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Short yet full of helpful information, this book examines 13 practice activities for teachers to utilize in developing successful group work with their students. In 56 pages including an introduction, appendix, references and the author’s qualifications, the book is nicely categorized into five sections, each with one to three chapters regarding these sections. These sections include “Getting to Know Each Other Activities,” “The Benefits of Teamwork,” “Team Building Activities,” “Teamwork Skills and Strategies,” and “Reflection and Evaluation.” All of these skills help students to boost their communication skills, develop rapport with other students, and find ways to help to meet their goals. Each chapter focuses on the time involved, materials needed, the team-building skill, procedures, and, sometimes, debriefing questions.
This is a valuable book to add to a teacher’s toolkit. As an adjunct to other materials, it simplifies ways to help teachers reach their students through group work—work that is very valuable for learning. It is quite easy to read and to implement the activities. Each chapter is beneficial, and the ending with the focus on evaluating group technique is something that may be missing in other books. Likewise, the focus on celebrating students’ successes at the end of the work is also important, as is the information on different ways to assign group work, since it’s not always beneficial to only have groups formed by friendships as some students will be excluded. The only thing that would have been valuable to add to the book is if the author had noted age-appropriate group techniques. But overall, this a successful book that can not only be used by teachers but also by others who may conduct groups such as counselors and therapists.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review