Require that all students participate in an activity designed to illustrate effective communication. Explain that effective class communication requires that students speak in a calm tone, use appropriate language, actively listen and wait for others to finish before speaking. Instruct students that active listeners have eyes on the speaker, may nod in agreement and ask meaningful questions after waiting their turn to speak. Instruct student teams to create a skit and a poster to demonstrate their knowledge of active listening and communication. Have teams present their skits to the class then hang their posters on the wall as reminders of how to communicate effectively.
Advise students that teams will utilize jobs as an organizational tool. Brainstorm a list of jobs teams may need to have in class. Decide on four to six permanent jobs each team needs to have and create a chart to hang in the classroom. Guide students to come up with permanent, versatile jobs such as artist, supply organizer, waste and time manager, writer and information-technology director. Instruct each team to designate team members' jobs, decide how often students will change jobs and how best to rotate the positions. Require teams to write down team job information in a team notebook or binder.
Lead students in an activity designed to create team spirit and belonging among team members. Provide each team with poster making supplies and time to create a team sign to hang over its table or desks. Require that all team members agree on team names and participate in creating the poster through writing or artwork. Direct all team members to sign the team poster when finished with the poster. Hang the team signs over the team table or area.
Designate a goal writing time each week and direct teams to reflect on and discuss the prior week's successes and areas for improvement. Instruct teams that all members must participate the discussion. Require that student teams keep a team reflection journal in which to write goals and reflections weekly. Guide teams to write meaningful goals by requiring that with each goal teams explain why the goal was created and how the team plans to achieve it.
Create an activity that requires teams to depend on each other to succeed at a task. te
Provide students with the task of following directions to create a simple craft, drawing or food item. Assign each team member a job such as viewer, supplier, builder and presenter. Instruct teams that each member can only do the designated job. Only the viewer looks at a model of the item to be created and tells the supplier what supplies to get and what to make. The supplier takes supplies to the builder and gives him the supplies and directions from the viewer. Viewer, supplier and builder repeat these steps until the team thinks they have the item correctly made. The presenter then takes the item to the teacher who tells him if the item is correct or needs more work. The activity continues until members have item correctly completed.