Putting Values Into Action: Cooperation
Author’s Note: The first two activities are a little tricky and can get noisy. You may want to choose to do this activity outside or in a
gymnasium. Be sure to remind students that SAFETY is their number one priority at all times.
Activity 1, Human Knot:
Divide students first into groups of four and have them stand in a circle. Tell students they are going to be doing an activity to demonstrate a value and that they will be asked to share their observations and feelings about the activity when finished. Have everyone put their right hand in the middle and hold the hand of the person directly across from them. Then have
students do the same with the left hand, only holding left hands with another person. They should now all be holding hands. Tell them that this is called the human knot and they now have to figure out how to get untwisted WITHOUT letting go of hands! Here are three important things students should know before they begin:
1. Students may step over or go under each others’ hands, but their goal is to get themselves back into the circle (facing forward or backward is fine) without letting go.
2. Another important rule to follow is that they make only one move at a time.
3. Ask students to first show you and then sit down as a team when they are finished. Walk around the room and monitor each group, but be careful not to provide too much assistance, allowing students to solve this problem on their own. What will probably happen is that some teams will finish quickly and others will take a little longer.
Activity 2, Human Knot #2:
When all groups are finished, or after a time limit of three minutes, combine two groups to make groups of eight. (This may not work out evenly, please adapt to the size of your class-I would even suggest to have one group of eight go at a time and have others observe. This will make managing the group much easier.)
1. Again ask them to reach across and join right hands with someone across from them; then join left hands with someone else who is NOT next to them.
2. Remind them that they may make only one move at a time.
3. They must not let go of hands at any point.
4. Students should sit down after showing you that their team is done.
With eight people, you should see some interesting interactions taking place within the groups! Some groups may finish quickly while other groups will take longer. Observe what is happening in each group so that you may bring up some of their interactions during the discussion. If some groups are still not finished when you feel they have had adequate time, ask them to drop hands and return to their seats. IT IS IMPORTANT TO LET STUDENTS KNOW THAT THE HUMAN KNOT CAN BE UNDONE!
Activity 3, Student Discussion:
Ask students some of the following questions:
? What happened when you first did the Human Knot with four people?
? What kind of interactions/experiences did you have with your group?
? Was it hard or easy? How well do you think you cooperated?
(Note: Students should have found the first human knot easier and the
groups should have had few or little problems communicating.)
? What happened when you did the Human Knot with eight people?
? What kinds of interactions/experiences did you have with your group this time?
? Was this time easier or more difficult? Why do you think so?
? How well do you think you cooperated? What factors influenced your cooperation?
? How can we apply some of these situations to real life? Can you think of some times when you need to cooperate in a different way than usual?
What things make it hard for you to cooperate with people in real life?
– Jen Wheeler, 4th grade teacher, Kyrene de las Loma