Poems and Puppets To Put a Smile On Your ESL Students’ Face

For very young children in preschool and kindergarten, puppets are great helpers to have in the classroom. The silly voices and animated movements you use with the puppet really grab the students’ attention. Not to mention, it’s great fun to bring in new characters to entertain them while they learn. With any luck, your kids will love your characters so much, they’ll ask them to come back again!

You can recite a story, song, or poem with the puppet. You can even have them interact with the children by asking them questions about the lesson, encouraging involvement from even your shyest students. The benefit of using puppets to teach English is that they provide an opportunity to help your ESL students practice listening or reviewing target language. Your enthusiastic interaction with clear and emphatic pronunciation will be of great importance in this scenario.

Not sure where to start? Here’s one fun demonstration you can use with your young ESL students, courtesy of Miranda. In this video, Miranda uses a cute black and white mouse in a tin can to help her act out this poem.

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Every day at 6 o’clock, a black and white mouse comes out his box,

He looks at you, he looks at me, he looks around for his tea,

And there on a plate, next to the clock, is something yellow, and smells like old socks,

But, munch, munch, munch, nibble, nibble, nibble, nibble (x3)

Now, the mouse is full to his middle,

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Every day at 7 o’clock, the little mouse says, “Goodbye!” and goes back in his box.

With the mouse sound asleep, you can transition into the next English lesson. Quietly, though! You don’t want to wake the little mouse up.

For more ideas on how to teach English through drama, download the free e-book, Teach Children English Through Drama.

Visit the Kids English Theatre Youtube Channel for more drama games, language exercises, puppetting demos, and other fun ideas to make your lessons fun and unforgettable. 

Be Theatrical!