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Teachers can create their own sock-puppet shows as hooks to introduce new material, or they can offer the app to individuals or small groups as presentation or assessment options. Students could use the sock puppets to present reports or to write and perform short skits or poems, and then share them with their classmates. As a presentation tool, Sock Puppets Complete aligns well with the speaking and presenting CCSS for fifth grade and up, but younger students could easily create puppet shows as well. ELL students may enjoy practicing speaking in front of an audience with the help of the sock puppets.
Continue readingEditor's Note: Sock Puppets Complete is no longer available.
Sock Puppets Complete is a tool that allows students to create short puppet-show videos. To begin, students choose their characters, background, and props, and then simply press the "record" circle at the top of the screen to start recording. The puppet with the arrow pointed at it is the speaker, but kids can tap another puppet to change speakers. The recording timer counts down to let them know how much longer they can record. Then they can listen to the recording and redo it or save it. In Settings, kids can adjust the voice for each puppet, making the pitch higher or lower, and hear a sample so they can make further adjustments (but kids will need to adjust the voices before they start recording as well). Shows can be watched in-app, shared on Facebook or YouTube, or (in the complete version only) saved to the camera roll.
Creating short puppet-show videos is really easy with Sock Puppets Complete. Students will have fun creating their presentations, and classmates will enjoy watching them. With only 90 seconds to showcase their learning, though, students will need to spend some serious time planning and practicing their shows before going to the app. Time constraints may limit some creative expression but will challenge students to get their message across concisely.