Make Finger Puppets
From Kennedy Center: Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems · 2020
20 minK1st2nd3rdReading & Writing (ELA)
Summary
Episode 4 pivots from drawing to making: Mo guides viewers through crafting paper finger puppets of their favorite characters. A small strip of paper, some drawing, a bit of tape -- and suddenly your fingers become actors. Mo talks about how puppets can say things that are hard to say out loud.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
- Mo says puppets can help us say things that feel hard to say ourselves. Why might it feel easier to have a puppet talk than to talk yourself?
- Which character did you make -- and why that one?
- Perform a short conversation between your puppet and a partner's. What did your characters "want" from each other?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: puppet, character, dialogue, performance.
Materials: strip of paper, tape, pencil or markers.
Try it: Make one finger puppet each. Write a 3-line dialogue between them (A says something, B responds, A replies) and perform it.