each week to the activity. These contracts can be used by sports teams, science fair teams or scholastic teams. Team contracts help to build team spirit and motivation by holding each team member accountable to one another.
A team motto is a brief phrase that the team sings or shouts several times before they practice or compete. A good motto can help build teamwork by explicitly stating team values, and by encounraging the athletes to bond with one another by shouting it out without inhibition.
Team building activities do not have to be separate from the team's work. Often, just picking the right team objective will turn the team's daily exercises into team building activities. This was the case at the inner-city West Philadelphia High School, where a group of students designed a fuel-efficient yet attractive "car of the future." The group competed against colleges and companies in contests such as the GE Ecomagination Competition. The key with this strategy is to ask each student what she is interested in, then build an academically challenging project around those interests.
Many inner city high schools are breeding grounds for new music, such as R&B and hip-hop. If you want to build teamwork and team spirit at your inner city high school, you can do so by bringing your students together in musical groups. The challenge of singing and playing together teaches your students how to rely on their peers to get the job done.