So…I'm thinking these students are 4th grade or older? You could start with the strategy where you ask students to think about what they would like to be doing or driving, or where they would like to be living or taking a vacation if you waved a magic wand and made them ten years older "right now". It is likely you will get a lot of expensive, glorious, and big answers. Then get out the list of collaborative skills and go over which ones they might need to help this "dream come true"? Then some reflection about how "we", as a class, might go about helping one another to grow and learn and tolerate and move forward in "our" development. Depending on the age of the students (like middle school?!), you can also have a discussion about how small (yet important) this part of life really is in the big picture…without completely rocking their world. Maybe a little "talking point" for community circle or journal that keeps the focus. Eventually, discussion about how conflict actually is necessary for change and growth, and not always an uncomfortable situation. Actually, LOOK for those moments of "good" conflict, and reflect…like "I could tell that someone was about to say something not so positive, and he/she decided not to!"
How can I teach collaborative skills, like managing conflict and/or problem solving, with a class that has been together for a long time…and has a lot of history that is NOT positive with one another?