Working in teams can be a challenge but also offer many rewards. Developing the skills necessary to work effectively in teams is the focus of the third lesson plan in the Getting Started Module designed for middle schoolers. Participants...

What makes an effective team? Scholars explore the question with fun teambuilding activities. Additionally, they learn about the common characteristics of effective teams. Pupils also participate in a think-pair-share to understand the...

Divvy the class into equal teams and give each team a set of the same colored pinnies. Have players spread out around the gym and give each player a ball. The object of the game is to tag another team player with the ball. When a player...

Determine how many three-player teams you can make from five players. Pupils drag dots representing players to create a list of teams they can form with a limited number of players. They then find out the number of teams one...

First create a starting line and ending line in the gym. After divvying up the class into equal teams, each team lines up in a straight row behind the starting point. Each player is lined up behind the other on their team. When...

Interested in Mock Trial? Here's a guide designed for teachers and for team coaches that contains everything you need to prepare for the high school mock trial program.

Scholars learn effective communication and problem-solving skills with a fun team-building exercise. Next, they work together to build a structure using candy and uncooked spaghetti. Finally, they discuss what they learned about how a...

"What's in a name?" Is it irrelevant, as Juliet suggests in Shakespeare's play, or is nomenclature deeply significant? Young scholars weigh in on the debate by examining the controversy over the NFL's Washington, D.C. Redskins. Groups...

Playing team sports is about more than just scoring the most goals or winning the most games. Read this passage with your class and learn how athletes build character as members of a team. When finished, individuals identify the main...

Introduce your language arts class to connotation, denotation, and diction. Middle schoolers identify and differentiate between the connotative and denotative  meanings of words by analyzing the fictitious sports team names....

Call it soccer, call it football, but call it unfair! the US women's soccer team has called out the US Soccer Federation for unfair treatment in terms of salaries, support, and working conditions in a lawsuit filed in 2019. Young...

After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...

Be a team player! Learners examine the article Team Players and discuss how the title might relate to identity. They then analyze the article using the sheets Reader’s Notes: Team Players and Text-Dependent Questions: Team Players....

Get teams running around the perimeter of a court like a racetrack speedway. One person from each team—the number of teams depends on class size—runs around the "speedway" in the same direction, making it back to their team with a...

Educators and scholars come together to build a team of go-getters striving for positive change in their school and community. Become an insipreED team with this handy guide designed to get you started. Sixty pages outline the who, what,...

Put all the balls (same type of ball) in the middle of the basketball court. One person from each team must run to the center of the court and bring back the ball to their team's hula hoop. If using soccer balls, players must dribble;...

After separating the class into two teams—crows and cranes—each team lines up in the middle line of the gym with their backs facing each other. If the teacher yells out "cranes!" then all the cranes run to their side of the...

Set up several cones, pylons, or pins around the gym floor. Split that class into two equal groups. Assign one team as the knock'em downers and the other team as the pick'em uppers. Each team does exactly what their name implies....

What will it take to explore space? Teams of pupils determine the needs of a lunar outpost and research the required systems. The pupils then learn about the past space exploration vehicles. The third and final lesson challenges project...

There's a little bit about every aspect of weather in this trivia game. The lesson resource provides 36 questions and answers pertaining to four different topics related to weather: effects, science, technology, and statistics. Groups...

Time for more team work! Class members work in a team once again to complete Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Excerpt 5 Analysis note catcher. Before beginning, teams review the Group Work anchor chart and roles....

Would astronauts be able to grow their food on the Moon? Teams research plant growth in order to design and build a growth chamber that will function on the lunar surface. They narrow down plant choices based upon their...

Split the class in half. Set up two cones on opposite ends of the gym, using the gym lines as boundaries. These are the jails. The object of the game is to tag another player that is "older" (not in age) than another. The "fresher" a...

Everyone knows a tree makes a sound when it falls, but what do we know about dying trees? Class members learn background information about Laurel wilt disease from a teacher-led presentation. Team members work with partners to read and...