Monuments for the Town Square

In groups of four, children use their bodies to build a monument for the town square (a fountain, a bridge, a tree, a streetlight) from a picture card, and the others guess what it is. They work on cooperation, agreeing as a group, and expressing ideas with their bodies.

How to play

1. The teacher explains that the town needs new monuments for the square, and we're the sculptors (1 min).
2. Together with the teacher, we try an easy one: a bridge made by pairs joining their arms (2 min).
3. We form groups of four; each group secretly looks at its card and agrees how to build the monument with their bodies (4 min).
4. On the drum, one group freezes as a monument while the others stroll around the "square" guessing what it is; we repeat with each group (5 min).
5. Finally, the whole class builds one giant monument: the town castle (2 min).

Rules

• Everyone in the group gets a place in the monument.
• Hold on gently, without hanging on anyone.
• To guess, raise your hand and wait.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child in the wheelchair is the center of the monument (the fountain's base, the tree trunk), with others arranged around them.
• Autism: keep a steady group of familiar classmates and a card showing the finished shape and where each person goes.
• Hearing loss: the card shows a picture, and the teacher holds the drum up in view as the signal to freeze.

Learning goals

• Agree as a group to create a shape.
• Represent objects with the body.
• Hold a group pose for a while.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Picture cards: 8
• Hand drum

Teacher tip

Pick objects they see in their neighborhood. A common pitfall is one child bossing while the rest wait, so have each child say which part they want to be before starting.

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