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Social emotional learning and social skills lessons can be so fun to teach and execute in the classroom. But, if your students are anything like mine, it can be really hard for them to access those skills when reality hits. This is why I love using cooperative board games in the classroom. These games don’t have one winner, but require the players to work together and reach a common goal.
Before playing a cooperative board game (usually in small groups), I like to set up some goals. They often sound something like: be a cheerleader, offer gentle reminders, and be a team player. At the end of the game, we check in with ourselves and see if we were able to follow those expectations.
Here are a few of my favorite cooperative board games for you to try out with your students.
Hoot Owl Hoot
This is my FAVORITE cooperative board game! The players try to get all of the owls to the nest before the sun rises. Students love challenging themselves by adding more owls to try to make it before the sunrise. I have played this game most frequently with 1-2 graders.
Cauldron Quest
The players have to work together to beat the wizard by creating magic potions. This is a game that can work for 2-5 graders, and provides plenty of opportunity for skill building.
Feed the Woozle
This game is all about feeding the Woozle silly snacks before they’re all gone! I love that this game has differentiation built in. This can come in handy for younger learners (play at the simplest level), or to have students start with a simple version and advance the more you play!
Friends and Neighbors
This game is PERFECT for targeting tons of social emotional and social skills concepts. The students name the emotions the characters are feeling and work together to see how they can help. What a great cooperative board game to introduce empathy!
Race to the Treasure
The team works together to gather keys in order to beat an ogre to the treasure! The concept of the game is super engaging to every student I have played with. This one is extra fun because the theme seems to extend the age buy-in!
