Submitted by: Cheryl Van Rysdam Unit: Drawing/Paper Sculpture Lesson: Chinese Dragon Shadow Puppets Grade Level:

Fourth/Fifth

Objectives: Students will learn about a form of entertainment that dates back centuries in Chinese culture and create a moveable puppet. Vocabulary:
Legend Dragon puppet silhouette shape

Background Information:
Legend says ..... Once upon a time, a long time ago, in Han times, the favorite wife of the emperor became ill and died. Her husband, the emperor, loved his wife very much. He missed her company. He missed hearing stories about her day. He missed hearing stories of their life together. Everyone in the land thought time would heal his heavy heart. But as time went on, the emperor cared less and less about the activities of the court and of his people. Everyone wanted to help the emperor, but nothing seemed to work. One day, a priest in the palace passed some children playing with dolls. The dolls made shadows on the floor, shadows that seemed to dance as the children played. The dancing shadows gave the priest an idea. He hurried away to work on his idea. First, he made a puppet from cotton balls. He painted the puppet to look somewhat like the emperor's wife. When his puppet was ready, he invited the emperor to a special puppet show. The emperor appreciated all the things his court had done to cheer him up, but really, all the emperor wanted was to be left alone. He knew the priest would be insistent. The priest was a old friend. With a sigh, a very deep sigh, the emperor agreed to attend the show. That evening, the priest placed a light behind a curtain, along with himself and his puppet. As he moved the puppet behind the curtain, it cast a dancing shadow. The priest told stories of the emperor's wife. They were wonderful stories, wonderful memories. Even though the priest was there, and the puppet was there, it seemed as if the shadow was telling the story. The emperor was delighted. He clapped his hands in joy. Every night, after a busy day of taking care of the business of being emperor, the emperor looked forward to hearing "shadow stories" about his wife, and her day, and of their life together. And that, according to legend, is how shadow puppets were born.

TEKS:
5.1ab 5.2b 5.3ab 5.4ab

Materials: pencil glue scissors tagboard (full sheet) hole punches construction paper 6x18 crayons markers tissue paper glitter brass brads black markers Procedures:
Read/tell the shadow puppet legend to introduce lesson. ~Have you ever seen a show using shadow puppet? Hand shadow puppets? ~How do you like the look of them visually compared to other types of entertainment? Have students draw the head and tail sections of the dragon and the horns and legs on the tagboard with a pencil. Make sure the width at the back of the dragons head is equal to the front part of the dragons tail so it will have a better fit. Trace shapes with black marker and cut out the pieces. Use the crayons and markers to add color, texture and pattern to the pieces. Zigzag fold the construction paper piece and glue the head and tail parts to each end. Trim the ends of the paper to fit if needed. Hole punch the legs and body, attach legs with the brass brads. If desired, add glitter for some sparkle and streamers from the tissue paper for movement. Add sticks to the head and tail sections, dowel rods, bamboo skewers or tightly rolled paper work well for this.

Assessment/Evaluation/Wrap-up:
Discuss and compare steps taken to create artwork. Does the students artwork demonstrate the elements of art? Which ones? Did the student demonstrate steps needed in creating the artwork? Students analyze personal artwork.

Links/Visuals:
Chinese shadow puppets, photos of puppets show showing shadows, puppet show scene from the new version of the movie, The Karate Kid