Circus of the Classroom Stars

Use this activity to imagine and design your very own classroom circus!

Materials Needed: butcher paper, markers, construction paper, props or open-ended materials

1. Begin by asking students to form small groups. Let them know they’ll be imagining themselves as part of a traveling circus troupe, and imagining and creating a daring act of their very own (safely!).
2. First, using butcher paper and markers, work with your students to generate a list of circus acts like juggling, tightrope walking, acrobatics and clowning. Next to that, generate a list of locations a circus could take place like a circus tent, an arena, a city street or a stage.
3. Work with these small groups to brainstorm what their act looks and feels like. Then, ask them to create a physical representation of their act by creating a tableau (frozen picture) with their bodies. Next, ask groups to think about where their circus takes place and what style of music might accompany their performance (e.g., a circus act that takes place inside a subway car in which a troupe of performers juggles empty soda cans while classical music plays).
4. Provide materials such as paper, markers and simple props for students to sketch their circus setting.
5. Once the groups have finalized their acts, invite one volunteer from each group to be the presenter and describe their act clearly while the rest of the group holds their frozen picture. After all groups have presented, take a moment to celebrate their creativity!

Reflection Questions:

• What did you find most challenging about designing your circus act?
• How did your group collaborate to come up with ideas and create the tableau?
• What did you learn about teamwork and creativity from this activity?