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Recipient of the 2006 & 2007 Teachers' Choice Award for Best Content Provider - Fine Arts Museum
Distance Learning Programs
Teacher's Choice Award 2006 Teacher's Choice Award 2007
Teachers' Choice Award

The Center for Puppetry Arts offers Distance Learning programs for PreK-12. Students are briefly introduced to different styles of puppets from around the world (1st grade and up). Students participate in learning activities about a topic and create a working puppet of their very own to use in the classroom. A comprehensive study guide and materials list is provided for each program. All puppet materials are easy to find and of little, if any, cost. Middle and High School programs are designed to encourage dialogue between the presenter and participating students. Teacher workshops and demos are also available.

Topics:

Anansi the Spider: A West African Folktale | The West African Masquerade: Puppetry as Therapy in Rural Africa | Butterflies |Dinosaurs | Butterflies | Gingerbread Boy | Exploring Africa | Spiders | Plants | Rainforest | Native Americans | Mexico |Africa (Mali) | Discovering Puppetry in Other Cultures | The Legacy of Anne Frank: 1929 to the Present | Introduction to Puppet Manipulation | Edgar Allan Poe | Don Quixote or A Midsummer Night's Dream | Stage Design for Puppet Theater | Hands-On Teacher Workshop | Teacher Demo

TOPIC: Anansi the Spider: A West African Folktale · NEW!
GRADE: Pre-Kindergarten-2nd
PUPPET: Anansi Shadow Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students witness the African folktale Anansi as it comes to life with brilliantly colored shadow puppets. The story is narrated and performed during the first part of the program. Following the performance, students participate in learning activities about West African food and culture. Students complete the interactive program by making their very own Anansi Shadow Puppet.

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TOPIC: The West African Masquerade: Puppetry as Therapy in Rural Africa
GRADE: 3rd-5th
PUPPET: Malian Rod Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes

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TOPIC: Dinosaurs
GRADE: Kindergarten-2nd
PUPPET: Dinosaur Cup Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students learn interesting facts about dinosaurs while building a Dinosaur Cup Puppet. Learning activities focus on the following: meat eaters vs. plant eaters, ways that dinosaurs moved, and ways that dinosaurs protected themselves. This is a great arts and science lesson!

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GRADE: K-2nd
PUPPET: Butterfly Marionette
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45-50 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Each student will construct a Butterfly Marionette while participating in learning activities about the lifecycle of the butterfly, what makes a butterfly an insect, and coloring and camouflage. Video clips and photographs of the different stages in the life of a butterfly are included. This is a great arts and science lesson all in one!

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TOPIC: Gingerbread Boy · Holiday Program!
GRADE: PreK-2nd
PUPPET: Gingerbread Boy Shadow Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45-50 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students witness the classic tale of The Gingerbread Boy come to life with brilliantly colored shadow puppets. The story is narrated and performed during the first part of the program. Led by the program presenter, students make their very own Gingerbread Boy Shadow Puppet during the second half of the program. They also participate in a learning activity about gingerbread's ingredients and history. This is a great holiday program.

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TOPIC: Exploring Africa
GRADE: 1st - 3rd
PUPPET: Giraffe Rod Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 50-60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students will build a Giraffe Rod Puppet while learning about Africa. They will look at different types of homes, people, environments and animals of the Savanna. Animal habitats and protection from predators will be discussed. This is a great arts and social studies lesson in one! Also great for multicultural units.

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TOPIC: Spiders
GRADE: 1st-6th
PUPPET: Spider Marionette
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The puppet and learning activities for this program can be modified to suit the participating age group. Students build a Spider Marionette while participating in learning activities about how spiders and insects differ, web vs. wandering spiders, and the lifecycle of a spider. This is a great arts and science lesson in one!

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GRADE: 2nd - 3rd
PUPPET: Pop-Up Plant Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 50 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students will construct a Pop-Up Plant puppet while learning about the various parts of a plant and their functions. Students will also discuss photosynthesis and plants as food. This is a great arts and science lesson all in one!

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TOPIC: Rain Forest
GRADE: 3rd - 5th
PUPPET: Tropical Bird Rod Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 50 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Student will construct a flying Tropical Bird Rod puppet. They will participate in learning activities about the location of tropical rain forests and their relationship to the equator and tropic lines, various animals found in the rain forest and the different layers in the rain forest. This is a great arts and science lesson all in one!

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TOPIC: Native Americans
GRADE: 3rd - 6th
PUPPET: Hopi Kachina Hand Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Learning activities about different Native American cultures will take place while students create their very own Hopi Kachina Hand Puppet. Activities focus on three Native American cultures (Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest), the use of natural resources from the different regions, and how these resources shaped their lives in regards to clothing, shelter and even transportation. Students also discuss Kachinas and the Hopi culture in general. This is a great arts and social studies lesson all in one!

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TOPIC: Mexico
GRADE: 3rd - 6th
PUPPET: Paper Mask
PROGRAM LENGTH: 50-60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students learn about the history and culture of Mexico and its people. The influence of ancient, native civilizations and the Spanish are explored through the art of the mask. Look for more program details in Fall 2007.

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TOPIC: Africa (Mali)
GRADE: 4th - 8th
PUPPET: Malian Rod Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students build a Malian Rod Puppet and learn about the role of puppetry in Mali today. Students learn characteristics about the continent of Africa and Mali itself. Homes, people and environments are compared and discussed. This is a great arts and social studies lesson in one! Also great for multicultural units.

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GRADE: 4th - 12th
PUPPET: Chinese Hand Puppet
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Program format and content are adapted based on age group. Students are introduced to other countries and cultures through puppetry. Students learn about puppetry traditions of China, Japan and/or Mali with the aid of a Malian Water Spirit Rod Puppet, Japanese Bunraku Rod Puppet, and Chinese Hand and Shadow Puppets. Teachers choose two of the three countries for the program. Students also view excerpts of master puppeteers from these countries. Students are involved in Q&A as well as hands-on puppet building to make this an interactive, virtual classroom. This is a great arts and social studies lesson all in one!

Download Elementary School Study Guide >
Download Middle/High School Study Guide >

GRADE: 7th - 12th
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: A Center staff member takes students on a behind-the-scenes look at the Center's production Anne Frank: Within & Without, a poignant piece which traces the legacy of Anne Frank. Students journey from source material through the design process of this production by viewing puppets from the production, a model of the set, and video clips from the production. Clips from the production are the catalyst for discussion and Q&A. Presented in cooperation with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and the Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945 exhibit under the auspices of the Anne Frank Center, USA-New York; the Anne Frank House-Amsterdam; and the Anne Frank-Fonds, Basel.

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TOPIC: Introduction to Puppet Manipulation
GRADE: 7th - 12th
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: A Center staff member works with students to teach basic manipulation skills. This workshop is geared towards students preparing for a puppetry production of their own. This workshop can be conducted as a brief overview of various puppetry styles - marionettes, hand-and-rod, shadow - and manipulation techniques, or it can be tailored to your needs by focusing on one specific style. Topics can include: puppet breath, poster vs. gravity, meaningful gestures, "walking the walk" (how a puppet walks, crawls, and gets around), "talking the talk" (how to indicate that a puppet is talking), looking vs. seeing...and what not to do.

GRADE: 8th - 12th
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: A Center staff member takes students on a behind-the-scenes look of classic literature brought to life on the puppet stage. Students engage in a dialogue with the presenter about Poe's work and discuss design concepts of the performance to reveal how they were brought to life on the puppet stage. DVD clips of show excerpts, models of the stage design, and puppets from the performance enhance this program. Students wills view excerpts from one or more of the following scenes: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Raven, The Bells, and The Black Cat. This is a great arts and literature lesson all in one!

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TOPIC: Don Quixote or A Midsummer Night's Dream
GRADE: 9th - 12th
PROGRAM LENGTH: 60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: A Center staff member takes students on a behind-the-scenes look of classic literature brought to life on the puppet stage. Choose either Don Quixote or A Midsummer Night's Dream. Students will discuss theme, point of view, characters, puppet design, stage design and performance techniques. Video clips of show excerpts, models of the stage design, and puppets from the performance enhance this program. This is a great arts and literature lesson all in one!

Download Don Quixote Study Guide >
Download A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide >

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TOPIC: Hands-On Teacher Workshop
COST: $145
PROGRAM LENGTH: 45-60 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Teachers are led through a hands-on interactive workshop on the topic of their choice. Teachers actively participate in activities that would be presented to their students in a regular program. This introduces them to the technology of videoconferencing in the classroom and familiarizes them with the format of programming.

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TOPIC: Teacher demo
COST: $45-90
PROGRAM LENGTH: 15-30 minutes
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Teachers are introduced to programming formats and topics offered by the Center's Distance Learning program. A question and answer session allows teachers to ask questions about scheduling and the curriculum-based learning that is offered.


Visual Communication Equipment provided by: Additional support provided by: Education Program is supported in part by:

Contact Us

Videoconferencing/Distance Learning
Patty Petrey Dees, Distance Learning Program Director
Iyabo Shabazz, Distance Learning Assistant
Sara Burmenko, Distance Learning Assistant

distancelearning@puppet.org
Phone: 404.881.5117
Fax: 404.873.9907

Winner of the 2004 Standard of Excellence Web Award