Imaginary Alien Stick Puppets

by Ashley Klump

Students will use art supplies to create alien species, then turn them into puppets to bring their stories to life.

Learning Target

● I can combine abstract shapes to create a new species of alien.
● I can imagine where it lives, how it moves, and make a story to act out.

Materials

● Colored Pencils
● Tape
● Scissors
● Glue stick
● Ruler

Instructions

1. Cut out at least 20 different shapes from at least 3 different colors of paper. Try organic and geometric shapes.

2. Begin to arrange your shapes to take a form. Use at least 3 layers, then stand back and look.

3. Add more pieces as you decide what your alien will look like. What body parts does your animal have? Eyes? Arms and legs? Fins and gills? Hair and fur? Horns?

4. Add details with colored pencil.

5. Once your alien has all of its parts, tape it to a stick to make a puppet.

6. Make more puppets to tell a story about your newly discovered species of alien! Make a stage that looks like the planet it came from!

Reflection

Write in your journal or sketchbook
1. What can you tell us about your animal based on how it looks? How does it move? What kind of environment does it live in?
2. What other materials could you use to make alien stick puppets?

Extra

1. How can you make your puppet move differently? Can you make the different body parts move separately?
2. What other styles of puppets you can make with the materials you have? Can you make string puppets? Sock puppets? Shadow puppets?