Learning Cooperation and Compromise Through Play
The Team Work in the EU activity helps Junior and Senior Infants understand how countries in the European Union work together, make decisions and sometimes need to compromise. Through storytelling, discussion and a collaborative building task, children experience cooperation in a concrete and meaningful way.
What’s the difference between Activities and Instructions?
Activities are the interactive games or exercises your pupils will complete in class. Instructions are the teacher materials that help you prepare: background notes, printable sheets, or instructions.
Learning objectives
This activity helps children to:
- Understand that countries in the European Union work together
- Learn that cooperation sometimes requires compromise
- Experience shared decision-making in a group
- Practise listening to others’ ideas and expressing their own
- Develop respect, fairness and teamwork skills
- Build a sense of belonging to a group and a wider community
Introducing teamwork in the European Union
The activity begins with a shared story: The Day the Crayons Quit.
Children are invited to reflect on the crayons’ situation and compare it to the European Union by discussing questions such as:
- Do the crayons work well together?
- Do they always agree?
- What happens when they decide to cooperate?
This discussion helps pupils understand that, like the EU, working together does not mean everyone always gets exactly what they want.
Building together: the group challenge
After the discussion, children work in small groups to build a tower using coloured blocks.
- Each group must agree on colours and shapes
- Decisions must be made together
- The task encourages negotiation and shared responsibility
The activity typically lasts 5 to 10 minutes and is designed to highlight the process of cooperation rather than the final result.
Making the link with the European Union
If disagreements arise, the teacher can introduce the idea that:
- Working alone allows full control, but limits what can be achieved
- Working together may involve compromise, but leads to better outcomes
This comparison helps children understand key EU ideas such as teamwork, shared rules and collective decision-making, without political or technical language.
Reflecting on teamwork
At the end of the activity, pupils reflect on:
- How easy or difficult it was to work together
- How working as a group made them feel
- Whether cooperation helped them achieve more
This reflection reinforces the idea that teamwork is a choice — just like cooperation in the European Union.
Why this activity works
- Designed for Junior and Senior Infants
- Combines storytelling, discussion and hands-on learning
- Encourages social and emotional development
- Makes abstract EU concepts accessible and age-appropriate
- Requires minimal materials and preparation
