Category: Movement Activities

Using Concepts with the Mannequin Challenge

Many students are by now familiar with the “Mannequin Challenge,” a YouTube phenomenon where a group of individuals holds various poses while being filmed, mimicking mannequins.

Recently, I used the Mannequin Challenge to engage students in thinking about concepts that they were studying in their regular classrooms. This was a highly effective activity for students to extend their learning and interact with their peers in a creative way.

For example:

Concept: Cause and Effect

Plan

  1. Have whole class discussion about cause and effect.
  2. Listen to “Suite For Cello No. 1, Mvt. 1” by Johann Sebastian Bach.
  3. Brainstorm words to describe the mood of the piece, write a list on the board for reference. Students will consider these moods when creating their poses.

Create

  1. Students come up with two poses – one cause and one effect. I let them choose to be alone, in pairs, or in groups.
  2. When ready, play the piece of music while students show the first pose (cause). Film students while walking around the room, eventually returning to your starting point.
  3. Students switch to their second pose (effect). Film students again, walking around the room to explore poses from different angles.

Reflect

  1. When finished, have students turn and talk to a neighbor to share how their poses showed cause and effect. After, have willing students share with the whole class.
  2. Watch the video together and discuss. I used an iPad to film, then uploaded the video to Seesaw – a great platform to share multimedia content with students.

 

This activity can be adapted to many concepts, both within the music classroom and the regular classroom. Adaptations might include:

  • Compare and contrast the effects of using different pieces of music with the same concept.
  • Demonstrate musical concepts, such as tempo and dynamics.
  • Model appropriate vs. inappropriate ways to play/care for instruments.
  • Explore theater and acting skills.
  • Can be used as a lead-in to Tableau Vivant.

 

How might you use the Mannequin Challenge in your classroom? Have other movement ideas to share? Please leave a comment below:

 

Here’s an example of the Mannequin Challenge, made by students at St. Michael’s Country Day School:

Mannequin Challenge from SMCDS on Vimeo.