Group dynamics for adolescents are assertive strategies that encourage solidarity, problem solving, as well as the application of logical thinking to improve productivity. During adolescence it is essential to put into practice different activities that promote social integration and that help young people learn to reflect on topics such as morality and values, but in an entertaining way.
In this Psychology-Online article, we explain 16 fun group dynamics for teenagers with which you can work on various values.
Why apply group dynamics for teenagers
Group dynamics for adolescents have many psychosocial, physical and cognitive benefits. It is no secret that in the stage of life, individuals tend to be more shy and even withdrawn due to the hormonal and biological changes they must face.
When they engage in team-building activities, they learn to interact with other people, follow established rules, and question their own individual perspectives – vital for developing healthy and constructive social skills. Below you will find other positive aspects of applying group dynamics for adolescents:
- It motivates them to work as a team, especially when their colleagues encourage them to complete their activities.
- Improves your communication skills: if you are introverted, for example, these activities will give you the opportunity to mingle with peers of similar tastes.
- Improves their productivity: working as a team will allow them to generate multiple ideas and compare them to solve the problem at hand.
- It helps to discover their own strengths and weaknesses so that they can work on improving the aspects in which they should be more outstanding.
- They encourage critical thinking, since adolescents learn different points of view to confront situations. This expands your logic and gives you the tools necessary for problem solving in daily life.
- It improves cooperation between colleagues and is a good opportunity for constructive feedback.
On the other hand, these dynamics are conducive activities for develop leadership and responsibility skills of all team members. Now that you know its advantages, below we will explain some of the group dynamics for adolescents most applied in different educational, social or entertainment fields.
Group dynamics for adolescents on self-esteem
Self-esteem is a fundamental component in the emotional and social development of adolescents, as it influences their perception of themselves and the way they interact with others. Therefore, in this section you will find some group dynamics on self-esteem that offer a favorable space to strengthen the self-esteem of adolescents, allowing them to explore and understand their strengths, weaknesses and challenges in a participatory and collaborative way.
1. How they see me
This is a very entertaining and beautiful group dynamic for teenagers. The idea is that each participant has a sheet of paper taped to their back with the words “What I like most about you.” Each partner will write what they like most about that person on that paper.
At the end, each student will take their sheet of paper to read what the others wrote. The goal is to discover all the good that other people see in us and that perhaps we are not able to understand on our own.
2. My fears and hopes
Each participant will have the opportunity to write their fears and hopes on a sheet of paper. The debate coordinator will give each person the right to speak so they can read what they have written and will take note of the most important aspects on the board.
The objective of this dynamic is that at the end of the readings everyone can participate in a kind of forum to express their emotions without fear of being judged.
3. The box and the mirror
The objective of this dynamic is for the participants to learn to recognize that they are all very people important in this world. To do it, you must give them a cardboard box with a mirror inside, without them knowing what is inside. Afterwards, you will tell him to look inside the box, there is the photograph of the most valuable person in the world.
The idea is that, at the end of the dynamic, all participants express what they felt when seeing their own reflection in the mirror.
Group dynamics for adolescents on empathy
The following dynamics are perfect for promoting empathy in adolescents, so that they learn to value their peers and be supportive of other people.
1. The onion
This is a dynamic that helps colleagues get to know each other a little more and empathize One with another. Plus, it’s perfect for group connection. The game starts by choosing one of the members as the farmer. Then, follow this process:
- The participants will form a concentric circle that will simulate the layers of the onion.
- The farmer will try to separate them as if he were peeling an onion.
- Each of the members who is separated becomes a farmer and will try to separate the other members, and so on until everyone is free from the onion.
At the end of the dynamic, each student will tell their experiences.
2. The friendly library
Is a simple and assertive dynamics in which you just need a lot of desire to listen and express yourself. Its mechanics are very simple, since it only involves the partners forming pairs and telling each other about a moment in their life when their emotions were most exposed, for example, during a duel or a separation.
The objective is for the partners in the dynamic to learn to listen without judging and to know how to express their own emotions.
3. What would you do?
For this activity, a debate coordinator must be appointed to prepare a series of questions for the participants of the dynamic. There are no good or bad answers, since everyone can express their point of view and the idea is to learn to empathize with the problems of others.
Some of the questions that can be asked to the group are:
- If you see a person dirtying someone else’s house, what would you do?
- If someone on the street fell in front of you, how would you act?
- If you saw a classmate mistreating another student, what would you do?
In relation to this topic, in the following article you will find information about .
Group dynamics for adolescents about values
The following group dynamics on values promote active listening, mutual respect and empathyallowing adolescents explore different perspectives and learn from others. By participating in these activities, young people strengthen their understanding of personal and social values.
1. The dragon
This dynamic serves to work on value of cooperation and active listening. Two groups of between six to seven people must participate. Additionally, one of the designated companions will be the dragon. The objective is for each group to be a town, where the participants must organize themselves in a column in order of size, from smallest to largest, to scare the dragon, but they must do it blindfolded!
To do this, they must listen to each other one by one and try to organize themselves in the best possible way. The dragon will be in charge of saying which team is ready, and when this happens, the members of the group must say at the same time Boo! To scare the dragon. The team that finishes first and says Boo! Before the other, he is the one who wins the game.
2. The electric fence
It is a group dynamic to promote teamwork and trust. It is played as follows:
- Form two or three teams of five members each team.
- Tie a rope at ground level that will be “the electric fence.”
- Now, tell each team to cross over the electric fence at the same time, but without touching it.
The winner is the team that finishes in the shortest time possible and without getting electrocuted.
3. Collaborate creating
This is one of the simplest dynamics to apply, but it is very effective. You just have to ask the members of a team to organize themselves the day before so that each one brings the necessary material with which they are going to make an illustrated story book.
Next, ask everyone to write a story and include drawings or animations. The idea is that he improves his collaboration skills and let creativity fly.
4. Construction
It is a dynamic for To promote teamwork. The idea is that each of the participants makes their contribution to build a model or representative building with recyclable materials.
The first step is to agree to choose the model, as well as designate the material that each person will provide. At the end of the project, you can meet to discuss what you thought of the experience.
Fun group dynamics for teenagers
Laughter is an important element in adolescent group dynamics, because it allows them to be themselves, while they learn and have fun. Now, we propose some fun dynamics that will remain forever in the memory of boys and girls.
1. The dancing ball
To carry out this simple and fun dynamic you will only need a ball. Participants will form a circle and designate someone to increase and decrease the volume of a music player.
The ball will begin to pass from hand to hand while the music plays. When it goes out, whoever has the ball in their hand must dance as you see fit.
2. The story
The objective of this dynamic is that one of the members will read the content of a sheet of paper in their mind. He will then whisper to one of his companions what he interpreted from the sheet. That partner will do the same with the next one and so on they tell each other in their ear what they hear.
At the end, The last partner must say out loud what he heard and compare it with the original sheet where the story was. We assure you that laughter will be guaranteed.
3. My favorite famous person
In this case, each participant chooses a famous character that they like and will imitate it in front of the entire group so that the others can guess who it is. Of course he should do as many mimes as possible, to make the game more fun.
4. Escape room
This is one of the most entertaining group dynamics for teenagers for teams of four to five people. First of all, different riddles, clues and puzzles will have to be placed in a space so that the members try to find the exit.
Without a doubt, it is very interesting because tests creativity and logical thinking while they have fun.
5. The human knot
For this activity you will only need a lot of desire to laugh. To play, players must hold hands and form a circle. Afterwards, they will try to unscrew themselves, but without letting go of their hands, which will give them many minutes of fun.
6. Animals
Lastly, this is another one of…