Exit Statue: How I'm Leaving Class Today

To close class, each person answers questions about the lesson with a statue: how I felt, what was hard, what I'm taking away. Everyone does it at the same time, so nobody is on display and the teacher gets a quick read of the group.

How to play

1. Wide circle, facing out. Question 1: “How did you feel today?” On three, everyone turns and makes their statue at the same time (2 min).
2. Question 2: “What was hardest?” Statue of the difficulty. The teacher reads the group out loud without naming anyone (“I see a lot of effort in the knees…”) (2 min).
3. Question 3: “What are you taking away?” Statue plus a single word, said by everyone at once (2 min).
4. Melt the statue in slow motion over ten seconds and walk out toward the locker room (1 min).

Rules

• Statues happen all at once: nobody does one alone in front of the group.
• No comments on other people's statues.
• If someone doesn't want to answer, they make a neutral statue.
• The teacher reads the whole group, never one person.

Variations

Adaptations

• Visual impairment: the question and count are said aloud, and the group as a whole is described to them.
• Hearing impairment: questions are written on a whiteboard or a big card.
• Limited mobility: trunk, arm, and face statues from the wheelchair, or standing with support.

Learning goals

• Reflect on your own experience in the lesson.
• Express moods with the body.
• Give the teacher useful information about the group.

Teacher tip

This is a two-minute way to assess the lesson: watch for repeated statues. Change the questions to fit the lesson, but always keep the answers simultaneous.

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