Lesson Plan (Grades K–2): Puppet Show Phonics Fun

Lesson Title: Puppet Show Phonics Fun

Grade Level: Grades K–2

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Phonics & Oral Language)

Overview Puppets have a unique power to captivate young learners, transforming abstract concepts—like phonemes—into characters with personality and purpose. In Puppet Show Phonics Fun, students collaborate in small “puppet troupes” to build simple puppets, craft a short script emphasizing a chosen target phoneme (e.g., /sh/, /th/, /ch/, /ck/), and bring their dialogue to life with playful dramatization. Through hands-on creation, oral rehearsal, and live performance, children practice letter–sound connections, segment and blend phonemes in context, and develop expressive language skills. This lesson integrates:

• Kinesthetic Learning: Cutting, gluing, and manipulating puppets
• Visual Learning: Designing colorful characters and backdrops
• Auditory Learning: Listening for and producing the target sound
• Collaborative Skills: Team planning, turn-taking, and peer feedback

By the end of the unit, students will have deepened phonemic awareness, gained confidence speaking in front of peers, and experienced literacy as a creative, social, and joyful pursuit.

Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives

1. Phoneme Identification: Students will correctly identify the target phoneme in isolation and within spoken single-syllable words (e.g., /sh/ in “ship,” /th/ in “bath”).
2. Phoneme Production: Students will produce the target phoneme clearly in initial, medial, and final positions of words during scripted dialogue.
3. Script Composition: In groups of three to four, students will write a 4–6 line puppet script focusing on at least five distinct words containing the target phoneme, demonstrating blending and segmentation skills.
4. Puppet Construction: Using everyday materials, students will construct at least two distinct puppets featuring visual cues (felt, googly eyes, yarn) to represent characters whose dialogue highlights the sound.
5. Performance & Fluency: Students will perform their puppet show for an audience of peers, using expressive voice modulation and ensuring the target phoneme is articulated audibly.
6. Peer Feedback & Reflection: Students will offer and receive constructive peer feedback, noting successes and areas for improvement in phoneme use and presentation skills.

Standards Alignment

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.C / RF.1.2.C: Isolate and pronounce initial, medial vowel, and final sounds in spoken single-syllable words.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.5 / SL.1.5: Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.6 / SL.1.6: Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.
• NGSS Connection: Although primarily literacy, the collaborative design and iterative prototyping touches on K-2-ETS1-1 (engineering design process) by defining problems, developing plans, and sharing results.