Emotional intelligence activity
Group Conflict Resolution Workshop
Learn to solve disagreements in a GROUP — three or more people who all want different things. Practice taking everyone's turn to speak and finding solutions where the whole group is okay.
Materials and setup
No special materials are listed; check each step before starting.
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Learn to solve disagreements in a GROUP — three or more people who all want different things. Practice taking everyone's turn to speak and finding solutions where the whole group is okay.
Steps
- Today's focus: a GROUP, not just two people. Use 3-4 stuffed animals so everyone has to be heard.
- Act out a group conflict: three animals want to play three DIFFERENT games. What do they do?
- Ask: How does EACH animal feel? Go around to every one — not just the loudest.
- Teach 3 group solutions: take turns across the whole group, vote, or do a little of each person's idea.
- Practice: 'I feel ___. What about YOU? And YOU?' Make sure every animal gets a turn.
- Act it out again with a solution the WHOLE group agrees on.
Learning objectives
- Recognize that group conflicts have more than two viewpoints
- Practice making sure every person in a small group gets heard
- Learn 3 group-level strategies: turn-taking around the group, voting, and combining ideas
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Practice resolving GROUP conflicts — team disagreements and playtime fights where 3 or more kids want different things. Learn to go around the whole group so every person's view gets heard before deciding.
Steps
- Focus: this is about GROUPS of 3+ kids, not one-on-one.
- Introduce the 5-step GROUP process: Stop, Go Around (every person speaks, not just the first two), Listen, Find overlap, Decide together.
- Role-play 3 GROUP scenarios: a team of 4 kids picking one game, 3 siblings choosing one movie, a group of friends planning what to do at the park.
- For each: go around the WHOLE group asking, 'I feel ___ when ___. I wish ___.' No skipping the quiet kid.
- Create a Group Peace Corner with a feelings chart and a 'whose turn to speak' stick so every member gets the floor.
- Make a Group Agreement poster listing the rules for group disagreements: everyone gets a turn, no one talks twice before everyone talks once.
Learning objectives
- Follow a 5-step conflict resolution process specifically for groups of 3 or more
- Ensure every person in a group gets to speak before deciding
- Build group tools (talking stick, rules) for multi-person conflicts
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Build group-level conflict skills: take multiple perspectives at once, mediate between 3+ people, and help a team or group project move forward when everyone wants something different.
Steps
- All scenarios today involve 3 or more people — a team, a group project, a family of 4+.
- Discuss GROUP approaches: compromise across many people, collaboration (new solution the whole group invents), and group mediation (one person helps the whole group hear each other).
- Role-play a group project where 4 kids want to make 4 different things. Practice each approach. Which handled the group best?
- Learn multi-perspective mediation: listen to EVERY member of the group without judging, make sure the quieter voices get as much air time as the louder ones.
- Mediate a staged GROUP conflict between 3+ family members (picking a restaurant, splitting chores, deciding a weekend plan).
- Create a Group Conflict Toolkit poster with strategies organized by group size (3 people, 4-5 people, whole class).
Learning objectives
- Apply group-level conflict resolution strategies to teams and group projects
- Mediate between 3 or more people and give equal voice to each
- Take multiple perspectives simultaneously rather than just two sides
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Advanced group and multi-stakeholder conflict resolution: handle situations with many competing viewpoints, practice perspective-taking across 4+ people, and design a process for groups (family, team, class) to make fair decisions together.
Steps
- All work today is on GROUP or multi-stakeholder conflicts — never just two people.
- Research a famous group negotiation with MANY parties (Camp David with multiple delegations, a UN peace process, a city council land-use dispute). Summarize who the stakeholders were and what each wanted.
- Analyze a current multi-party real-world issue from the news: list at least 4 stakeholders and what each group wants.
- Practice multi-stakeholder negotiation: in a family or friend group of 4+, plan a shared event (vacation, meal, game night) where EVERYONE wants something different. Find shared interests across all.
- Role-play a community dispute with 4+ stakeholders (neighbors, business owner, kids, city) — each person plays one stakeholder. Practice giving every perspective equal weight.
- Design a GROUP decision-making process for your family or team: how will you handle future multi-person disagreements? Write guidelines, a step-by-step process, and a rule for quiet voices.
- Present your group process and run a practice session.
Learning objectives
- Analyze and mediate conflicts with 4 or more stakeholders holding different views
- Take simultaneous perspective across many viewpoints, not just two sides
- Design a fair group decision-making process for future multi-person disagreements
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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