Building problem-solving skills can be a challenging but rewarding process for an educator. Helping students work through the details of a problem-solving lesson takes time, patience and creativity. However, helping students build these skills will bring benefits that set them up for success in the classroom and throughout their lives. Below, you’ll find problem-solving activities for students that can be used in large and small groups or adapted for building individual problem-solving skills.
Small Group Problem-Solving Activities for Students
Building problem-solving skills in small groups allows elementary students to practice collaboration, communication and critical thinking as they work together to find solutions. These activities also help build confidence and social skills, as students learn to listen to different perspectives and contribute their ideas in a supportive environment.
Spider Web Weaving
This fun activity can begin by discussing spiders and spider webs with your class – you will need yarn and a bag of cotton balls. Start with a lesson about why spiders make webs and show pictures of the many types of webs different spider species make. Once the initial lesson is over, break students into small groups and start the activity.
Have each group turn a chair upside down so that the four legs are facing upward. Each group will use the chair legs as a base for weaving their own web. Instruct groups to use the yarn provided to create a web designed to “catch” the spider eggs. Encourage them to experiment with different ways of wrapping the yarn around the chair legs, testing various patterns and strategies.
Once the webs are complete, go around and gently throw cotton balls, or “spider eggs,” at each web. If the cotton balls stick, the web has succeeded! If they fall through, challenge the group to discuss what might have gone wrong with their design and encourage them to adjust their web for another test.
Many groups may start with simple designs, like wrapping the yarn in large loops. Encourage students to think critically about why their design worked or didn’t work and brainstorm improvements. This activity fosters problem-solving and teamwork as students work together to create stronger, more effective webs.
Save the Egg Challenge
This classic creative engineering challenge asks students to design a protective structure to keep an egg from breaking. You will need eggs, plastic straws, tape and paper for each group. Start by discussing real-world examples of protecting fragile items, such as packing boxes with cushioning.
Split the students into small groups and provide each with an egg and building materials. Their goal is to build a structure around the egg that will keep it safe when dropped from high up. Give them time to brainstorm, sketch and construct their designs.
After building, test each structure by dropping it from a designated height. For any eggs that break, encourage the groups to discuss what might have gone wrong and how they could improve their designs. This activity promotes critical thinking, as students must assess and revise their designs to create effective solutions.
Conflict Resolution Role Play
One of the most relevant ways to explore problem-solving skills is by talking about and exploring conflict resolution. Students of every age and grade experience peer conflict and guiding them through the resolution process will help them gain invaluable life skills.
Gather your class and ask students to share some common conflicts that arise during the school week. Examples may include disagreements during recess or one student taking something from another without asking. Once you have a list, break students into groups and have them talk through solutions for resolving the conflict, focusing on kindness and empathy. Have them choose one or two solutions and act out the scenario in front of the class.
This type of activity addresses common peer-to-peer issues that students experience in real life and gives them a toolbox of ways to approach and solve similar conflicts as they arise.
Mystery Bag Investigation
This engaging activity introduces students to sensory problem-solving by challenging them to identify mystery objects without seeing them. You will need a bag for each group containing various small objects, such as a key, a feather or a marble.
Start by introducing the concept of using sensory clues for problem-solving and discuss how touch can help identify objects. Once the initial explanation is complete, break students into small groups and distribute one mystery bag to each group.
Without looking inside the bag, each student will take turns reaching in to feel each object. Together, they’ll use descriptive sensory clues to discuss and record their guesses about what each item might be. Encourage groups to communicate and collaborate as they piece together clues and consider different possibilities.
After all guesses are recorded, reveal each object to see how accurate the groups were. If they missed any, discuss why certain sensory clues might have led them to a different conclusion. This activity strengthens problem-solving skills by fostering observation, inference and group collaboration as students learn to trust their senses and think critically.
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Large Group Problem-Solving Activities
Large group problem-solving activities encourage elementary students to work as a team, fostering a sense of community and collective responsibility. These problem-solving activities allow students to develop diverse ideas and strategies, helping them develop flexibility and adaptability as they work toward a common goal.
What Do We Do When…?
This whole class activity is based on finding solutions to everyday problems that arise in the classroom. Ask students to name some common problems they encounter during the school day.
For younger students who need more prompting, you can pre-plan and present problems with solution options and then lead the discussion!
Examples may include not having the right color crayon for an art project, misplaced assignments or needing to get a tissue during a lesson. Write these down on the board or draw pictures of them as the students talk.
Next, ask students for possible solutions to each of these problems and list them as they are named. For example, if a student needs a color for an art project they do not have, they can ask their neighbors, choose a different color or draw a different thing that does not require that color.
Discuss each idea until you ultimately decide on one solution for each problem as a class. You can then take that idea and turn it into an anchor chart that students can reference or refer to when conflict arises.
Counting and Sorting
This student problem-solving activity is simple! You need a variety of small objects (paper clips, buttons, counters, etc.) to count. Each student should have between 80 and 120 objects. Tell the students they need to count the objects as quickly as they can in a certain time frame and set a timer. Once the class is done counting, have them count the objects again a second time. Many of the students will get a different number the second time they count.
Take a moment here to discuss the possible reasons why students got a different number the second time they counted. Students can test different methods and compare results, learning how to optimize their time. After each trial, you can discuss as a class what worked best and why. The goal is to have the class begin to realize that if they group the objects together in some way, they become easier to count accurately.
Talk about how problem-solving can involve trying new strategies and how learning to be more efficient saves time for other activities.
This activity builds critical thinking by challenging students to find innovative solutions for everyday tasks. Sharing solutions with the class also helps students improve their critical thinking skills by hearing others’ take on how to improve efficiency.
Classbook Project Planning and Publishing
A classbook project is a fantastic way to introduce time management and planning through a multi-step creative activity. Start by explaining that the class will work together to create a published book, with each student contributing a page for writing and a page for illustration. Lay out each step of the process and give them timelines and due dates that are appropriate for their grade level and your class schedule.
Brainstorming Ideas: The class begins by discussing possible book topics, like “Our Dream Jobs” or “Our Favorite Animals.” Here are some sample book topic ideas to get you started!
Outlining Their Page: Each student creates a simple outline of what they want for their page, helping them organize thoughts before writing.
Writing and Revising: Students draft and revise their pages, learning to improve their work through editing and feedback. This is a great time to introduce peer editing!
Creating Illustrations: Each student draws an illustration to accompany their page, adding a personal touch to the book.
Final Assembly and Submission: The class comes together to assemble the pages and submit the book for publishing!
By managing each step on a timeline, students practice setting deadlines and tracking their progress, skills that help them manage both time and tasks effectively. They will experience the need to prioritize in order to get their contribution to the book completed. The finished, published classbook is a rewarding outcome that reinforces the importance of planning and teamwork. It is an activity that your students will look back on for years to come!
Problem-Solving Teaching Strategies
Having teaching strategies on hand can help foster success as you plan activities and problem-solving lessons for students.
Model Problem Solving with Think-Alouds
Model problem-solving by verbalizing your thought process as you work through a problem. Describe each step you’re taking, why you’re making certain choices and what you’re considering at each stage. This technique helps students see how to break down problems, evaluate options and make decisions.
Example Problem: Sarah has 15 apples and gives three apples to each friend. We need to find out how many friends got apples. Since she’s splitting the apples equally, this sounds like a division problem.
Example Think Aloud Solution: I’ll take 15 and divide it by three to see how many groups of three fit into 15. I know that three times five equals 15, so dividing 15 by three gives me five. This means Sarah gave apples to five friends. To double-check, I’ll multiply three by five, which equals 15—just like the original total. So, the answer is five friends.
Adapt the Scientific Method to Teach Problem Solving
The scientific method is a structured approach to teaching problem-solving that helps us investigate questions, test ideas and arrive at reliable conclusions. It’s widely used not only in science but also in everyday problem-solving because it offers a logical way to approach and understand challenges. Below are the steps of the scientific method adapted for problem-solving. We will use our Egg Drop Challenge activity above as an example.
Identify the Problem: Start by clearly defining the problem you want to solve. This helps focus your efforts and ensures that the solution addresses the specific issue. “We need to create something that protects the egg from breaking when we drop it.”
Gather Information: Research or gather information about the problem. Understanding the background or context can help identify potential causes and solutions. “If the egg is dropped in a box without enough cushion, it will shake around and break.”
Form a Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an educated guess about the solution. It’s a proposed answer to your problem based on the information you’ve gathered. “If we put the right material around the egg, like cotton, then it will not break.”
Test the Hypothesis: Design a way to test your hypothesis. Problem-solving often involves trying to find a solution and observing the outcome.
Analyze Results and Draw Conclusions: Record and review the test results. Did the solution work as expected?
Refine or Try Another Solution: If the initial solution didn’t fully solve the problem, go back to the information gathered, adjust your hypothesis or try a different solution. Each attempt brings you closer to understanding and solving the problem.
Share Results: In group settings, sharing findings can help others facing similar problems. Discussing what worked or didn’t work adds to the group’s collective knowledge and may provide new insights.
Encourage a Growth Mindset
Teaching a growth mindset involves showing students that learning is a process and that effort, persistence and resilience are just as important as getting the correct answer. Emphasize that mistakes and setbacks aren’t failures; they’re valuable learning opportunities. By praising effort, problem-solving strategies and persistence, you help students understand that their abilities can improve with practice and perseverance.
Harnessing the Power of Problem Solving
Harnessing the power of teaching problem-solving in your classroom means guiding your students to empower themselves by gaining confidence in their abilities to think through and solve common problems successfully. By incorporating problem-solving lessons into your teaching, you can help students learn about conflict resolution, gain independence and promote a deeper understanding of subject matter.
By implementing the activities and lessons above, you’ll be able to create a more engaging and active learning environment where students are excited to solve problems together. Providing problem-solving activities for students gives them a lifelong skill set that will help them throughout their academic careers and lives.
Don’t forget to order your FREE classbook kit! This fun and engaging project allows students to create a memorable keepsake that will always remind them of when you helped them build problem-solving skills for many years to come!