Sensational
Shadow Puppets!
Shadow Puppets!
Introduction
The world of art is an incredible place filled with imagination, various mediums, and endless creativity. These are the reasons why it is extremely important to implement art-based activities in schools today, where these art activities can range anywhere from painting a piece of paper to modeling with clay. However, one of the most exciting art activities to engage students in, is making puppets. Therefore, throughout this web page you will find an elaborate lesson plan detailing how to engage students in the art of Chinese shadow puppetry, where during this activity they will have the wonderful opportunity to learn about this beautiful art form, as well as create their own shadow puppets, put on a play, and most importantly, let their imaginations run wild!
Objectives
Preparation 1. Prepare the Room:
3. Relevant Materials:
5. Helpers:
Sharing Objectives Creating underlying objectives and a purpose for an activity are almost as important as creating the entire lesson itself, simply because these purposes and objectives are essentially the end goal and reason why a lesson was created, so that students can expand their knowledge and continue to be lifelong learners. Therefore, in order to share the purpose and objectives for this particular lesson, encourage students to think about what they hope to create and accomplish by making their shadow puppets. In turn, through prompting the students to decide upon the objectives of the lesson, this not only gives each child more autonomy, but also fosters pride, simply because they were the directors of their own learning processes. Overall, during this lesson and activity, make sure to provide a supportive environment that is filled with instructions to help guide the learning process, as well as include many open-ended opportunities for the students, which will encourage students to participate, simply because they are the only ones who can reach the relevant learning goals at their own developmentally appropriate levels. Closure The shadow puppet activity is a fun, creative, and exploratory activity in and of itself. However, in the world of art, there are always ways to continue discovering new mediums, and new ways of expressing oneself. Therefore, at the end of this activity, encourage students to participate in a closing activity that not only summarizes or wraps up the lesson, but also fosters understanding and higher-level thinking about the concepts. For example, in this activity encourage students to create a mini-play depicting an interaction between their puppet and a partner’s puppet, where they can pair up and decide how their puppets would address one another. In fact, this activity is fairly open-ended, as these interactions can be about anything the two students feel best expresses the emotions or characteristics of their puppets. Finally, once each pair of students have decided upon their interaction, invite the pairs to come up to the screen and present their plays by turning off the lights and having them hold their shadow puppets up to the projector lights, letting their imaginations run wild. Overall, this ending activity helps to summarize and wrap up the lesson by taking the puppets that the students created and applying them to real world contexts, which include the actual shadow puppet plays in China, and even local theater productions students have experienced in their own lives. However, most importantly, this activity fosters understanding and higher-level thinking, not only because it relates to the students’ previous schemas of narrative sequencing, but also because it builds upon this skill by applying the ability to sequence to the ability to create cause and effect interactions among multiple characters rather than a sole narrator, through encouraging students to present an intriguing story that they created themselves. |
Context This lesson and activity can be given to a class of second graders who are practicing their sequencing skills, fine motor development coordination, and collaboration with peers, all of which will be incorporated throughout this lesson. For example, during this activity students will be given the opportunity to practice cutting small pieces out of construction paper, as well as be given the chance to practice their cause and effect relationships through collaborating with peers on an interaction they want their puppets to have. In addition, this lesson not only stands as an opportunity for students to increase their visuospatial skills and sense of color and pattern, but also connects to additional lessons, such as writing narratives with a beginning, middle, and end, or reading a piece of literature and then discussing the main ideas with peers. Overall, even though I previously gave this lesson in the fall to a second grade class at Joseph Gale Elementary, these activities could be implemented at any time, day, or season, simply because they not only facilitate students’ learning and growth, but most importantly, they encourage students to open up their minds to the world of creative expression. Benchmarks
2nd grade standard and benchmark: VA.1.CR1.2 - Create, Generate, and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
2. The Students:
4. Technology:
Lesson Introduction The world of art is a journey, which is exactly why to begin this lesson invite students to come down to the carpet and go on an adventure across the world to China, where they will pretend to hop into a time machine as they "time travel" back to ancient China when shadow puppetry was used as a method of theatrical expression. In turn, with the students hooked, introduce them to the art of shadow puppetry, and explain how these puppets were constructed out of leather, and were controlled by rods that moved them to music and singing, all while depicting climatic and engaging stories for multiple generations to watch. In regards to these stories, invite students to explore the world of Chinese shadow puppetry even more by listening to a story titled Red is a Dragon: A Book of Colors by Roseanne Thong, which is a wonderful story involving various places to find beautiful colors. In fact, this book contains a powerful message that will inspire students when they are creating their shadow puppets, where they will realize that there is no right or wrong way to engage in this craft, but rather, the creative possibilities are endless. Overall, this introduction to the lesson on shadow puppetry can help to activate previous schemas of collaboration, sequencing, and spatial and color awareness that students can refer to throughout their creative process. However, most importantly, this introduction will engage students in the materials and ideas planned for this lesson, simply because instead of viewing the world of shadow puppetry as an observer, students actually enter a different world and become the shadow puppeteers themselves, which is essentially the core purpose of art education. Learning Activities The world of art is a fantastic place, and is best explored through experience. Therefore, in order to immerse students within this world and introduce them to the art activities they will be engaging in, present examples of artistic creations that the students could make, as well as encourage them to enjoy the process of working with new materials and building their own artistic creations, rather than focusing on the final product. In turn, after introducing students to this component of the lesson, invite them to listen to the instructions regarding how to make their own shadow puppets, where within this explanation present a model shadow puppet and explain how in order to see the details of this shadow puppet, these patterns need to be cut out rather than left intact. In fact, throughout this presentation, give an example of how these details can be created by actually folding a piece of paper and showing the students how to cut around a small slit in order to create an intricate pattern. In turn, after modeling how to create a shadow puppet, show the students how to tape a Popsicle stick to the bottom of their puppet so that they can play with their characters, where at this time invite students to begin gathering the supplies they need to make their shadow puppets, and then encourage them to return to their desks and let their imaginations drive their creations. Overall, even though modeling the shadow puppet is important for understanding, many students will also need extra assistance throughout this lesson. Therefore, in order to ensure the students understand this lesson, periodically walk around the room and answer various questions or comments that may arise during this activity, as well as discuss the progress students are making towards attaining the objectives. However, even though this is important on various levels, most importantly, make sure the students understand that this activity is entirely open-ended, in the sense that they can make any person, place, or thing, and this object can be any color that they feel best expresses their creativity. Finally, in regards to students who may need extra assistance, or even students who desire to be challenged, ensure that this activity is equipped with creative extensions and differentiations for students with special needs. For example, pre-cut paper or draw the outlines of objects for students to trace and then cut, as well as always have extra materials that are larger for students to utilize in order to facilitate the development of their fine motor skills. In fact, for students who are able to go beyond the basic lesson, encourage them to build more shadow puppets or find ways to make movable parts on their shadow puppets through utilizing brass brads. Overall, even though the lesson can be differentiated based on specific needs, the creative benchmarks for this activity are endless, where students can take this journey in any direction they want to go. |