FUN WITHPUPPETS!!!!

WHY
1.
2.
3.

PUPPETS?
Puppets are easy to make and fun to use.
Making puppets develops creative and physical skills.
Using a puppet helps children become more confident when using English
because the puppet is doing the talking.
4. They are really good for teaching/learning dialogue.
5. They can be used T Ss, S T, T S, S S, S Ss.
HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE PUPPETS
1. You need straws, tape/glue, scissors, felts or colouring pencils and the
templates e.g. people, animals.
2. The children can make the puppets, depending on age and skill level.
3. Start with some pre-teaching/revising for parts of the body, or types of
animals. Talk about puppets e.g. have you got puppets at home? do you
play with puppets? where do you play with puppets? etc, give a
demonstration with a puppet you have made, model making the puppet,
perhaps have an instruction list on the w/b or on paper
LEARN WITH A PUPPET
1. Follow the puppets instructions
a. layout flashcards or objects on the floor or stick them on the w/b
b. use the puppet to say e.g. Touch the apple Faisal
c. children listen and do what the puppet says
2. Repeat what the puppet says
a. use the puppet to say vocabulary or short sentences varying the
pitch, volume, and pace e.g. The giraffe is tall/The lion is fierce.
b. Children listen and repeat what the puppet says in the same way
3. Correct the puppet
a. ask questions and get the puppet to give the wrong answers or to
say sentences with the wrong information, e.g. The ball is blue
b. the children listen and correct the puppet in chorus, e.g. No, .
[naming the puppet] Green!
4. Guess what the puppet is thinking about
a. put 3-6 flashcards on the floor or board. use mime to convey the
puppet is thinking about 1 of them. Encourage the children to guess
which one
b. make the puppet shake its head and say No and then nod and say
Yes, brilliant! when a child guess correctly.
5. Guess whats in the puppets bag
a. put several different objects or flashcards in a grab-bag. Make the
puppet hold the bag. Children take turns to guess whats in the bag,
e.g. Elephant!
b. the puppet shakes or nods his head and says Yes or No. Whenever
the puppet says Yes take the relevant object or flashcard out of the
bag. Children clap and say Yes! Elephant! Hurray!
6. Pass the puppet
a. children sit in a circle
b. play music and the children pass the puppet round the circle
c. whenever you pause the music, the child who has the puppet tells
the puppet something about themselves using the language you
want them to practise e.g. I like nasi lemak.
7. Puppets can be used in many other different ways e.g. dialogues with
groups of students, classroom management in a positive way, marking the

beginning and ending of lessons with greetings and goodbyes, to give

feedback and praise etc.
SAMPLE PUPPET DIALOGUES
Now make the puppet talk!
Animals and Numbers
Puppet 1 Hi! Whats your name?
Elephant
Hello, Im Ellie. Im an
Puppet 2 Im Kamaliah
elephant.
Puppet 1 Hi Kamaliah. How old are
Monkey
Hello, Im Mandy. Im a
you?
monkey.
Puppet 2 Im seven. How old are
Crocodile Hello, Im Croc. Im a
you?
crocodile.
Puppet 1 Im seven, too.
Giraffe
Hello, Im Giselle. Im a
Puppet 2 Have you got any brothers
giraffe.
or sisters?
Puppet 1 Yes, I have. Ive got two
Elephant
Hey, boys and girls. Did
sisters. And you?
you know that Im the cleverest
Puppet 2 Ive got two brothers.
animal in the jungle.
Puppet 1 Whats your hobby?
Monkey
No youre not.
Puppet 2 I love reading books.
Elephant
Yes, I am.
Puppet 1 Thats great!
Monkey
No youre not.
Puppet 2 And you?
Elephant
Yes, I am. I can count up
Puppet 1 I love listening to music.
to 5 . 1 2 3 4 5.
Monkey
Thats very good. But I
can count up to 6.
Elephant
No you cant.
Monkey
Yes I can 1 2 3 4 5 6.
Im the cleverest animal in the
jungle.
Elephant
Yes you are.
Crocodile
No youre not. Im the
cleverest animal in the jungle.
Mon & Ele No youre not.
Crocodile
Yes I am. I can count up
to 8.
Mon &Ele No you cant
Crocodile Yes I can. .. 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8. Im the cleverest animal in the
jungle
Giraffe
No youre not.
Crocodile Yes, I am.
Giraffe
No youre not. I can count
up to 10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10.
ALL
WOW! You are the
cleverest animal in the jungle.
Elephant Boys and girls. Three
cheers for Giselle the giraffe, the
cleverest animal in the jungle. Hip
Hip Hurray. Hip Hip Hurray. Hip Hip
Hurray.