Elementary

The Essential Question
How can students express individuality while following the prompts of a lesson?

Objective
Students will create individualized hand puppets depicting what they believe they would look like as a monster or creature.

Materials
paper bags, washable markers, construction paper in various colors, scissors, school glue, googly eyes and other embellishments

Procedures
1. Ask students to help create class expectations for the lesson. (My students stated that the class should be respectful to the teacher, follow instructions, and be kind to one another.)
2. Next, engage students in a discussion about puppets. Where have they seen puppets in their daily lives? (TV, pop culture, etc.)
3. Discuss the words line, shape, pattern, and storytelling. Explain to students that they will use these elements to create a hand puppet that shows what they would look like as a monster or creature.
4. Students use the various materials to create their paper bag monster puppets. While they create, ask them to think of backstories and names for their monsters.

Assessment
Students share their puppets and tell a brief story about their monster. For further assessment, ask students how each vocabulary word (line, shape, pattern, and storytelling) is present in their work.

Corbin Malinka is a student at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona.