Turn Off the Dark

Hit the lights because it’s time to create an adaptation of a story by playing with shadows!

To get started, choose a story that you and your class would like to adapt. This could be a book, a fable or short story, or a well-known legend.

Put your students in small groups. Task one group with creating the shadow puppets for all the characters in the story. They can do this by creating cutouts with paper, using their hands or body, experimenting with found objects in the classroom or a combination of all the above!

Other breakout groups can create the music for the show, design projections or backdrops, write the script or create the voices for all the puppets.

When each team is done, invite groups to come together and combine every element to create a show.

Finish the unit by presenting your unique shadow show to another class or taking a video of it to post online.

To support this unit, use the Shadow Lab Activity.