Music Pause with a Poster Pose

A gentle activation for the classroom or a small space: while the music plays, students move with the step shown; when it stops, they must strike and hold for 10 seconds the balance pose on the poster the teacher holds up. It prepares joints and stabilizers and wakes up attention.

How to play

1. If in the classroom, push desks and chairs to the walls to clear the center (1 min).
2. Music at a moderate pace: march with high knees, side step and back step as shown on a card (2 min).
3. When the music stops, a poster with a pose is shown (tree, airplane, isometric squat on tiptoes, side plank on the knee) and held for 10 seconds (2 min).
4. Add posters with two conditions, such as “airplane with eyes closed” or “tree on the other leg” (2 min).

Rules

• Keep an arm's length of personal space all around.
• Eyes-closed poses are done near a wall or a support chair.
• Nobody moves until the music starts again.
• If you lose balance, return to the pose with no penalty.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: does seated versions of each pose (raising arms and one leg, trunk tilts).
• Visual impairment: the teacher describes the pose aloud in addition to showing the poster.
• Autism: gets advance notice that the music is about to stop and may wear noise-reducing headphones.

Learning goals

• Activate stabilizing muscles before activity.
• Improve static balance in different poses.
• Stay focused and respond quickly to a signal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• speaker: 1
• cards: 10

Teacher tip

It works very well as the first block of a classroom lesson that mixes theory and practice; laminated posters save time.

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