Cooperation 

What is cooperation?

Cooperation is the common effort of a group for their mutual benefit. 
Cooperation is teamwork. 
Cooperation is working together peacefully. 
Team players are students who:

Listen 

Encourage their peers 
Allow and invite others to contribute their talents and skills 
Follow as well as lead 
Recognize their strengths and use them for the common good 
Treat others equitably 
Recognize the needs of the group 
Think before acting 
Communicate calmly 
Put competition aside 
You show cooperation when you ...

Work in a small group to accomplish a task 
Allow each person in a group to have a say 
Try to use everyone's ideas 
Do your fair share of the work on a project 
Pitch in at home doing chores 
Play a team sport and work toward a goal 
Work with your friends to help clean up 
Participate on a student council committee 
Proverbs and maxims

The more cooperative the group, the greater is the fitness for survival which extends to all of its members. (Ashley Montague) 
There is no more sure tie between friends than when they are united in their objects and wishes. (Cicero) 
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) 
More quotes on cooperation

Better bend than break. (Scottish proverb) 
We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. (Martin Luther King, Jr.) 
On this shrunken globe, men can no longer live as strangers. (Adlai Stevenson) 
When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. (Ethiopian proverb) 
A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle. (Japanese proverb) 
Heroes and heroines

Dag Hammarskjold was Secretary General of the United Nations and practiced "quiet diplomacy" to reduce conflict between countries. 
Margaret Mead was a well-known anthropologist who introduced the concept of culture into education and promoted racial equality and environmental concerns. 
The Wright Brothers took years to perfect their flying machine with patient, cooperative experimenting. 
Ralph Bunche was a black diplomat whose efforts led to armistice in the first Arab-Israeli War. 
Guidelines for cooperative learning

Be a good listener. 
Distribute the work evenly among team members. 
Encourage each member to contribute ideas. 
Try to incorporate each person's ideas. 
Treat each person of the group with respect. 
Be open and receptive to new ideas. 
Try to compromise to resolve differences. 
Put cooperation into action

Happily do what your parents ask you to do. 
Play the game your friends want to play even when you rather do something else. 
Help someone by opening a door or helping to carry something. 
Help find a compromise when a group is in disagreement. 
Always play fair when playing games. Be a good loser. 
Invite someone who is alone or "left out" to join your group. 
Help family members realize the importance of family cooperation by demonstrating a spirit of cooperation in your daily activities. 
Become involved in a community service project. 
Ask your friends to help you do something to preserve the environment. 
Practice good sportsmanship. 
Community service ideas

Contribute clothing to a community service organization serving families in unfortunate circumstances. 
Adopt a beach or park and keep it clean. 
Volunteer to help with a project to promote community safety. 
Learn about how you can become prepared to help with disaster relief. 
Make and display posters to help the Heart Association with their campaign for healthy hearts. 
Plan a "share a book day" to contribute books to a children's hospital or after-school program.