Fine Arts: Theater

K-4 Standard 2: Acting by assuming roles and interacting in improvisations

• Students imagine and clearly describe characters, their relationships and their environments.
• Students use variations of locomotor and nonlocomotor movement and vocal pitch, tempo and tone for different characters.

Fine Arts: Visual Arts

K-4 Standard 1: Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes

• Students use different media, techniques and processes to communicate ideas, experiences and stories.

Source: National Standards for Arts Education

Host class performances and storytelling with craft stick puppets. Encourage students to create their own characters and tell stories about them. Older students can write stories or poems to accompany the characters.

Figure A

Figure B

Supplies Used: Cardstock, Craft Sticks, Glue, Scissors

The teacher will die-cut the materials for student use prior to the lesson.

1. Fold a 12" x 18" piece of dark brown cardstock or construction paper in half. At the folded end, fold back again about 1/2" (Figure A).
   
2. Place the folded edge of the paper just inside the cutting rule at the bottom of XL Stable (Basic Beginnings) and die-cut (Figure B).
   
3. Die-cut the top of the Stable using tan paper. Adhere to the brown Stable (see Main Photo).
   
4. Open the Stable and refold so that the extra fold is now inside. Use double-sided tape or glue to lightly fasten the top of the Stable together. The Stable will now stand on its own.
   
5. Die-cut Nativity #1 and Nativity #2 figures using various colors of cardstock or construction paper.
   
6. Leave one of each figure whole. Cut highlights from the other colors and adhere to the whole figures (see Main Photo).
   
7. Adhere the embellished Nativity figures to craft sticks.
   
8. Students are now ready to retell the Nativity story in their own words.