Shadow Puppetry

A 10-week drama unit for year 10 (Level 5)

by Delia Baskerville, Drama Adviser, Wellington College of Education (2003)

Learning objectives

During this unit, students will:

• study Greek myths (representative of the beginning of world theatre) and Maori myths (representative of the beginnings of New Zealand theatre) and, using drama elements and conventions, adapt themes for their own devised stories;
• design and make shadow puppets to play the characters in their devised stories;
• use drama techniques to develop their shadow-puppet characters and stories;
• present their shadow-puppet play to the class.

Resources

The resources provided in this unit are as follows:

1. Unit planner
2. Teaching and learning sequence
3. Journal entry form – Developing a character through flashback
4. Journal entry form – Freeze-frame images to structure the story
5. Journal entry form – Shaping the story
6. Background information sheet – Understanding traditional shadow puppetry
7. Journal entry form – Features of traditional shadow puppetry
8. Journal entry form – Creating a shadow puppet
9. Student feedback form – Peer evaluation of another group's performance
10. Assessment criteria
11. Teaching and learning reflection chart

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