Samantha Varano

During my art class, we did an entire unit on puppets.  We had a professional pupper maker and puppeteer come into our class and teach us about the benefits of using puppets in the classroom.  I leanred that they make learning interactive and more exciting for students.  She also taught us how to make paper mache puppets.  We spent about two class period making and decorating our own puppets.  There were an unfinite amount of possibilities as to what kind of characters we could make. 

Later in the semester, we visitied a local elementaty school and taught second graders how to make their own puppets.  The class was currently studying a unit on fantasy genres and had created their own fantasy stories.  We then came to their class and helped them to make puppets to go along with the characters from their stories.We broke up into small groups and helped the students to make their own puppets.

In the beginning, I was a little hesitant as to why this unit was valuable for me to know and learn about.  Yet, by the end, I was able to realize how beneficial puppets can be in the classroom. I really enjoyed making my puppet and working with the students and could definitely see myself using puppets occasionally with my future students.