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Puppets

Third graders discover the world of puppets — hand, finger, shadow, stick, and marionette — and learn how each kind is controlled to bring a character to life.

Grade 3Puppetry35 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name kinds of puppets.
  • ✓Know how each is controlled.
  • ✓Make a puppet move.
  • ✓Act with a puppet.
Essential Question

Puppets can act out a whole play! There are so many kinds. What are the different types of puppets?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Puppets Explorer

Project this and tap each puppet. Have children learn the kinds of puppets and how they work.

🧦 Explore puppets — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Rehearse · Perform · Reflect)

35 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Puppets Come Alive

4 min

Puppets can act out a whole play — what kinds are there?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a puppet.
  • Ask how it moves.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Guess.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Puppets

9 min

Children explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send children to the Puppets Explorer.
  • Note each kind.
  • Note how it moves.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note them.
  • Name.
3

Rehearse — Rehearse

10 min

Children rehearse.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Make a puppet “talk.”
  • Move it with feeling.
  • Give it a voice.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Talk!
  • Move it.
  • Voice it.
4

Perform — Perform

8 min

Children perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Put on a mini puppet show.
  • Take turns.
  • Be kind.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Show it.
  • Take turns.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

4 min

Children respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a kind of puppet.
  • Say how it moves.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Theatre).

NCAS
TH:Cr2.1.3

Use puppets to tell a story.

NCAS
TH:Pr5.1.3

Manipulate a puppet.

NCAS
TH:Pr6.1.3

Perform a puppet show.

NCAS
TH:Re7.1.3

Analyze puppet performance.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Puppet picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “A ___ puppet moves by ___.”
  • Use real puppets.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with hand and stick puppets.
  • Use one puppet.
  • Make it move.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Make a puppet.
  • Write a puppet scene.
  • Put on a show.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🧦Puppets
  • 💻The Puppets Explorer
  • 🪄Craft supplies
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

puppeta figure an actor moveshand puppetfits over your handfinger puppetfits on a fingershadow puppetmakes a shadowstick puppeton a stickmarionettemoved by stringscontrolto make it movepuppeteerwho works the puppet
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you move a hand puppet?
It fits over your hand, and you move its mouth or arms.
QUESTION 2
What is a shadow puppet?
A flat puppet held up to a light to make a shadow.
QUESTION 3
How does a marionette move?
You control it from above with strings.

Reflect: make it move.

Have children make a simple stick or sock puppet at home and give it a voice. A printable puppets sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 PuppetsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 PuppetsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ PuppetsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: control, finger puppet, hand puppet, marionette, puppet, puppeteer, shadow puppet, stick puppet
  1. fits over your hand
  2. to make it move
  3. who works the puppet
  4. makes a shadow
  5. on a stick
  6. moved by strings
  7. fits on a finger
  8. a figure an actor moves

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you move a hand puppet?
  2. What is a shadow puppet?
  3. How does a marionette move?
Answer key — Part A: 1) hand puppet · 2) control · 3) puppeteer · 4) shadow puppet · 5) stick puppet · 6) marionette · 7) finger puppet · 8) puppet
Part B: 1) It fits over your hand, and you move its mouth or arms. 2) A flat puppet held up to a light to make a shadow. 3) You control it from above with strings.