One of the best ways to improve communication skills in high school students is to involve them in team building activities. It will help the students interact with each other, and at the same time, enhance their communication skills.
Team building is a way to teach students to efficiently work with a diverse group to solve a problem or complete a task. It requires communication skills and the ability to compromise as well as support others.
Composition of Team
Team building works best when the students are randomly divided into teams or a team is created by the teacher. The group assignments should consist of students with different strengths and students who are also not too familiar with each other. This will encourage the students to work and learn from individuals with different skills while solving a problem. Team building activities gear up the teens and should be designed to help students learn skills that improve their ability to work cooperatively with others.
Types of Team Building Activities
The best team building activities are both entertaining and educational and keep the teens focused on the aim of building their team. Listed are a few examples of common team building activities for students to help improve their communication skills.
Spider’s Web
Start this activity by attaching string at various places and different heights in a room so that the string forms a spider web. Divide the students into two teams. Select one person from each team to be blindfolded. The goal of the activity is for the members to instruct the blindfolded student to go through the spider web to the other side of the room by giving commands and holding their hands. This will help the teens to communicate using team work and cooperate while building trust.
Walk the Plank
Divide the team into groups. Each group should have at least three to four students. Give each group two wooden planks to use to cross a large area. This activity is best when done in an outdoor area or a large room with enough space. Members of the group will pass forward one board while standing on the other in a single line until they arrive at the designated line or at the end of the room. No team member can step off the board. The goal of this activity is to promote communication, coordination, cooperation and team work so that they can finish the line quickly.
Use activities like the examples given and teens will benefit and easily learn to communicate. Here are a few more team building activities to try.
If you missed the previous articles in our teen communication series, read them now!
Does Your Teen Suffer From Poor Communication Skills?
Advantages of Personalized Learning for High School Students
Six Strategies to Develop Teen Communication Skills
Need more information? Order eguides created for the high school community – A Teen’s Guide to Resolving Conflict, Brochure for Teens in an Argument, Bullying and Cyber-bullying.
