Home >> Awards >> Past >> Puppetools

Search form

Home &gt Site Reviews Center &gt Archives &gt By Date &gt DECEMBER, 1996

S I T E     R E V I E W
DECEMBER, 1996

B+

Puppetools
http://www.puppetools.com

B CONTENT:
Information on making and using puppets in a class curriculum.

B+ AESTHETICS:
Lots of graphics, easy to read table format.

B+ ORGANIZATION:
It's very easy to move around this page. The links are spaced very generously and the graphics and photos on the pages break up the words into use friendly sections.

B+ REVIEW:
By reading the opening paragraph on the home page, it is difficult to comprehend what Puppetools is all about. However, once you read the journals from teachers (grades Kindergarten to college level) who have used the puppets in their classrooms it's easy to tell what the puppets are used for. According to the website "children crave the imaginative interplay that puppets bring to their world." but "teachers simply believe that children are too sophisticated to take puppets seriously. They quickly discover that the children's sophistication is precisely what allows them to apply their imaginations in a situation which depends on the temporary suspension of literal reality." In other words, the students love puppets! Many of the teachers have stated that their lesson plans go smoother when they use puppets as part of their curriculum. The website also has a section where teachers can print out a copy of plans for one of the puppets and create it themselves. The other sections include an online course on the use of Puppetools, product catalogue and research. Give the site a look, read the teacher's testimonials and decide for yourself if puppets could make a difference in your classroom.