The Power of Teamwork

2020 Book Creator competition - all entrants

&#8220;We are going to be starting the project I talked about yesterday. Please sit with your partners I assigned. This project is going to take good teamwork. Remember teamwork makes the dream work.&#8221; Says Mrs. Smith.&#160;

Dylan asks Grace, again, &#8220;Why did you stop hanging out with me?&#8221; Grace responds with, &#8220;You were too bossy. You always told me what to do and I didn't like it.&#8221; Dylan says, &#8220; I'm sorry, I didn't realize the way I was acting. If we work together I will try my best not to be bossy.&#8221; Grace thinks for a little. Then, she decides to work with him.

Dylan and Grace tell Mrs. Smith that they are going to work together. Mrs. Smith is proud of them and she tells them to get straight to work.

That day Grace went home and continued to work on the project. She understands how much work she has to do, and how hard it will be to do it by herself. She doesn&#8217;t feel comfortable asking Dylan for help. She starts to think why she stopped hanging out with him. Then she remembers that Dylan was really bossy.

The next day at school Mrs. Smith asks to see their project. Neither of them made any progress.&#160; 

Strategies for Team Work : 1.) Recognize good work. When you or others in your group did good work recognize it, tell them that they did a good job. 2.) Encourage socializing. Try to talk and socialize with them. 3.) Build up trust and respect. It is important to trust and respect the person/people your working with. 4.) Maintain a balance of work. Spread out the work between you and your partner/partners so no one is doing to much work and no one isn't doing enough. 5.) Talk about your strengths and weakness. You may not feel comfortable talking about this but once you do you will feel better.

&#8220; Here is your assignment, You need to buy one big poster board, a big bottle of coke and a pack of mentos.&#8221; She explains. &#8220;On the poster write a hypothesis, purpose, materials used, procedure, data, photos, and the results. This is a big project so I will allow you to keep planning with your partner in class today. I am going to hand out a planning sheet and put some examples on the board.&#8221; Says Ms. Smith.

Their project was amazing. When the science fair came around Dylan and Grace were nervous. They got 1st place for teamwork and great effort. Mrs.Smith was very proud of them.

The next day Dylan and Grace are still not talking to each other. Mrs.Smith goes over to them. She tries to break the tension and quietness between them. She asks them why they don't want to work together. They both ignore her. Mrs. Smith asks them again. Dylan responds and says, &#8220;When we were younger Grace and I used to hang out everyday but one day she just stopped. She never told me why and we haven't spoken since then. I don't feel comfortable working with her.&#8221;

Mrs. Smith starts to understand what is happening. She tells them that they should talk it out. Dylan says to Grace, &#8220; Why did you stop hanging out with me?&#8221; But Grace just ignores him. She doesn&#8217;t know why she stopped hanging out with him.&#160;

Everyone gets to work right away. Everyone except Dylan and Grace. They sit far away from each other and they don't talk to each other. They both start filling out their own sheet. Their sheets are very different because they have different opinions and ideas. They don't understand that this is the biggest project they are going to do all year.

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