TEAMWORK is the willingness to work in agreement with others to reach a common goal.

Why is TEAMWORK important anyway?

Throughout life you will have to work with other people to accomplish goals. You won’t be able to do everything on your own. Therefore, being able to work in agreement with others (teamwork) is an important character quality. Every group project you do in school, every family, every business, every team, every choir, every band, every club requires teamwork to be effective.

If you want to be an effective TEAM PLAYER, do these things:

• Do your part without complaining!
• Listen to other peoples’ ideas!
• Make yourself available to help others!
• Remember that your own opinion isn’t always right!
• Communicate clearly and respectfully!

Fun Family TEAMWORK Activity!

Your goal is to plan a Christmas party as a family. Everyone in the family has to participate and contribute. Here are some things you will need to decide:

• Date
• Location
• Guest List
• Food & Drinks
• Decorations
• Games

Each person should have input. You need to divide up responsibilities so that each person is in charge of something. This will be hard because children and adults often have different ideas of what is fun. See if you can use TEAMWORK as a family to come up with something—remember you will have to give and take! Then, maybe you can actually HAVE the party!


Books That Encourage TEAMWORK:

The Peace Seekers: The Nobel Peace Prize by Nathan Aaseng. Lemer Pub., 1987. Profiles of nine Nobel Peace Prize winners who fought for peace by resisting violence through words, marches, and protests.

Everything You Need to Know about Conflict Resolution by Amy Nathan. Rosen Pub. Group, 1999.
An informational resource that helps teens overcome disagreement with their peers and how they can solve conflicts so both parties are satisfied.

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting. Harcourt Brace, 1994.
When the Los Angeles riots break out in the streets of their neighborhood, a young boy and his mother learn the value of getting along with others.

Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman. HarperCollins, 1997.
One by one, a number of people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled inner-city lot into a productive and beautiful garden, and in doing so, the gardeners are themselves transformed.

Home Run Hero by Dean Hughes. Atheneum Books, 1999.
The players on his summer league baseball team, the Scrappers, have some talent, but Wilson is discouraged because they have an attitude problem and trouble working together as a team.