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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

European shadow puppets

Students will work in cooperative groups first to read a fairy tale by a European author. Then they will make shadow puppets to use on an overhead projector. Finally, they will present their puppet shows to their class.

A lesson plan for grades 3 and 6 English Language Arts

By Marsha Paisley

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Learning outcomes

Students will learn about the culture of Europe as well as practicing both oral reading and listening skills. They will practice working effectively in groups. Critical thinking will be required in the design and construction of the puppets.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1 week

Materials/resources

  • patterns for basic puppet (students love to design their own but need guidance at first). I got mine from a class at Appalachian State University taught by Gail E. Haley. They can’t be shared due to copyright restrictions. See attachments for pictures of a sample puppets.
  • stiff paper for tracing.
  • craft wire for construction puppets.
  • large envelopes for organizing supplies.
  • copies of different stories.

Technology resources

overhead projector

Pre-activities

Introduce students to various European authors of children’s stories. I use lesser-known stories by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson. I borrow books of European fairy tales from the library and choose ones I think the kids will like. Sometimes I use Russian fairy tales. It all depends on what I am doing in social studies at the time I want to teach this lesson.

Activities

  1. Divide the class into small groups of three to five.
  2. Have students read their group’s story within the group. You may wish to assign the story to be read a certain way (e. g. all read silently, one person read the whole thing aloud to their group, students take turns within the group), or you may allow students within the group to decide for themselves how to read.
  3. Have students design/construct their shadow puppets using teacher-provided patterns and/or designing their own. Craft wire can be used to hook arms and legs to bodies to make them move. Students can cut out silhouettes of props needed to tell the story. They can draw settings on overhead transparencies if needed.
  4. Have groups present their story by each member retelling a part of it and students working the shadow puppets on the overhead. The students must retell the story — no reading allowed.

Assessment

Assess each group’s presentation and have each student write a group evaluation for themselves and each other person in the group. Tell them the group evaluations will be kept confidential. I usually give two grades. Everyone in the group gets the same grade for the finished presentation and individuals get their own participation grade based on their groups’ evaluations.

Supplemental information

Puppet samples:

North Carolina curriculum alignment

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 6

  • Goal 1: The learner will use language to express individual perspectives drawn from personal or related experience.
    • Objective 1.01: Narrate an expressive account (e.g., fictional or autobiographical) which:
      • uses a coherent organizing structure appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.
      • tells a story or establishes the significance of an event or events.
      • uses remembered feelings and specific details.
      • uses a range of appropriate strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense, movement, gestures, expressions).

  • Common Core State Standards

    • English Language Arts (2010)

      • Reading: Literature

        • Grade 3
          • 3.RL.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.