Self-Esteem Activities Using Puppetry

Many years ago, I went through a week-long training session in which I began learning the art of telling stories with puppets. The program I was involved in was developed in the Detroit school system back in the 70's. Educators there were alarmed by the number of children coming to school who were dealing with difficulties at home. Some came to school malnourished, others were abused or neglected, and many were just sad all of the time. A program was developed that was tailored to meet the needs of students, particularly first graders. It was designed to give children the tools they needed to make good decisions, recognize when they were in an inappropriate situation, and effectively get help when they needed it. 

The main characters in the stories are cats who are twins; a brother and sister who are in the first grade. They have a variety of friends - a bird, a rabbit, and a squirrel, who are also in first grade, and a dog and an owl who are adults. The first stories deal with issues such as self-esteem, decision making, and the importance of speaking up for yourself when you feel a need to. As the weeks go on, the stories get into deeper issues such as alcoholism, neglect, and sexual abuse. I have used this program with hundreds of students during my 14 years of teaching, and I believe that the children who hear the stories, and take part in the activities after each one, benefit greatly. Knowing that it's ok to ask for help when you need it, and knowing who to ask for that help, are two very powerful and important lessons for young children to learn.

I have found that using puppets in a classroom can help students delve into topics that might otherwise be difficult to discuss. Students trust puppets because they feel safe with them.  By telling a story using puppets, you give your students a chance to think about their own lives, and a chance to express thoughts and feelings that they might otherwise not be willing or able to express. 

One topic you could cover with puppetry is self-esteem. One of the stories I use is about the experience the first grade kittens from the Detroit puppetry program have when they clean their room . The female kitten shows her mom what she has done, and is given all kinds of praise and kudos for having cleaned her room without being told to do so.  But when the male kitten cleans his room and asks his dad to come look, the dad is too busy to take a look. When the boy kitten presses him to come look, the father loudly tells him that he just wants to relax after a long day of work, and to stop bothering him. Of course, the boy kitten is really sad about this.  But, when he talks to his sister, and his other puppet friends, they encourage him to try talking to his dad again - expressing to him how it hurt his feelings to be yelled at like that.  The boy kitten does so, and the father apologizes for being loud and mean. He admits that he had a rough day at the office, was in a bad mood, and unfairly took it out on his son.  When he goes to his son's room and sees how hard he worked to make it clean, he gives him the same praise and kudos that his sister received the day before.  In the end, not only does the boy kitten feel good about himself for being praised, he also feels good about the fact that he was able to talk to his father and express his hurt feelings.

These stories often serve as wonderful pathways which can lead to meaningful class discussions with your students about real-life issues. After all, school can be much more than just a place for children to learn their "3 R's."  School can be a place where students can learn and practice life skills that will be of benefit to them forever. Puppets can help you begin that process.  Here are some lessons that can help you incorporate puppetry into your classroom.

Self Esteem Activities Using Puppetry:

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Puppets

Who can ever forget the charming marionette scene in the movie, "The Sound of Music?" In this brilliantly-conceived lesson, students watch a clip of that very scene, read the book "All the World Loves a Puppet," make a puppet of their own, and work in small groups to produce a puppet show. What a lesson!

Shadow Puppets

Shadow puppetry is an ancient art form that is more than 1,000 years old. This wonderful lesson follows a very similar format to the lesson above.  Students watch a video of a shadow puppetry performance, make their own shadow puppet, and then work in small groups to produce a shadow puppet show. This lesson could be used for virtually any grade level!

The World of Puppets

The World Wide Web is utilized to help students discover the amazing variety of puppets that are used in different cultures around the world. Students view puppet shows from Vietnam, Japan, and Indonesia. Each type of puppet used is amazingly different and incredibly entertaining.  Students then select their favorite type of puppet, and make one of their own.  This is a wonderful lesson!

Curtain Time!

One of the great things about puppet shows is the amount of artwork that goes into a performance. However, the artwork isn't limited to the puppets themselves - there's also the stage to think about! This very creative lesson gives students ideas about how to design the curtains for their productions.  There are also lots of great ideas for other aspects of the stage set as well.