The Sophisticated Sock: Project Based Learning Through Puppetry - Softcover

Konnerth, Karen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0981651011 ISBN 13: 9780981651019

Publisher: Paper Sun Press, 2017

Synopsis

The Sophisticated Sock: Project Based Learning Through Puppetry delivers a career of in-school experience to teachers, resident artists, and anyone wishing to engage children grades K - five in enthusiastic learning across the curriculum. Karen Konnerth is a world traveling puppeteer as well as arts integration specialist, with countless hours logged developing, implementing, and refining these projects in a wide variety of schools and educational settings. Karen has provided workshops for teachers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as well as for the U.S. Embassy English Language Specialist program in Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. The book offers time-efficient, step-by-step projects to produce memorable, in-depth, core standards-based, collaborative learning. The magically engaging art form of puppetry is the Pied Piper requiring students to grasp, use, and therefore, remember the curriculum core of each lesson in order to bring the art form to life. STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) learning takes place as students manipulate and experiment with materials for a specific purpose and every project necessitates higher order thinking skills. Explicit diagrams and suggestions encourage puppet making using very basic, quick, and low-cost designs to facilitate immediate use of the art form in formal or informal performance. Specific assessment tools are included for each project. And best of all, students are motivated and enthusiastic as they absorb the 21st Century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.

About this title

About the Author

Karen Konnerth is a visual storyteller who has shared both stories and storytelling opportunities worldwide with children and adults through puppet theater performances, puppet workshops, and arts integrated school residencies. She is arts integration specialist, with countless hours logged developing, implementing, and refining projects on themes varying from reading comprehension strategies, to The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance in a wide variety of schools and educational settings. Educator workshops include presentations at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and for the U.S. Embassy English Language Specialist Program in Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. Karen was awarded the 2011 Puppeteers of America Marjorie Batchelor McPharlin Award for contributions in the field of education. She also initiated and directed the puppetry component of the Teen Docent Program at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, awarded a 2015 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award.

Review

...The idea of using something as simple as a sock, glove, or mitten to express emotion as a new character makes the idea of puppetry SO accessible! So many connections to social emotional learning, as well as dance standards...

...Really gets to the heart of everything STEAM is about!

...the inclusion of poetry allows for such a range of rigor and accessibility to all grade levels...love the inclusion of storyboarding and a planning sheet.

...The Buddy Bookworm is SO cute! Such an engaging way to help kids interact with text in all its forms. Such a cool series of projects! I think teachers can take the entire series as it is, or use pieces to compliment what's happening in their classrooms.

...Wow! I love the inclusion of civics and really diving into such a deep driving question through puppetry. True project based learning!

...Yes! You're already naturally hitting so many visual art standards simply with the creation of puppets, and I love that you're accessing visual arts standards through visual arts standards, while tying it in with the natural ELA connections. Such rigor in a fun, accessible way!

Brianne Gidcumb, Director of eLearning, Education Closet, www.educationcloset.com

Teachers especially will appreciate Karen's illustrated project choices for different skill and age levels. And while it would be possible to teach directly from Karen's page-by-page advice, I believe the book's greater use will be to give teachers the confidence to create their own puppetry lessons in open-ended activites.

Janice Wolfe, President Puppeteers of America

Karen Konnerth's extensive experience in classrooms shines through on each page. With attention to detail coupled with suggested books and resources for each activity, this publication will pique and satisfy the interest of teachers who are eager to use engaging and highly motivating activities to teach the curriculum. The Sophisticated Sock also provides robust enrichment activities for art, theater/drama and interdisciplinary arts teachers as well as special education and reading specialists. It will be of interest to anyone who works with young people in educational and/or recreational settings. This publication is a must-have for educators who are eager to stimulate their students' imaginations, inspire creativity and strengthen skills and knowledge in many subject areas.

Carol Sterling, former President of UNIMA-USA (US branch Union Internationale de la Marionette, member of United Nations UNESCO), and world traveling United States Fulbright Program Specialist in Educational Puppetry

Edition details

• Publisher: Paper Sun Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0981651011
• ISBN 13: 9780981651019
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 174
• Editor: Cook Linda