Community+Building

   [|Community Building Video]

  ACTIVITES: http://www.ventureteambuilding.co.uk/human_knot.html
 * == Human Knot ==
 * Arrange group members in a circle.
 * Tell everyone to put their right hand up in the air, and then grab the hand of someone across the circle from them.
 * Everyone then puts their left hand up in the air and grabs the hand of a different person.
 * Check to make sure that everyone is holding the hands of two different people and that they are not holding hands with someone directly next to them.
 * Explain to the group that they must now untangle themselves to make a circle without breaking the chain of hands.
 * Get participants to take their time in order to limit injuries. Ask the group not to tug or pull on each other and spot participants as they pass over other participants.
 * If group members break the chain, they must then start over again
 * Useful Tips .**
 * If you have a large group, split them up into smaller groups. If there are too many people in a human knot it becomes extremely difficult.
 * You can give teams a time limit on this activity to make it more challenging. You can also mute/ blindfold participants throughout the activity.
 * Instead of making groups start over when the chain is broken you can create penalties like blinding or muting a group member. ||




 * 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.

http://highschoolmediator.com/team-building-activities-to-improve-teen-communication/

Magic Cane

 * Line up in two rows which face each other.
 * Introduce the Magic Cane- a long, thin, bamboo cane.
 * Ask participants to point their index fingers and hold their arms out.
 * Lay the cane down on their fingers. Get the group to adjust their finger heights until the cane is horizontal and everyone's index fingers are touching the stick.
 * Explain that the challenge is to lower the cane to the ground.
 * The rule: Each person's fingers must be in contact with the cane at all times. Pinching or grabbing is not permitted - it must rest on top of fingers.
 * Reiterate to the group that if anyone's finger is caught not touching the cane, the task will be restarted.

Delivery Notes
**Key Points from the review.** **Useful Tips .**
 * Group need to correctly identify the problem. If you ask the participants they will usually identify the problem as getting the cane to the floor. This is a common mistake as this is the goal not the problem.
 * Review the planning that took place.
 * Review how the leader of the task was chosen. – What qualities were needed? Where was the person in the line? It should have been someone in the middle of the task so that everyone could see them.
 * They must correctly identify the problem.
 * They must plan how they are going to solve the problems.
 * They must decide who is best suited to mange the task.
 * They must communicate clearly as a group.
 * The collective pressure created by everyone's fingers tends to be greater than the weight of the bamboo cane. As a result, the more a group tries, the more the cane 'floats' upwards.
 * To make the exercise more difficult, introduce a no talking rule or blindfold a participant.

http://www.ventureteambuilding.co.uk/magic_cane.html


 * 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.

http://highschoolmediator.com/team-building-activities-to-improve-teen-communication/

BUILDING SCHOOL COMMUNITY:

[|Creating School Community]

[|Building School Community]

[|The Art of Building School Community]

This is a great way for other students to compliment their classmates! [|Pinterest]