Top 10 tips for celebrating world puppetry day in your classroom

To mark the occasion of World Puppetry Day on March 21, we have our best top 10 tips of how to explore the magic of puppetry in your classroom. 

1. Get your students to enter our Hachiko Day competition and share their extraordinary animal story. The competition goes until April 22 and the winner will receive a double-pass to The Arrival, in July. More details here.

2. Explore the world of puppetry with your students and get them to research all the different types of puppets that exist. Get the children to look for interesting facts that they can share with the class.Interesting Facts for Kids is a great place to start for research into different kinds of puppets.

3. Get creative with your students and have them design and create a puppet from their imagination or from a narrative.

• Plan the design of their puppet, including what materials they will need for each of their puppets features.
• Encourage them to bring in materials from home if there are limited resources at school.
• If possible have an assortment of things for them to choose from when designing their puppet.
• Having different materials for the students to touch, feel and play with will help with the process of deciding which material would be best for their puppet. Use the research students did when exploring different kinds of puppets, to help them understand how different materials can be used.
• Evaluate, students should evaluate their puppet after building. This should include positive and constructive opinions about the technology process, as well as a description of their puppet’s attributes.

4. Use the amazing puppet creations the students have designed from the previous activity and have a class puppet show. This can be done in small groups or as a whole class.
5. Download one of the many extensive teacher resources that Spare Parts has available online to download from past performances. The free resources are extensive and detailed notes that include classroom activities and learning tools developed by teachers.Click here to see all the teacher resources available.

6. World Puppetry Day is an event that is celebrated all around the world. Get students to research how the occasion is marked in other countries and cultures.
7. Spark your student’s imagination with one of Spare Parts School of Puppetry workshops. The School of Puppetry workshops allow you to choose a workshop that suits your students and classroom needs. The children will be able to create, make and perform. We can even bring the workshop to your school! For more information or to make a booking please contact Fleur on 9335 5044.

8. Have a World Puppetry Day class picnic. Students can bring along their newly made puppets or their own puppet from home. Don’t forget to go around and introduce everyone’s puppets!

9. The founders of World Puppetry Day, the I’Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA) was built on shared passion for puppetry and they have released an international message about this year’s celebration. UNIMA is encouraging people to document their festivity of the art form, to truly unite all puppeteers. We at Spare Parts will be doing exactly that, by posting a series of videos and images in the lead up to the day and on the day. Keep your eyes out for them and share them with your students.Why not document how your school is celebrating World Puppetry day this year? There a fantastic apps that the students can use on their Ipads to create fun and interactive videos and images.Send in – or post on social media any photographs, videos or drawings to:admin@sppt.asn.au or PO BOX 897, Fremantle WA 6859 or share them on social media @sparepartspuppets

10. Get your student’s research and look at the past messages from World Puppetry Day. Have them construct their own message and share it with the class. For more information about World Puppetry Day and the origins of the celebration click here.