Fantasy on My Fingers

1. Puppets make any fantasy seem real! Students choose a favorite fairy tale or true story to turn into a puppet show. Which characters will they need? How do they look? Finger puppets are small, so add lots of detail.
2. Puppeteers have lots of control with finger puppets. To create finger puppets, bend and tear a recycled cardboard roll the height you want the puppet to be. Overlap the torn edges. Wrap the roll around a finger. Tear off any excess paper. Secure with Crayola® School Glue. Air-dry the puppet base.
3. Form a layer of colorful Crayola Model Magic onto the puppet base for its body. To mix new shades, blend two or more colors. Add white for lighter colors. Kneading the model magic will make a marbleized look. Experiment with different effects.
4. Flatten, pinch, or roll more modeling material to make the puppet’s head, arms, legs, and/or tail. Create Model Magic clothes and accessories, too. Press these decorative features on your puppet’s body.
5. Add decorative items such as ribbon, buttons, or sequins. Glue them on with Crayola School Glue if necessary. Air-dry the puppet at least 24 hours.
6. Students rehearse their performance with wiggles and words. The puppets are ready to take their places on stage!

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

LA: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Working in small groups, students compose original short stories. Students design their finger puppets to match characters in their original stories. Allow time in the daily schedule for student teams to perform for classmates.

If possible, organize a time when the class can visit a group of younger students and perform their original stories for the younger students. Allow time for older students to also speak about the process they used to create their finger puppets and how they determined the look of their characters.

Students my want to research the history of puppetry and present their findings electronically.

As a class project, construct a puppet theater. Use as many recycled products as possible.