Children speak through their puppets - the puppets give them a voice

Yesterday I gave a puppet-making workshop in a grade 6 class. The kids loved it.

For teachers, puppets are a marvelous vehicle for combining several teachings in a series of activities that the students don't experience as a lesson. For starters, visual arts and especially three-dimensional constructions involve the brain in a way that is beneficial for other subject matters such as math, science etc. Then, once the puppets are made, the students can write sketches to act out with their puppets. Alternatively, existing stories or fables can be used as a starting point. This approach is in fact an excellent exercise in written and spoken language. I have seen shy students shine as actors in a play because they could speak through their puppet.
You can take this one fun step further and let the students organize a puppet show for the younger classes. This empowers them and it promotes a team spirit in the school.
In another school where I have done a puppet workshop, we filmed the show.  You can see some excerpts (in French) on YouTube.