Teaching Cooperation: Teamwork Activities That Actually Work With Strong Personalities

You put kids in groups and within five minutes someone is bossing, someone is checked out, and someone is in tears.

Cooperation isn’t natural—it’s a skill we have to teach explicitly.

Best cooperative structures for classrooms:

1.  Silent Line-Up

Kids must line up by birthday/shoe size/height without talking. Forces non-verbal negotiation and laughter.

2.  One Paper, One Pencil Challenge

Give a group one sheet of paper and one pencil to complete a task (draw a house, list 20 animals). They have to cooperate or fail hilariously.

3.  Cooperative Learning Mats

Create mats with roles: Encourager, Materials Manager, Recorder, Time Keeper. Rotate weekly.

Display a sentence starters poster:

•  “I like your idea. Can we add…?”

•  “It’s okay to disagree. Let’s vote.”

•  “How can I help you feel heard?”

Auto-B-Good’s Cooperation episode with a big snow storm that threatens to keep Izzi from an important event until everyone works together to get her there. Reinforce the lesson with the cooperative learning mats and role-play cards are teacher gold.

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