Teach-Primary-Issue-19.8

FEATURES RESOURCES 4 | HISTORICAL PEG DOLLS Present children with a simple peg doll puppet (there are great examples online, such as this one from Salford Museum: tinyurl.com/tp-PegDoll ) . Explain that this is a time-travelling puppet and they will be travelling back to the moment in history they are studying. Design the correct costumes and props that the time travel puppet will need to navigate the time period, based on research that the class will do. Link to the English curriculum by creating diary entries where the peg doll puppet writes in role, describing the time period and what they are encountering, allowing children to draw in relevant historical facts and knowledge. 5 | ANIMAL MOVEMENT Give each child, or group, an animal puppet (e.g. frog, bird, cat) or ask them to invent a new animal puppet of their own. Ask the children how their puppet would move if it came alive and to show it with their body. Pupils can hop, flap, slither, or gallop around the space, developing coordination, balance, and gross motor control. The class can mirror one another’s puppet movements in turn, or create a puppet dance where each animal joins the sequence to form a rhythmic, choreographed routine. 6 | CHRISTMAS PARADE! Explore different types of puppets with the class (made from socks, paper bags, pegs, or sticks) and ask pupils to choose one style to focus on. Together, come up with a list of Christmas characters, both traditional and invented, before using craft supplies such as felt, fabric scraps, coloured paper, googly eyes, glitter, pipe cleaners, and cotton wool to decorate them. Children should design and assemble their puppets, giving them a name, personality, and festive role (e.g. Twinkle the elf, who wraps presents messily). Finish with a Christmas Puppet Parade where children introduce their puppets and describe their Christmas jobs. As an extension, pupils could create a puppet mini fact file to present, too. Bring lessons to life across the curriculum with these interactive activity ideas 6 ways to use puppets in the classroom EMILY AZOUELOS is an experienced former primary teacher, and educational content creator. linkedin.com/in/emily-azouelos-227502220 1 | CHARACTER EXPLORATION Use character puppets to retell traditional tales such as The Three Little Pigs or Goldilocks. Children can listen to the puppets’ thoughts at a tricky or pivotal moment in the story, and suggest solutions together, encouraging problem-solving and empathy. Teachers can pause and ask, “Why do you think the puppet acted this way?” to develop inference. To explore links with oracy, children could take turns voicing different characters in the story, building confidence in speaking, listening, and expression. This also helps pupils to cement the storytelling sequence and provides opportunities to practise using ambitious vocabulary. 2 | PROBLEM-SOLVING Introduce a ‘Maths Mascot’ puppet, who repeatedly makes mathematical mistakes when exploring concepts that the children are studying. Examples could include: “I think 27 + 14 is 31…is that right?” or you could add humour by getting the puppet to hold equipment the wrong way round or use it incorrectly. Children should work together to correct the puppet, explaining their reasoning step by step. The puppet’s errors are a safe way to expose commonmisconceptions without embarrassing any child. Pupils can then design their ownmaths challenges to help teach the puppet a concept they keep getting wrong. 3 | EMOTIONAL LITERACY Puppets can help children to discuss feelings they might struggle to express aloud. As a class, ask pupils to select a worry card to read that has been put forward by the puppet, centred around something that children may struggle with during school. For example, a shy puppet worries about joining a playground game, or a competitive puppet is finding losing in sports tricky to deal with. Pupils then need to work together to develop strategies to help – practising kindness, empathy, and problem-solving, or role-play the situation to explore how to solve it. Children can create advice postcards that sum up tips for the puppet. www.teachwire.net | 11