- mouse stuffed animals
- puppets for Mouse Paint (from Art Center)
- character
- color
- mix
MA Standards:
Literature/RL.PK.MA.2: With prompting and support, retell a sequence of events from a story read aloud.
Literature/RL.PK.MA.3: With prompting and support, act out characters and events from a story or poem read aloud.
Head Start Outcomes:
Literacy Knowledge/Book Appreciation and Knowledge: Retells stories or information from books through conversation, artistic works, creative movement, or drama.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 10: Engage actively in read-aloud activities by asking questions, offering ideas, predicting or retelling important parts of a story or informational book.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Puppet Play, Unit 2, Week 3
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
Skill Focus: Creative Expression, Imaginative Play, Recall and Retell, Vocabulary
Have children use their puppets from the Art Center or the stuffed mice to act out the story of Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh. Have the book on display and allow children to page through it before or as they act out the story. Begin the activity by asking,
- Can you name the four characters in the story? (the three mice and the cat)
Be available to help children as they:
- Make up and add dialogue as they act out the story. Say, for example, Who is playing the cat? What might the cat say when he sees that the mice have gone? The cat might wonder out loud: Now, where did those mice go? I know they are here! The "cat" can say this line!
- Encourage children to sing the “Three Little Mice” song as they wait for their turn to be a character.
English Language Learners: When acting out the story, you may want to ask children to say the color words in their native language followed by the word in English. Encourage other children repeat the words.