Little Red Riding Hood

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Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who wore a little hood of red velvet given to her by her grandmother … The much beloved fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood is ideal to teach to 1st graders (why not 2nd or 3rd or…?) Well known fairy tales provide both children and teachers with a familiar starting point from which to explore stories in a second language. A wide range of activities (from oral storytelling, dramatic play, book making, creating story props, designing masks and making story boxes to name but a few) can be used (have a look here for some ideas).  

Keeping early literacy fun and playful is essential. The foundations of good literacy skills dwell in comprehension and language skills, which are fostered best through listening to stories and retelling them in a fun way. Oral storytelling (with emphasis on opening and closing lines, along with formulaic phrases and repetitive structures) could be enhanced by the use of puppets. All the best-loved bits – particularly the lines children love to listen to could be practiced in a fun and engaging way.

One way to do easy puppets is to print the figures, have the students paint it, then cut them out and stick them to popsicle sticks.

Here is the template:

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/ddc53de97a3f72b1ff75344d86d000db.pdf

Another (more fascinating because of the game of shadows and light) is to try narrating the fairy tale with shadow puppets (see how to make a shadow puppet theatre here).

I have created a set of eleven silhouettes below: a girl, a wolf, a woodcutter, a mother, a grandmother, a house, a tree, and a bush with flowers, a bed, a mushroom and a hare.

Here they are:

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/house-woodcutter-tree.pdf

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/wolf-bed-1.pdf

https://blogs.sch.gr/mdoulgke/files/2021/05/mother-LRRH-granny-mushroom-flowers-hare-1.pdf

Watch this video for some help:

 

Use these templates to create your own shadow production of Little Red Riding Hood with your class! Make the room dark and have fun while practicing students’ narrative skills!

This is the little act I pulled together using the text from the PEAP material  :

 

Good Luck!

Explore the World of Shadows with shadow puppets!

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Using puppets is a great way to set the context for any language activity you want! It’s an excellent opportunity for children to refine their speech sounds through listening. But when students use puppets the gains are manifold: children (even the reluctant ones) communicate naturally with puppets and gain confidence in expressing themselves! For some (not so) unfathomable reason, children are more willing to speak to or with a puppet than their teacher! Don’t take it to heart; seize the opportunity to get them to speak!

Moreover, when students make their own puppets their fine motor skills are enhanced.

Stencils or cookie cutters are ideal to help younger learners so that they can bring their characters to life. If the pattern is intricate let them cut the outline and help them with inner details (ideally use precision manicure scissors or a hobby knife for cutting).

Next glue or tape each of your cardstock cut-outs onto a straw, chopstick or popsicle stick. (watch this for more details of how to make a shadow puppet theatre or your figures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHw-4UOcj40 )

 

 

Now let the students explore the potentials of the medium and unleash their imagination!!!

Create your own shadow puppet theatre!

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Shadow Puppetry is said to have originated in China over two thousand years ago! It is now a popular form of entertainment in countries all over the world. Its simplicity, portability and mesmerising shadow and light performances are perfectly suited for impressionable young minds!

Shadow puppet theatre can be used in primary ELT in many ways (you can get an idea if you read this wonderful article by Tatjana Jurisic here)

Well? Are you up for it?

If yes, you need to build your theatre!

Here is how I made mine:

Any cardboard box will do the trick. If you want your students to collaborate you need to find a big one: the more students behind the scene, the more space you need! (I found a quite big, but rather shabby box—but don’t worry, in the dark no one can see, everyone is engrossed with the performing shadows).

Baking parchment or rice paper can be used to cover the opening which will be used as the screen, and a light source is necessary (be it the light from your mobile phone or any type of clear bulb). I used a led rigid strip hard light tube lamp.

The decoration is entirely up to you! I made a wavy pattern which I mirrored and some other decorations (from the paper that was left from the opening of the scene).  This is a bit difficult as it takes some skill end effort with the box cutter. Alternatively you can paint the whole box with the help of the students!

Bring the magic of shadow puppet theatre into your classroom! Let the children be spectators and watch the shadow story unravel, or let them take the roles of actors and directors to create their own world of shadow adventures!

Watch this for some help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpqmNys-jLQ

 

 

World Puppetry Day

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World Puppetry Day has been celebrated every year on March 21st since 2003. Even though the art of puppetry is very old it was not until the first half of the 20th century that puppeteers began sharing more information about their work. The proposal for the celebration of the day was made in 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette, (UNIMA) in Magdeburg.

Puppetry is a very ancient form of theatre which was first recorded in the 5th century BC in Ancient Greece. Some forms of puppetry, though, may have originated as long ago as 3000 years BC. In almost all human societies puppets have been used for the purpose of entertainment, as sacred objects in rituals, as symbolic effigies (in celebrations such as carnivals), and as a catalyst for social and psychological change in transformative arts.

There is a wide range and many different varieties of puppets, ranging from the simple finger and sock puppets to hand (or glove) puppets (larger forms such as the Japanese Bunraku may even require two puppeteers for each puppet!) and  to more elaborate marionettes, suspended and controlled by a numbers of strings or rods. Shadow puppets are also widely used: flat figures (which have been treated to make them partly translucent), they are pressed against the screen with a strong source of light behind them.

Today, puppets are everywhere. Puppets can be seen on stage, on television, and in the movies.

Some of the most famous puppets include:

Pinocchio / Punch and Judy / Kermit the Frog / Elmo et al.

Using puppets in the classroom can be an engaging and useful way to help students develop emotionally and grow their language and communication skills. Research shows that using puppets in education has many benefits especially with language skills. Children can practice their oral speaking skills by telling a story to a puppet or explaining words or expressions. If the puppet is “confused” and doesn’t understand something, the child can explain and show the puppet what he has learned.

When used by the teacher, puppets are a good tool to get young children’s attention and create teaching scenarios: puppets can sing songs, tell stories, count, and deliver learning across the whole curriculum. They are an excellent tool for developing listening and attention, phonics and maths skills, and personal development.

I have been using puppetry in my teaching for all the aforementioned reasons, but mostly because I have reserved the child enthusiasm for puppets in my heart!

My feeble attempts have all been linked to my lessons:

1st grade: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (for details see here) / A party in the jungle (puppets) (for details see here) / A party in the jungle (paper puppets) (for details see here)

3rd grade: Pinocchio 

6th grade: Mythical Creatures (shadow puppets): Polyphemus the Cyclops (for details see here)

Christmas elves: Rosie and Nosie 

Most of the times my ‘Homemade Productions’ aim at instigating students to find their own inspiration and artistic voice! 

Me and my puppet ‘arsenal’

 

 

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‘A party in the jungle’ puppet theatre No. 2

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This is my version of the ‘A party in the jungle’ using an empty cereal box.

I made my own small puppet theatre based on the idea of the Halloween one by Kids English Theatre (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZPQMy6cZBQ)

Here’s what I did: I took a box of cereals. I used a green background to convey the idea that it’s a jungle. I cut the figures carefully from the PEAP material (http://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/taksi/kyklos-b/party-jungle?fbclid=IwAR06F3sPtRRn93ZTuoVWyVb47l32MiqLH-QgLUqZNufn2uPlQ7f-UOde04Y#material).

I stuck the image of the elephant and Leo on another piece of paper and added the missing parts as best as I could. I used the PEAP flashcards for Leo (http://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/taksi/kyklos-b/fun-animals?fbclid=IwAR0-n-EXV0RA_J1icO7RtUlMNDSOX3ht0qv_UH8bUrodoExy3aPR1nquew0#material)

Don’t throw away the remaining bits of paper! You can use them in your green background.

Special thanks to my younger daughter, Kate, who was my very patient helper!

Well, hope you find it useful… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bydhWjRH9io&fbclid=IwAR143qf9AgWBPbWoc1un1Qe0n0VfyqO4e56vNdnBruNQyjuc_mp_lq4qigg

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‘A party in the jungle’ puppet theatre No. 1

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I tried to find an engaging and enjoyable way to teach 1st graders the jungle animals and Leo’s birthday… So I went around the house looking for the props and things to help me with my quest! Mind you, my daughters are not that young anymore, so it was more difficult to gather all the stuff I needed (I have left almost all my puppets at school…)

Well, OK, the parrot is not that much of a parrot, the yo-yo is a spinning wheel, the banana is a plastic corn and my zebra is yellow and blue (!!!) but I managed to get the meaning through! It was fun for the kids, who asked for a second and a third time! The cardboard theatre is something I had from a series of Greek fairy tales with puppets on which I added ‘the African jungle’ banner. I guess it’s not that difficult to make.

I’m sending you my video in case anyone finds it helpful !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkMKZMVcneA

This is the ‘performance’ on WeBex!

Halloween Puppet Theatre

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After watching this video  https://www.facebook.com/1859633737640612/posts/2783918198545490/ 

 I made my own version of the Halloween puppet theatre with ideas from 

https://mommymadethat.com/halloween-puppets-free…/… 

for the puppets.

Then I saw that there was a PDF

https://www.kidsenglishtheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/02a-Halloween-Theatre.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3hizL7jb1JC7GONzmrlXbaZl9R4d78GnpIk_ZUYRJr267parBbXB8TinM

 for everything…Pfff. But it was great fun!

I think I’ll have kids in each class make their own versions, too!

This is how I made it:

Some students soon got the idea and created their own (without any help from me!)

Have a look:

 

 

Shadow puppet theatre

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‘Homemade productions’ presents: Shadow Puppet theatre!

It was something I long wished to make, partly because I adore puppets and partly because of all the excitement. In 2018 I attended a talk in TESOL Macedonia Thrace by Tatjana Jurišić (from Serbia) on the benefits of using shadow puppets in ELT: communicational and organisational problem-solving skills, collaboration, creativity, all present in the art and craft of creating and bringing shadows to life!

So I used a Styrofoam frame (probably from a refrigerator!!! – Don’t they say that teachers keep all sorts of unnecessary things, cardboard boxes, egg cases, you name it, for future use?) and set out to make my own shadow puppet theatre as I had it in my mind.

Turned out that I could do it in a much easier fashion with a cardboard box… (watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBwLs2lyWgU )

I chose the story of Polyphemus the Cyclops because I can use it as an example with my 6th graders (Unit 3, Imaginary Creatures, Lesson 1, Old and Modern Creatures).

I plan to use it like this: I will have 6th graders in pairs to write a short text about an imaginary creature and then create a short dialogue and a shadow puppet for it.

I will use the shadow theatre with 1st and 2nd graders as well, for the Little Red Riding Hood (with shadow puppets I have made myself and have them make their own for either LRRH or ‘The Three Little Pigs’.)

Well, here it is… Do be kind, as it’s my first attempt!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bad7R9eIjrw