This lesson plan is from my summer arts camp program "Puppet Making" for elementary students. It incorporates creative arts and language arts.
Children love making puppets and creating stories to act out scenes. The grosser or scarier the monsters are, the kids become more involved. This is a project for both boys and girls. There are girl monsters, too, you know.
Before you get started, gather up all your supplies. These monster puppets can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. Your supplies are your only limitation. Here is a list of materials we used in my class:
1. paper bags of different colors: brown, white, blue, green, red
2. scissors: safety scissors, scrapbooking scissors with different edges
3. white glue, glue sticks, tacky glue (for gluing fabric), and tape
4. construction paper
5. wallpaper scraps
6. felt
7. fabric scraps
8. markers
9. crayons
10. yarn (for hair)
11. pipe cleaners (for antennae)
12. googly eyes
13. buttons
14. popsicle sticks (for arms)
15. glitter
16. stickers
Use white paper to demonstrate drawing your monster first. Draw different types of monsters and sketch ideas for your monsters. Explain to the kids that these sketches are used for creating the puppet.
Once you have your sketch colored and finished, choose the appropriate colored paper bag for your monster. If you only have brown and you want a purple monster, don't worry, we can cover it completely.
Put your hand in the paper bag and find the place where the "mouth" is. Explain that this mouth has to remain open and to be careful not to glue it shut. Also tell the kids that this is the front of the monster.
Based on the head shape of your monster, use colored construction paper to cut out the head shape or hair shape and lay it aside. This will be glued onto the top back of the paper bag. If your child decides to use felt, it will fall limp. You can support the felt or fabric with construction paper or cardboard behind it.
Next, work on the face. Cut out the face shape and glue on to the flap of the paper bag where your fingers go. It's okay if it overlaps the paper bag. I found that bigger head shapes, hair pieces, and faces made for a very creative looking and cool looking puppet.
Continue working on the face, adding googly eyes, or eyes cut from paper, a nose, and ears. Allow the kids to be as creative as they want. Since these are monsters, the body parts don't have to look realistic.
Inside the mouth is a little more difficult and adult supervision may be needed to keep the mouth from gluing shut. Choose a background color for inside of the mouth and cut out a rectangle that will fit inside. Bend the rectangle in half and glue it inside the mouth. Add white triangles for teeth and a red tongue. My students thought that big tongues hanging down from the mouth (even with the mouth closed) was hilarious.
Before your kids start cutting away and adding to the body, give them a few pointers. Let them know that they can change the shape of the regular rectangle body of the bag. They will ask you how, and then tell them to cut a big shape from construction paper, bigger than the "body part" of the bag and glue it on.
There are many different body shapes to use and your child's imagination can discover new and exciting ways to make monster bodies. If you want an alien, make a skinny neck with a large belly. The background of the bag will show, but kids don't mind. Cut a cloud shaped body if you want a "fluffy" monster. If you want a monster that is covered in spikes, take a regular sized piece of construction paper and cut a large zigzag along the edges.
What kind of designs should you add to the body? Circles, triangles, and squares are perfect (and you can help them learn their shapes). If the kids are older, suggest making lightning bolts, stars, or other decorations. Remind them to add a belly button.
If your monster wears clothes, use wallpaper or fabric scraps to create shirts, jackets, or pants. If your monsters are girl monsters, add hair bows, dresses, flowers, and high heels, eyelashes, big lips. Girls have a really great time creating and adding accessories such as handbags, cell phones, and even pets.
When you're ready for the arms, cut out long rectangles of matching shirt or "body" paper and glue them to the back of the bag. This gives added dimension to your monster puppet. Try different positions for the arms, not just pointing down. Ask the kids if they want the arms up, as if the monster is scaring someone or down if they are a calm monster.
You can also create movable arms. Make a hole in the sides of the paper bag or body of the monster and use a brad to attach the arm. A brad is a little gold tool that has a flat head like a thumb tack and two bendable pieces. The monster's arm will then move freely in a circle and the children have better control over the way the puppet monster "behaves."
Feet are fun to make. Use paper that matches the body and cut out big furry feet. They can look like small clouds or you can cut out boots or high heels. Glue them straight onto the front of the bottom of the body.
Embellish the rest of the monster with glitter, pipe cleaners, and whatever else your child chooses to add. Let the monster dry before playing with it. During the drying process, help write a story with your kid about the monster. A short story such as this will work: Monty the Monster woke up one morning and went for a walk. On his way, he saw a cricket and ate it. He went home and went back to sleep. The End.
Children love gross stuff. If their story is a little gross and contains other creatures, cut out the creature and glue it to a popsicle stick. Use the stick puppets to help tell the story.
Finally for the fun part! Once everything is dry, let the kids act out the stories with the puppets. Tell them to give the monsters different "voices" by instructing the kids to change their own voice. This fun project is a great way to let kids use their imagination creatively and educationally.