What can i do to get their attention and interest in my lesson plan??

Question

the lesson plan for a preschool is the puppet says. a puppet says "reach up high" and so forth ... what can i say to get their interest?

Answer 1

You could create a story connected to the puppet.  Include things that are part of their learning at the time...  the weather, the letter of the week, patterns, colors....

You need to do the action, too... engage them physically.  That's always a good bet to get them involved.

The open ended questions could revolve around the story.

Why did puppet like the green sweater?  

Would the puppet wear the sweater if it were summer?

good luck... I love the little ones.

Answer 2

i am a preschool teacher and i have about 4 children that  are not focused in class they yell run around i feel stressed out in trying to get them to follow directions and stoy inntereted what do i do?

Answer 3

Start the lesson plan with the puppet in a box or a bag - hold the bag up to your ear and tell them - oh he's shy - then tell the bag "they are really very nice boys and girls" "yes, they are all sitting on their bottoms" (which promptly makes them all sit on their bottoms" - this builds anticipation and the kids can't WAIT to see what you have in there.  Let the puppet whisper in your ear a lot - then tell the kids "oh, he wants to see if everyone can reach up high"' - they will of course do it just because they want the puppet to know they can!!!

Afterwards you can ask them anything that you did - Why do you suppose the puppet felt shy when he first came out?  Why do you think he might be scared?  Have you ever been afraid and when?  Good luck - sounds like fun.

Answer 4

For what it's worth, some advice for using puppets in the classroom, from an article I wrote a while ago:

Archie Andrews with Peter Brough.

Lamb Chop and Sheri Lewis.

Kermit with Jim Henson.

Yoda in Star Wars

Charlie McCarthy with Edgar Bergen.  

Jerry Mahoney with Paul Winchell

No matter when you grew up, chances are you grew up enjoying at least one of those puppets.  However, since Jim Henson’s death in 1990, very little has been done to bring the appeal of puppets to children on a mass media scale.

History of Puppetry

It is difficult to say exactly where puppetry came from.  There have been, throughout history, countless forms of puppetry in almost every culture.  



Several Asian countries are well known for their Shadow Puppets.  Shadow Puppets in Asia are usually made from animal hide which are punched out into various shapes and decorations.  They are attached to rods or wires and carried behind a white cloth with a bright light behind the puppeteer and puppet.  The puppet ends up appearing as a silhouette on the cloth when viewed from in front of the cloth.

While Shadow Puppets have been along far beyond what we can determine, we cannot ignore other forms of puppetry as being as old, or possibly even older, than shadow puppetry.  Several tribal communities used masks during religious ceremonies.  While we generally do not think of masks as puppets, masks were an early form of puppetry.  The person wearing the mask was taking on another role – much like the puppeteer does today.  

Modern puppetry, at least in the Western Culture, has a lot of history tied up in the Vaudeville era.  Vaudeville was a popular form of entertainment that combined several types of acts into one show.  A person might go see a Vaudeville show and see a singer, juggler, magician, comedian, ventriloquist, and minstrel.  If it was not for the success of one particular Vaudeville performer, we may have never even heard of Kermit the Frog.  

The Birth of a Legend

On February 16, 1903, a child was born to a farm life in Decatur, Michigan.  As a young boy, he would finish his chores and make his way to the tent shows to enjoy the acts.  He was caught up in the magic performers and eventually sent away for a booklet which described various tricks you could do at home.  Before long, the young man learned the secrets of ventriloquism.  He worked in smaller clubs and venues for several years until 1922, when he finally went to Theodore Mack and Sons to purchase a more professional puppet.  It was that Summer that Vaudeville truly knew Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.  

Most famous puppeteers of the 20th Century trace their interest in the art back to Bergen in some way.  Paul Winchell got his interest in puppetry from listening to Bergen on the radio then seeing him perform in his movie, The Golden Follies.  Edgar Bergen also inspired Jim Henson.  If it were not for Bergen, it is hard to tell what puppetry in the West would look like today.

A Clear Change

I am often asked what happened to puppetry.  Why are children not as exposed to it today as they were years ago?  It seems a clear answer came in 1965 that puppetry was facing problems.

People who grew up in the 50s and 60s will likely be able to sing along with the song:

“N-E-S-T-L-E-S Nestles makes the very best.”

“Chawwwwwwwwwwwwwww-Claaaaaaaaaaaaat”

Jimmy Nelson was the Nestles Chocolate spokesperson from 1955 until 1965.  For ten years, Jimmy Nelson and his puppets, Danny O’Day and Farfel, sold America on Nestles Chocolate Milk.  In 1965, Nestle discontinued its puppet campaign and replaced it with the Nestle Bunny, an animated character.  Television programs began changing as well.  June of 1971 was the last episode of the variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show.  Puppetry came out of the media’s main spotlight for a long time.  The Muppets, Shari Lewis, and ALF helped bring puppetry back to life, but puppetry on the screen and on television could not compete with CGI or Animation in terms of interest and appeal. Kelly Asbury, Director of Shrek 2, describes this phenomenon perfectly in his book Dummy Days:

“In the early days, when special effects on TV were more difficult to come by, vents held a virtual monopoly on performing on-camera wizardry.  Later, when low-cost animation and live-action special effects came along, networks began to make use of new, more sophisticated visual tools and forever changed TV programs for both children and adults.”

Given all this, is there really any benefit to using puppets effectively in the classroom?  Will children still be drawn to them?  Or will it be something that is deemed “too silly” by the children since the mass media has changed?  If you follow some simple tips, you will be amazed at how easily and effectively you can add puppetry into the classroom.

Beyond Entertaining and into Education

I have performed ventriloquism in Comedy Clubs.

I have performed at several birthday/children’s parties.

I have used my puppets to help me in the classroom.

I have even had a drunken guy during a show threaten to beat up my puppet because he doesn’t like what the puppet was saying.

I thought I was ready for ANY audience.  Then I moved to Taiwan.  At the end of my first full week here, I was told that the school would give me time to do a performance with my puppets for the Kindergarten graduation.  I was honestly excited for a minute – then I realized these parents and children know Mandarin – not English.  For the next week, I began taking note of what the children were drawn to in the puppets.  There were times they laughed and there were times they just stared at me.  It was not until that moment that I truly realized how to gain a child’s interest with puppets ~ you have to make them seem like they truly understand the puppet.  

The children laughed when the puppet got silly.  

The children laughed when the puppet played tricks on me.

The children laughed when the puppet would get into an argument with me.

What child has NOT wanted to do some of these things and felt they couldn’t at some point in their life?  If the child is overly silly, the parent tells them to calm down.  Children should not play practical jokes on adults – everyone knows that.  Children can’t argue with adults and make them back down – they often feel they do not have that power.  The children identified so well with the puppet because the puppet was acting how the children know they shouldn’t, but they sometimes feel they want to.  

In a school setting, one must be careful about doing something like that.  What you need to do is very carefully plan how you are going to draw a lesson out of it.  For me, I often find it easiest to ask the children to show an example of the good behavior then have the puppet repeat it.  I have one bit I do where Noodle, my large furry blue puppet, just goes crazy trying to raise his hand to answer a question.  I have the children point out how they raise their hand and then have him do it properly.  I then call on Noodle to answer my question.

Probably the best educational technique I have learned is how to use the puppet as a student who does not understand a material.  I may introduce something with the stamp game.  Several days later, as I notice students are still mastering the material, but they have a good grasp on it, I will do a group lesson and have the students “teach” the puppet how to use the material.  I will make sure the puppet understands at certain points and is really confused at certain points so it appears as though the children really are teaching the puppet.  The puppet is less intimidating than another student and I can easily control the situation with the puppet.  If one child tries to teach another, you never know how much that 2nd child will pay attention.  With the puppet, the puppet will pay attention the entire time.

Step 1:  Deciding on a Character

Think about the puppets mentioned earlier.  Charlie McCarthy was a wise-cracking kid we all wished to be.  Contrast to that, Kermit the Frog was someone that always tried to please everyone, often times at his own detriment.  The puppets never took on a different character – and neither should yours.

I was outside with the children one day and I realized I was the center of a conversation happening.  As I approached to listen more closely, one of the children spoke up and said, “Matt, who is funnier, Noodle or Jazzy D?”  Noodle is a big, blue, hyper furry creature I have trouble keeping under control.  Jazzy D. is a sunglass-wearing, bitter dog in a plaid shirt and khaki pants.  Through the course of the conversation, I heard things like:

“But Noodle is so funny when he starts jumping around”

“Jazzy D. is funnier because he always complains about everything!”

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this.  Developing a character is the most important, and most difficult, part of having a truly successful puppet with the children.  The best puppet will come from you.  Take a part of your personality and try to completely exaggerate it.  Jazzy D’s personality developed one day when I really did not want to go to work.  It was just one of those days: nice outside, perfect weather to just drive around with the sunroof open.  So I brought in Jazzy D and had him do the complaining for me, while I acted as the straight man trying to convince him that school was a great place to be.  Ever since then, I’ve opened up every show with Jazzy D. saying, “I don’t want to be here.”



Step 2:  Buy a Puppet

I hope you didn’t buy one before you completed step 1.  I can’t tell you how many Ventriloquists and other Puppeteers I know that have purchased a puppet they love and just have it sitting in their closet.  I own a few of those as well.  They purchased a puppet thinking, “this one looks so great” and they just couldn’t develop a personality for it.  Learn from our mistakes.  Decide what personality you want the puppet to have, then choose a puppet.  Puppets can cost anywhere from $10 to thousands of dollars.  Generally speaking, if you spend about $30-40, you can get a really good puppet that will last you many years.  If you want something custom made, you’re looking to spend a few hundred dollars.  

While I do not recommend buying a puppet right away, I have also inspiration for a character by looking at different puppets.  Visit some of these popular sites to look and see what is out there:



puppetsbycher.homestead.com  -- professional quality custom made puppets.

www.Axtell.com  -- a large selection of latex puppets.  For latex allergic people, they do sell vinyl puppets.  Also check out their magic section for interesting items.

www.MATPuppets.com – more professional quality custom made puppets.  Mary Anne Taylor’s puppets are used by several full time working puppeteers I know.

www.puppetgallery.com – Good quality puppets at a more affordable price.  

I can personally recommend those web sites.  Their service has always been quick and professional.  If you are looking for something else puppet related, my E-Mail is at the end of this article.  Feel free to E-Mail me and I will be glad to help.  If I do not know where to find it, there is a good chance someone I know does.



Step 3:  Your Puppet’s Turn to Talk

Everyone has a different voice.  Your puppet needs one too.  I have used about 8 different puppets.  But I work in comedy clubs, at children’s birthday parties, and do walk-arounds for festivals.  I have to keep the voices sounding totally different in order to do an effective job.  If you are working with one or two puppets in a classroom with 30 children, you should be able to get by with simply raising or lowering your voice for the puppet.  But realize the stronger the differences between your voice and the puppet’s voice, the better the illusion.

You may ask why I picked this as step 3 instead of step 1.  You want your puppet’s voice to go along with the character you built for your puppet.  So you must build your character first.  Noodle, my hyper puppet, has a very high pitched voice where a lot of the sound comes out of my nose.  Jazzy D, on the other hand, has a low voice where most of the sound comes from the back of my throat.  

Step 4:  Introducing Your Friend to the Class

I am, once again, going to go against your instinct to bring the puppet into class and start teaching right away with it.  I have found it much more effective to get the children to know the puppet’s personality first – then use the puppet in the classroom.  I have found a much better response when I get the children to fall in love with the character, then use them in the classroom.

The perfect time for this varies from school to school.  I always used the puppets when we had an extra few minutes in transition time, on rainy days when you’re stuck inside, or even during story time (Jazzy D can think of some great comments to say throughout a story.)

Three rules I strongly suggest you follow and explain before you bring out your puppet (review these every time):

1) Do not let the children come up and touch the puppet.  Once one does it, they will all try to do it.  If they get out of control and do not follow this rule, put the puppet away for another time and explain why.  Puppets are great for helping children remember and learn rules, but if you’re not strict on that rule, it can get messy.  Instead, let them know that you will carry the puppet around the circle later to pet him.  Also let the children know where they can touch him.  I don’t let people touch Noodle’s nose, so I explain they can pet him anywhere on the fur.  Some puppets, you may not want them to touch.  For example, a latex puppet may wear out more quickly if it is touched too often.  I suggest having some they can touch before you have some they cannot touch.  Find some puppets you wouldn’t mind replacing in a few years (don’t run out and spend $700 your first time on a new puppet that you’ll have to replace because kids wanted to grab it).  

2) The rule of raising your hand still applies.  The children will be more excited to talk to the puppet than they will be to talk to you.  Be sure to monitor when the raising hands and talking to the puppet is getting to be too much and be ready to jump back into what you were doing before.  When the children get into this too much when I start talking to the children, I have the puppet say, “Let’s do two more questions.”  I do those questions, then I move back into my dialog with my puppet.  So far, it has worked that the children quiet down because they would rather hear me talk to the puppet.  After saying that, I know exactly what problem I am going to have tomorrow.  Thanks, Murphy, for your laws!

3) Don’t bring the puppet out every day.  How often you bring out your puppets will vary from class to class, so there’s no set formula.  But the phrase is true that “distance makes the heart grow fonder.”  If they are out every day, the children will get tired of them.  In one class, I had them out a few times a week.  In another class, I had to limit it to maybe once or twice a month.  You’ll have to gauge that on your own.

There Are More Things to Learn?!?!

So you have your puppet, you have a personality, the children love it, and you’ve just made it to the most popular “before school activity” list.  There’s no way to improve this program…right?  

Ha!  If only life were that easy.

There are a lot of techniques still left to be learned and there is a lot you can do with puppets as an extra activity.  Let me start off with Puppetry 101: Learning the Basics.  

1) The focal point.  When you talk to someone, you are looking at them.  Your puppet should do the same.  Most puppets are made where the thumb is in the lower part of the mouth and the other four fingers are in the upper part of the mouth.  Wherever those 4 fingers point is your puppets focal point.  So if you are talking to a child, be sure those 4 fingers are pointing at the child.  It will make it seem like the puppet is actually talking with the child directly.

2) The animation in puppets is important.  Keep your puppet moving.  Usually, it is small subtle movements, but if you have your puppet sitting there for 10-15 seconds without moving, it will look really odd.

3) Don’t let the puppet “float.”  A lot of people will walk around with their puppet’s feet dangling.  Don’t do that.  The basic rule is to have the puppet “sit” on your arm when you move them around.  Put your arm where the knees would normally bend and have the puppet sit up – not lean to the side.

4) Talking is a difficult thing to master.  It’s hard to get the timing down, but that simply takes practice.  Generally speaking, you want the puppet’s mouth to open once for every syllable.  The mistake that is mostly made is that you want the bottom part of the puppet’s mouth to do almost (if not all) the movement.  To show why, try saying something out loud.  First, try it by the bottom of your mouth open and closed as you say it.  Then try it by moving the top part of your mouth as you say it.  You end up looking at the sky and developing whiplash.

5) Have fun.  I’m cramming a lot of techniques in here.  Don’t worry about them all right away.  Just have fun and learn a little as you go.

If you get really good, you might want to try to learn Ventriloquism to add to the illusion.  But that comes much later.

Completing Your Puppet Act

There is a lot you can do with puppets as an extra activity in the classroom.  

1) http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/pupp... is a great resource.  It offers lesson plans, ideas of how to make puppets, and links specifically for teachers.  

2) Have children make puppets and put on a puppet show.  You don’t even have to write a script.  If you simply Google “Puppet Scripts” you will get 57,600 web page results.  That should be more than enough to choose one script.  (Advice from Ventriloquist friend Carol Greene, who is a retired school teacher: have the students write their own scripts.  It will be a lot more fun of a process and they will enjoy the show more.  They will learn a lot from it as well.)

3) Visit www.puppeteers.org  Look to see if there is a puppetry area guild in your area.  Contact them for ideas and see if they can help you by either performing a show or coming in to help with your lessons.  Realize that this is not a group that specifically offers these types of services – it is a group of puppeteers, both amateur and professional, that are interested in puppetry.

4) Put out some materials in the classroom related to puppetry.  I had out a series of cards that had pictures of different ventriloquists and ventriloquist puppets from the early 1900s through the present day.  I allowed the children to look through and bring up one or two cards to ask about them.

5) Watch Sheri Lewis, Jim Henson, Edgar Bergen, and all the greats.  You’ll be more entertained than you realize.  You’ll also pick up a lot of techniques.  Look for how they handle the puppet, their timing, and especially how they bring out the personality of the puppets they use.  What happens in the first 5-10 seconds that makes you fall in love with these puppets?

Think back on your childhood.  Television and movies brought us several puppets we fell in love with.   Children today do not have that as much.  With a little imagination and proper planning, you can help bring that back for children.

Answer 5

A good way to get attention is to use a different voice.  A high, squeeky voice should get the preschooler's attention.  And, you could move your mouth to the side so that the kids would know it's you, so they wouldn't be scared, and know that it's safe and funny.

Talk to the puppet and tell it that there's some very smart children in this school and that you think they would like to help it.  Then check with the kids to see if they would, in fact, like to help the puppet.  They'll all say, "yes" and then ask the puppet what it would like.  

The puppet could then start with the "Reach up high" and you could ask why someone would reach up high.  You might have to give a little hint, like to change the place someone would be in.  "Why would someone reach up high in the kitchen? ... in the garage ... in the living room ... in a store ..."  

WHY is a good way to start open ended questions.  What you're doing is asking the kids to visualize, which is a very high level strategy.  

Your class sounds like fun.  Wish I could be there!  Good luck!

Answer 6

work really hard

Answer 7

nothing. just ignore them then they will get bored.