One question I'm asked a lot (most recently by Dawn C.), is about what team building activities can be done with small groups - always accompanied with, "Is there a good book I can purchase?" Cutting to the chase, I don't know of a 'team-building-focused' book that is specifically written for small-group work (this would be a useful resource if someone put it out there!!). However, as you might already know, there are lots of good small-group activities scattered among the plethora of team building activity books available to us.
A way I can help answer this question right now is to share some of the team building activities already posted here at the FUNdoing Blog, ones that can be done with smaller groups. They will be posted in this one, and other, 'mini-indexes' initially and then end up in the Master FUNdoing Blog Index I'm working on as we speak. A 'Small Group Activities' Category has also been added to the Categories located in the right sidebar of this blog in order to include new small group activities posted in the future.
As always, we would love to hear about your favorite small group activities. Leave a Comment below.
Small Group Activities: Mini-Index Volume #1:
A way I can help answer this question right now is to share some of the team building activities already posted here at the FUNdoing Blog, ones that can be done with smaller groups. They will be posted in this one, and other, 'mini-indexes' initially and then end up in the Master FUNdoing Blog Index I'm working on as we speak. A 'Small Group Activities' Category has also been added to the Categories located in the right sidebar of this blog in order to include new small group activities posted in the future.
As always, we would love to hear about your favorite small group activities. Leave a Comment below.
Small Group Activities: Mini-Index Volume #1:
Flip Flop Towers - (Video Included) I've used this one successfully with (middle school age and older) groups of two to four. Multiple groups can play at the same time. Each group needs a set of 30 Plastic (e.g., Solo) Cups. Great for working on the 'Success/Failure' paradigm, taking risks and process improvement.
Word Circle Puzzles - 'Puzzles' of all kinds are nice small group team building activities. The link here takes you to the basic idea of Word Circle Puzzles - including several puzzles to start with. Use the Search feature at the top of this blog page - type in Word Circle Puzzles - to access LOADS of free Circle Puzzles. For a more challenging version of Circle Puzzles, go to the free (and first) print-n-play Picture Word Circle Puzzle. (You can also pick up the Word & Picture Word Circle Puzzles Print-N-Play Kits at the FUNdoing Store. The Word Circle Puzzles Starter Kit has 12 Presentation Ideas and over a dozen puzzles to print and use right away. There is also an Assets Package from a Virtual Circle Puzzles training I presented - How to use Circle Puzzles in virtual settings.)
Play Time Puzzle Cards - Here's another easy puzzle to present to small groups. This one takes a lot of collective wisdom to get through.
Team Building Cards - Here is a (print-n-play) set of 24 team building behavior cards that can be used with small groups to prompt conversations about, well....team building. They can help a group create norms for themselves, solve a current problem or bring to light new behaviors they might want to incorporate. The cards can be brought out any time some team thinking will be useful.
Box Cards - All you need is a deck of cards and at least two players. It's a timed challenge that I've done with fourth graders and older. Lots of communication and planning. Then, process improvement through compromise and practice.
The Big Question - This one is a community building activity for any size group. In most cases, when I'm working with a large group, I divide them into smaller sub-groups of two to five people. Each group can be handed a list of Big Questions to talk through or all the sub-groups can be given (verbally) a Big Question to discuss for a certain amount of time - say, three minutes. After every three minutes (in either variation) stop to let sub-groups report out some memorable findings. There are question suggestions in the post, or, of course, create Big Questions relevant to your particular group(s).
Word Circle Puzzles - 'Puzzles' of all kinds are nice small group team building activities. The link here takes you to the basic idea of Word Circle Puzzles - including several puzzles to start with. Use the Search feature at the top of this blog page - type in Word Circle Puzzles - to access LOADS of free Circle Puzzles. For a more challenging version of Circle Puzzles, go to the free (and first) print-n-play Picture Word Circle Puzzle. (You can also pick up the Word & Picture Word Circle Puzzles Print-N-Play Kits at the FUNdoing Store. The Word Circle Puzzles Starter Kit has 12 Presentation Ideas and over a dozen puzzles to print and use right away. There is also an Assets Package from a Virtual Circle Puzzles training I presented - How to use Circle Puzzles in virtual settings.)
Play Time Puzzle Cards - Here's another easy puzzle to present to small groups. This one takes a lot of collective wisdom to get through.
Team Building Cards - Here is a (print-n-play) set of 24 team building behavior cards that can be used with small groups to prompt conversations about, well....team building. They can help a group create norms for themselves, solve a current problem or bring to light new behaviors they might want to incorporate. The cards can be brought out any time some team thinking will be useful.
Box Cards - All you need is a deck of cards and at least two players. It's a timed challenge that I've done with fourth graders and older. Lots of communication and planning. Then, process improvement through compromise and practice.
The Big Question - This one is a community building activity for any size group. In most cases, when I'm working with a large group, I divide them into smaller sub-groups of two to five people. Each group can be handed a list of Big Questions to talk through or all the sub-groups can be given (verbally) a Big Question to discuss for a certain amount of time - say, three minutes. After every three minutes (in either variation) stop to let sub-groups report out some memorable findings. There are question suggestions in the post, or, of course, create Big Questions relevant to your particular group(s).
I hope this initial list is useful. Please share a small-group favorite of your own - add it into the Comments below to grow our list. And, there's at least one more mini-index on the way - maybe more.
All the best,
Chris Cavert, Ed.D.
All the best,
Chris Cavert, Ed.D.
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