Emotional intelligence activity
Teamwork Tower
Build a tower together as a team! Practice taking turns, communicating, and working toward a shared goal. Each person adds one block at a time.
Materials and setup
- building blocks or LEGO
- toy car (for bridge challenge)
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Build a tower together as a team! Practice taking turns, communicating, and working toward a shared goal. Each person adds one block at a time.
Steps
- Sit together with a pile of blocks.
- Rule: take turns adding ONE block at a time. Talk about where to put it!
- Practice phrases: 'Your turn!' 'How about putting it here?' 'Good idea!'
- Try to build the tallest tower possible working together.
- When it falls, say: 'That's okay! We built it together and we can try again!'
Learning objectives
- Practice turn-taking in a cooperative activity
- Communicate ideas respectfully with a building partner
- Experience working toward a shared goal as a team
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Cooperative building challenge with constraints! Work with a partner to build a structure, but each person can only use one hand. Communication is key!
Steps
- Challenge: build a bridge that can hold a toy car. Each person uses only one hand!
- Before building, plan together: 'What should our bridge look like? Who does what?'
- Build together, communicating each step: 'Hold this piece while I attach that one.'
- Test the bridge with a toy car. Does it hold? If not, discuss and improve.
- Reflect: 'What was hard about working together? What did we do well?'
Learning objectives
- Collaborate under constraints that require communication
- Plan and delegate tasks within a partnership
- Reflect on teamwork experience and identify strengths and challenges
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Take on an engineering team challenge! Design and build a structure that meets specific requirements (holds weight, reaches a height, spans a gap). Assign team roles, plan before building, and present your creation.
Steps
- Read the challenge card: 'Build a tower at least 12 inches tall that can hold a book on top using only 20 blocks.'
- Assign team roles: Architect (designs the plan), Builder (places pieces), Quality Checker (tests stability).
- Spend 5 minutes planning on paper before touching any materials.
- Build your structure as a team, communicating and adjusting as needed.
- Test it! Does it meet the requirements? If not, discuss improvements and rebuild.
- Present your structure: explain your design choices, what worked, and what you would change.
Learning objectives
- Assign and respect team roles in a collaborative project
- Plan before acting and adjust plans based on results
- Communicate effectively during a hands-on team task
- Present and explain collaborative work to others
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Lead a team engineering competition with multiple rounds of increasing difficulty. Each round has new constraints. Evaluate team dynamics after each round and actively improve collaboration strategies.
Steps
- Set up 3 rounds of building challenges with increasing difficulty: Round 1 (free build, tallest wins), Round 2 (limited materials, must hold weight), Round 3 (blindfolded builder, only verbal instructions from teammate).
- Before each round, discuss strategy as a team for 3 minutes.
- After each round, fill out a Team Evaluation: Communication (1-5), Cooperation (1-5), Problem-Solving (1-5), and one specific improvement for next round.
- In Round 3, practice giving clear, specific instructions and patient listening.
- After all rounds, write a Team Reflection: What did you learn about teamwork? What was your biggest challenge? How did your team improve across rounds?
- Discuss: How do these teamwork skills apply to school, sports, or other group activities?
Learning objectives
- Adapt teamwork strategies to different constraints and challenges
- Evaluate team performance using specific criteria and self-assessment
- Give clear verbal instructions and practice active listening
- Reflect on teamwork growth and transfer skills to other contexts
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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