Paper Dragon Puppet
1-2nd grade [6-8 years old]
Art 207-08, Group 1
Kevin William Schauer, Jennifer Lynn Rich, Karisa de Jong, Kieran Griffin
Objectives:
·
Students
will learn about Chinese New Year/Chinese culture
·
Students
will incorporate drama/theatre into art
·
Students
will learn a little about Chinese mythology and puppets
·
Students
will learn to make simple puppets from simple materials
Student Materials:
·
Construction
paper (various colors)
·
Markers,
Crayons
·
Straws
(or newspapers)
·
Glue
·
Scissors
·
Pencils
·
Tape
(masking and clear)
Teacher Materials:
·
Examples of paper dragons
·
Poster with step-by-step directions
·
Overhead projector
·
Transparencies with picture(s) of Chinese New Year
and example(s) dragon puppet(s)
Vocabulary:
·
Chinese New Year
·
Fan Fold
·
Puppet
·
Dragon
Procedures:
1.
Discuss
dragons and Chinese New Year with the students. Explain the importance of the dragon in Chinese culture and that
many Chinese believe it is a symbol of good luck.
2.
Show
overhead photographs of Chinese New Year and a sample dragon puppet.
3.
Invite
children to pick colors of construction paper that they want their dragon to
have.
4.
Have
them draw (or cut-out pre-made) dragonhead and tail.
5.
Have
them cut out (or draw on) dragon parts and decorate (eyes, nose, legs, and
tongue). Scissor shred paper around
head and above tail (teacher may have to do this for the children according to
ability).
6.
Children
use a pre-cut strip of paper 12”x 4” for body and fan fold it.
7.
Students
glue head and tail to body. Remind them
to glue the back of the head and tail to the front of the body.
8.
Students
tape one straw (or rolled newspaper held together with masking tape) to bottom
of back of head and one to bottom of back of tail.
9.
Parade
around and enjoy.
10. Clean-up
Comments/Suggestions:
·
Recycled materials can be used for this project
(construction paper and newspaper).
·
Teacher may want to lay down paper on the table if glue
is used.
·
Chinese music would be fun to hear during the
project
·
Show a video of a Chinese New Year Parade to
demonstrate movement
·
Incorporate multiple symbolic meanings of the Dragon
(within Chinese culture and cross-cultural analysis
Artistic Development:
First - Second Grade:
Children between
the ages of four and eight are in what is called Stage two of their artistic
development. This stage is called Making
Symbols. Children make a symbol and
relate that symbol to people and objects that are familiar to them. Early on, people are usually represented by
closed figures with lines protruding representing a body with legs. This begins to evolve into people being
represented by geometric shapes, i.e. circle for the head, rectangle, square,
or triangle for the body, and rectangles for the arms and legs. Hands are usually depicted by small circles
on the ends of the arms with either lines or loops protruding that represent
fingers. It is at this point that
adults can help to shape the development of the child’s art. Kids tend to leave out what they consider
unimportant features on their symbols.
We can ask them to draw those certain parts with special features on
their symbols, i.e. sunglasses, earrings, painted fingernails, new shoes,
etc. Children this age are developing
physical strength in order to control their artistic tools more proficiently.
Cultural/Historical
Background:
The Chinese New Year is a 15 day long
festival. The festival starts on the
new moon and lasts fifteen days with celebrations daily. The last day of the festival is known as the
Lantern Festival and is celebrated with parades and goes into the night with
light and firework shows. The Golden Dragon
costumes and artworks are used during the New Year festival to bring good luck
for the New Year. The Golden Dragon
symbolizes a Chinese God of goodness and luck.
References:
http://mantis.csuchico.edu:2249/cgi-bin/aplaunch.pl
http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/Files/dragon.htm
Herberholz, Donald and
Barbara. 2002. Artworks
for Elementary Teachers. Ninth
Edition. McGraw-Hill. New York. p. 100-109.