Leadership activities help students to develop essential leadership skills as they prepare for their future roles in society.
Leadership activities can help students communicate effectively, collaborate with others, solve problems creatively, and take responsibility for their actions.
They are also a great way to build student leadership culture.
Here’s a list of 10 leadership activities that develop leadership skills in primary school students with each outlined below:
Student Leadership Activities in Primary School:
1. Human Knot
2. Blindfold Sketch
3. Balloon Race
4. Flip the tarp
5. The Great Puzzle Race
6. Paper Bag Dramatics
7. Build the Milky Way
8. Wheel Art
9. Marshmallow Speghetti Tower
10. Leadership Bingo
Leadership Activity Outlines
1. Human Knot
In this activity students stand in a circle and grab the hand of someone from across the circle with their right hand, and then grab the hand of a different person with their left hand.
The goal is to untangle the human knot without letting go of the hands.
This leadership activity teaches students how to work as a team, listen to each other, and find creative solutions.
2. Blindfolded Fetch
This activity requires one student to be blindfolded and another student to guide them verbally to fetch an object from a designated area.
The team that retrieves the object first wins.
Clear communication, trust and following instructions are the aims of this fun leadership activity.
3. Balloon Race
In teams of 4 or 5, students place a balloon between each of them on their backs and stomachs, with one leader at the front.
The leader must communicate when to move as they race against other teams.
This leadership activity teaches students how to coordinate their movements, listen to their leader, and cooperate with their teammates.
4. Flip the Tarp
In this leadership activity teams of 3-4 students stand on a tarp and flip it over without stepping off it.
The team that flips the tarp first wins.
Strategy, communication, and adaption are the key features of this student leadership activity.
5. The Great Puzzle Race
In this leadership activity teams of 2-3 students race against each other to complete a puzzle as quickly as possible.
The team that finishes the puzzle first wins.
This fun leadership activity teaches students how to divide their tasks, focus on their goals, and compete fairly.
6. Paper Bag Dramatics
This highly engaging activity requires teams of 4-5 students to pick a paper bag that contains different objects.
The team writes, plans, and act out a skit based on the objects in their bag.
The other teams guess what the objects are.
This game teaches students how to be creative, expressive, and confident.
7. Build the Milky Way
This is a great activity. Teams of 4-5 students use foam poster board and plastic cups to stack and carry them across a designated space.
The team that carries the most cups wins.
This leadership activity teaches students how to balance their resources, work under pressure, and follow their leader.
8. Wheel Art
Students decorate a slice of paper with different images using markers or colored pencils.
The slices are then arranged into a wheel that shows how they are connected.
This activity encourages students to be original, artistic, and collaborative.
9. Marshmallow Spaghetti Tower
This activity requires teams of 3-4 students to use spaghetti noodles and marshmallows to build the tallest tower in 15-20 minutes.
The team that builds the highest tower wins.
This activity encourages students to be innovative, resourceful, and supportive.
10. Leadership Bingo
Lastly, an activity that everyone loves -Bingo!
This activity requires each student to have a bingo card that contains different leadership qualities or skills, such as honesty, kindness, responsibility, and empathy.
A teacher or a student leader calls out a quality or skill and gives an example of how it can be demonstrated in school or life.
The students who have that quality or skill on their card mark it off.
The first student who marks off five qualities or skills in a row wins.
This activity reinforces leadership qualities and attributes.
A final word…or two
Students learn best through engaging leadership activities and games.
Add two or three of these student leadership activities to your teaching toolkit, as a practical way to develop student leadership in your classroom.
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