Noodles & Marshmallows

Now, that testing is officially done, we are having lots of fun and getting excited about learning again.

 *Sigh* 

All is right in the world. 

With the testing season Social Studies has been pushed to the side. We were too busy prepping  and reviewing and prepping some more. But now we are back in the game and diving head first  into the American Revolution. (My favorite!) 

I have a couple of group projects in mind for our new SS unit and thought that we needed some review with group expectations so I've planned a couple of activities for the week. I'm hoping these will refresh our expectations when working in a group and give us some time to reconnect with classmates. 

Today's focus: TEAMWORK 

We defined teamwork (working cooperatively to meet a common goal) and completed a graphic organizer that detailed what teamwork, looks like and sounds like. 

Then the kiddos got to work! In groups they worked towards a common goal:  building towers using spaghetti noodles, mini-marshmallows and play dough. I got this idea from Danielle @ School Counselor Blog.

 It was so nice to see the kids working together and problem solving. As a class they set a goal of building towers that were @ least 15 inches high. Which is pretty tricky with the delicate noodles! 

The tower below ended up being a windmill. So creative! :) 

When we got back to class we reflected on how our groups showed teamwork. 

I'll call this one a success! What team building activities do you use in your class???