Jon that is one of my goals in the puppetry world........to support teachers in bringing back puppets to the class.  Your last line says it all and it makes the whole lesson go much smoother for the teacher.

Here is a link to a site that supports and teaches teachers about making a simple puppet and then implementing it into the learning experience.

http://www.puppetools.com/

Enjoy
Daryl H

I'm so glad to find this forum and I'm kicking myself for not searching for a puppetry forum earlier!

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but this is exactly the sort of puppetry that I'm interested in. I've been teaching ESL (English as a second language) since 2007 and have always used puppetry in the classroom.

The results have been wonderful and it's lovely to have students contact me over a decade later and say that they loved my family of puppet characters!

A couple of years ago I left classroom teaching and transitioned to teaching 100% online. One of the main reasons was the convenience. It's wonderful to teach in your pyjamas for just a few hours each evening and have the entire day free to work on puppet stuff!

But more importantly, I really think that online teaching and puppetry is a perfect match. It's similar to what Jim used to say about puppetry on TV. The edge of the screen forms a type of 'stage' and you can do some really fun stuff having puppets 'visit' the classroom or suddenly hijack the lesson 

Here's a really simple example of using puppetry in one of my online classes with a student who has learning difficulties. Using puppets in the class with him has helped to transform him from a shy, awkward kid with no confidence into a bright and chatty boy who enjoys our weekly lessons.


I'm happy to be here and hope to connect with other puppetry loving teachers!

James

He sure did perk up when the puppet entered the scene.