The Classroom’s a Circus!

Does the chaos of your classroom make it feel like you’re running a circus? Well, now you can harness that energy (with a bit of theater education) to turn it into one!

Start by sourcing common circus acts from your students and writing them on a large piece of chart paper. This list may include anything from acrobatics to clowning, and it will eventually become your class’s “act list” for your very own circus.

Afterward, divide your students into groups and assign each group one of the acts on your list. Task each group to research their act by watching circus videos or reading about how it’s done. Then, challenge them to recreate their act in the classroom using found objects and their imaginations. This may look like tightrope walking on a piece of tape on the ground, lion-taming a stuffed animal or juggling while classmates maneuver the balls in space. Remember: the sillier, the better! Emphasize that none of these acts should be perfect, but they should be entirely unique to your classroom.

Once each group has finalized their performance, run each act in order and invite another class to watch your circus!