Shadow puppetry offers opportunities to act out stories from the Underground Railroad, the network of free Blacks, Quakers, and abolitionists who helped men, women, and children escape slavery in the decades prior to the Civil
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Bible stories
Silhouette puppets to act out Bible stories
A new set of mix-and-match puppets in biblical dress is available in the Printable Library. With a choice of different heads, upper, and lower bodies, and optional headdress they will enable you to create characters
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Black history
Puppetry and Poetry
Amanda Gorman’s commanding inaugural presentation has ignited a renewed interest in the equally skilled 18th century poet, Phillis Wheatley (c. 1753 – 1784). A language arts project in which students compare these Black female poets
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Bible stories
Nativity Puppets in Quarantine
On January 6, 2019, the day that Epiphany is celebrated in Western churches, I wrote a blog post telling the nativity story with shadow puppets. Although I originally planned to make the patterns available through my Printable
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Bible stories
The Nativity Story in Twelve Scenes
The following photos, originally posted during the 2018-19 Christmas season, tell the story of the Nativity, from the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem to the arrival of the three magi. During the 2020
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Greek mythology
How to act out Heracles’ labors using your own imagination
In our post about acting out Greek myths we have touched upon the heroes Perseus and Theseus. The most popular hero however (as seen in Greek art) was Heracles, often known for his Roman name Hercules.
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Greek mythology
Silhouette puppets to act out Greek myths
Are you interested in Greek mythology? Are you stuck at home and looking for some different screen time with your own animations? With shadow puppets and a home-made screen you can turn Daphne into a
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Greek mythology
Making a pot-shaped screen
One of my most-read blog posts is about using an overhead projector for shadow puppetry, which is full of fun tricks that may be used when teaching Greek myths in the classroom. But you don’t
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American history
A teacher’s “hard history” project continued from home
In the past two years I have been fortunate to work with 5th grade teacher Davie-Lyn Jones. We explored shadow puppetry as an interactive way to teach about the “hard history” topic of slavery, using
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How to
How to make puppet rods with duct or painters tape
In this instructional video I am showing you how to make a silhouette or shadow puppet using a cheap and sturdy alternative for rods that are attached to the puppets with velcro. The instructions are