Spotlight on Learning - Rooms 6 and 7

Puppetry of our Primary School

This semester in Rooms 6 and 7, we used the lens of puppets to explore and develop our design and technology skill set. Students have looked at the application, creation and business of professional puppets in a variety of contexts. Our students have explored materials by evaluating their suitability and sustainability for creating and designing shadow and sock puppets. Below are some of the fantastic designs that came to life from the hard work of our classes. 

Students have planned, investigated and produced fabulous puppets. What a creative bunch! They started with multiple ideas and had to narrow it down to just one sock and shadow puppet to be brought to life. This process included reviewing designs and production techniques, looking at how the design criteria was met that we as a class co-constructed, along with advice for someone trying to re-create their puppet. 

Our focus on exploration continued during our excursion to the Dream Big Children’s Festival. Students were amazed to see many real-life puppeteers working with a wide range of puppets. From giant dinosaurs to Muppet-like puppets, students could see where life in the industry could take them and how our in-class learning could be applied to real-life situations. During the performance of ‘Erth’, students watched different styles of puppets being moved and interacted with. This included many different styles of puppets from hand puppets to whole-body creations. An added bonus was that the curators of the ‘Characters’ exhibition organised fabric samples from each puppet so that students could feel the variety of textiles used to create each puppet. 

We hope these experiences help to encourage all our students to follow their dreams and keep using their imaginations and embracing their creativity. 

Zoe Stone and Georgina Sprigg

Years 3/4 Teachers - Room 6 and 7