Youth Activity

Cooperation Squares

Erika Petrelli, The Leadership Program


At The Leadership Program, we love Cooperation Squares, for both students and adults! In this fun challenge, students are grouped together in clusters of six to eight and have to figure out how to get themselves to fit entirely on an ever-shrinking stack of papers.

Prep Time: Minimal

Activity Time: 30 minutes

Grade Level: 5th-12th

Group Size: Small group, Large group

Environment: This activity works well indoors in an open room. It can also be done outside on a non-windy day.

Objective: The objective of this activity is for students to use creative problem solving to find solutions for an increasingly difficult task-- what starts as a game where students can practically just stand on the paper to be successful turns into an exercise in creativity-- do they form a pyramid? Do they use chairs? Do they rip the paper? Students can come up with limitless ways to be successful.

Materials Needed: A large stack of paper/card stock (enough for each group to have four to six pieces, with some extra in case they rip).

Directions: Divide the class into groups of six to eight.
Place four to six pieces of paper on the floor next to each group. Explain the goal: every group member must be touching the paper. Explain the one rule: no one can be touching the floor. Note: In order to encourage group problem solving, if a student asks a question, for example, “Can we move the paper?” simply respond, “There is only one rule…no one can be touching the floor.” Have groups begin the activity by trying to achieve the goal. When a group thinks they have achieved the goal, they must call you over to inspect their “position,” making sure that no one is touching the floor. These positions must be held for a quick count of 10. Once the group achieves the goal, continue to increase the challenge by removing sheets of paper. Be sure to congratulate each group each time they have had a success. The exercise ends when it is apparent that another successful round may not be possible.

Adaptations: As appropriate, a student can be situated on a chair or the floor and the other students can try to achieve the task surrounding that student.

Variations: Students can "compete" with each small group demonstrating their success to the larger group, with the group that is ultimately successful using the smallest amount of paper declared the winner.

Safety: It is important to stress to students to be respectful of each other's space, as the group tends to get pretty tied up with each other as the challenge increases. Make sure students ask each other what they are comfortable with, in terms of physical contact. All students must ask permission before touching another student or creating any sort of pyramid or other physical structure.

Student Leadership: This activity provides a great opportunity for leaders to emerge in the group-- one or more students can begin to make suggestions on how the group can be successful, and offer instructions for what each team member should do.
 

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Advancement Project released a guide for educators that will "help improve school climate and reduce racial disparities in school discipline."


More than 700 students participated in a research measuring writing growth in grade 4 and 7 students. Click here for a summary of the results.

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