Basic Instructions
- Introduce concept of Stop and Go. “When I say stop you freeze still and silent as a statue, when I say go you move around the room.”
- Ask students move around the room by saying “Go.”
- Next have students practice making statues by prompting them with “Stop.” Repeat.
- Have students try moving and freezing in different ways.
- Reflect on what they see others doing that shows what a word means (a lot of people have their hands out to look like wings because eagles have wings) or ask the group/an individual students to name why they made a certain choice (I saw you were moving slowly for _______ word can you tell me why?)
Variations
- Split the class in half to have half the class be the audience while the other half are the actors. Have the audience share what they see the actors doing and how it relates to the word/role/emotion they are portraying. (This is also a solution for issues of limited space)
- Try only having the class portray the word on ‘stop’ when they become statues then walk neutrally on ‘go’. You can also try the opposite.
Tips for Success
- Set clear expectations for where and how you move around the classroom during the activity for example “During Stop and Go we are going to stay on the carpeted area and moving in the space around our tables, we are not going under the tables or touching anything in the room other than the floor. We want to be sure we move at a safely, so we need to make sure we are walking and that we are not touching anyone or anything in the room.”ho
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