Lesson 8

Lesson 8: Teamwork

This lesson focuses on the importance of teamwork and strategies for being a team player.

Objectives

  • Define teamwork.
  • Identify how to be a good teammate.
  • Recognize why teamwork is important.

Materials

Expanding Your Knowledge

These optional activities and resources can reinforce lesson objectives in the home, engage families, or supplement classroom instruction.

Home Team

Using Pages 5-6 (How to Be a Team Player) of the WRS Lesson 8 Workbook, have students discuss with their parent or other family member how they are a team player at home. Ask a family member to help them list the things they do (or can do) in their home that benefit their family.

Scavenger Hunt

Divide students into teams of 3-4. Give each team a list of items (text, pictures, or both) to locate in a specific area (classroom, school, community). Advise students to work as a team to retrieve all of the items by a particular period of time. Offer a prize or small reward (e.g., candy, a homework pass) to the team that retrieves all items first. After the scavenger hunt, discuss with the students how they were able to work together, what role each member had, and the strengths they brought to the team.

The Missing Piece

Divide students into teams of 4-5 and give each team a simple 10-piece puzzle. Give each group all but 1 piece of the puzzle to assemble. Secretly give the missing piece to 1 group member and instruct them not to share it with the rest of the group. Discuss what happens when all members of a team do not contribute.

Team Job: Build & Deliver

Goal: Practice teamwork skills, such as sharing tasks, helping one another, and finishing a job together.

Materials

  • Legos
  • Plastic cup
  • Water

Steps

  1. Divide students into teams of 4.
  2. Assign roles or let students decide who will assume roles: builder, sorter, checker, leader.
  3. Inform students that they will have 5 minutes to construct a container that will hold and transport a cup of water.
  4. At the end of the time period, have students test their container.
  5. Discuss the importance of roles, and the strengths and skills of individuals and the team.

Repeat the game as time allows. For nonverbal students, allow use of AAC devices, pointing, or gestures. Praise students for both their listening and speaking skills.

Additional Resources

These additional resources support the content in the Pre-ETS Toolkit and provide even more ways to help students plan for the future.

Workplace Readiness Toolkit: Teamwork

This document provides 3 activities that can be conducted in school or at home with family members to reinforce the skill of teamwork. It is one of the lessons found in the Workplace Readiness Toolkit, a publication from the VCU Center on Transition Innovations.

Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth

This webpage provides lesson plans and activities for middle and high school students. Item 10 on the webpage offers specific lessons and resources for teamwork, a workplace readiness skill.

Lesson 9 >>