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Lesson Plans


6th grade project ideas for boys

From: Eva Peterson (toaddrool)
Date: Sat Jan 08 2000 - 15:46:24 PST

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    I have developed a unit on making puppet shows with my 6th grade students-
    both male and female students. It has been a lot of work but great fun!

    First, students choose groups of about 3-5 classmates. Then, as a class we
    do a gigantic brainstorm about ideas for puppet shows. Most often I give
    the class a theme to start with, usually "social problems". Next they each
    choose a subject and each write a short story based on their ideas, make a
    list of characters, settings and props, and draw a story board for their
    puppet show.

    I tell the students to keep their subjects appropriate for a kindergarten
    audience, and about three minutes long. The culmination of the project is
    when we actually show our puppet shows to a kindergarten audience. This
    gives the sixth graders a chance to give advice to little kids who really
    think that 6th graders are the coolest things on the planet... some kids
    make sort of commercials about how to make friends, not to smoke, avoiding
    fights and bad crowds etc...others create school yard bullie scenes, family
    realationship dramas...

    After the groups select which puppet show they will use, we begin making
    papier-mache and cardboard puppets. We make papier-mache heads and attach
    them to cardboard bodies ( I have them trace a cardboard body I have already
    made and then they cut their own out of the cardboard). I also have them
    make the puppet have one moving arm, and a moveable head- so we use a lot of
    wire. Then they paint the puppets, and I also provide felt and yarn to use
    for clothing and hair if they like.

    After the puppets are finished, they make scenery out of card board which
    they paint- they have to make their set free standing so that they can
    perform their puppet show on a table top.

    Next, they start practicing their shows and we show them to each other in
    class and critique each other. I film the shows and they watch themselves
    and practice more, after about a week they loose their self confidence (and
    silliness), speak loudly and have controlled movements with their puppets
    and are ready to perform to an audience.

    I thought that this project was going to be impossible, but it has worked
    out really well, my students are very proud of their work and we have a
    great time. My fourth and fith grade students tell me how excited they are
    to make shows when they are in sixth grade!

    This is a process oriented/problem solving kind of project and takes about
    three-four weeks to complete (depending on the bunch of kids you have)

    It has worked with my sixth grade boys- who can be pretty tough customers, I
    teach in an impoverished neighborhood and my students are pretty street
    smart and, of course, very cool!

    -Eva Gustavson
    East Consolidated Elementary, St. Paul, MN.
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