Team-Building Welcome Activities for Teachers

Learning about teamwork is valuable for new teachers.

As a new academic year kicks off, teachers attend welcome activities hosted by their schools. Team-building games are among those activities, intended to break the ice between new and existing teachers, allow them to get to know one another, and teach the value of teamwork.

Ha-Ha

Ha-Ha is an effective welcome game for teachers that gets everyone laughing. Divide the group into teams of three or four and instruct them to lie on the floor, side by side, as if they are sardines in a tin can. Teams stick together in clusters and compete against other teams to fulfill the goal of the game, which is to not laugh while they go around the room saying "Ha." The first person in the row starts off with "Ha," the second person says "Ha-ha" and so on. Teachers must keep a straight face, but anyone who bursts out in laughter disqualifies his team for the round.

Blind Walk

The blind walk, sometimes known as the trust walk, is a team and trust-building game. Pair up the teachers and give one person on each team a blindfold to wear. The person without the blindfold is the leader, responsible for navigating the blindfolded teammate through a series of commands, such as "stop," "go straight," "turn left" and "crouch down." The game inspires teammates to trust one another. After the first round, teammates switch positions, giving both teachers a chance to be the leader and the follower.

Human Knot

The human knot is a close-contact game that requires teachers to hold hands. Be certain that group members feel comfortable with this level of proximity. To play the game, teachers stand in a circle and hold hands with people around them, forming a web. Then, they must move one way or another so they become tangled in a human knot. The objective is for teachers to work together to untangle themselves without letting go of anyone's hand. Teachers have to strategize and communicate with one another to get untangled successfully.

Scavenger Hunt

A team scavenger hunt is an effective way to make teachers work together to solve clues and find the items on the scavenger list. Multiple teams race against one another to be the first to fine all of the items on the list. To prepare for a scavenger hunt, have an adequate amount of space. If you host the welcome activities at the school, use the cafeteria, library, classrooms and playground as your playing field. The more running around that the teachers have to do, the more entertaining the game.

References

• Wilderdom: Icebreakers, Warmups, Energizers, & Deinhibitizers