Lauriston Primary School, Hackney

The children of Lauriston Primary School experimented with language and writing for their project – and they are keen storytellers, as their entry Talk 2 Text shows. Working with teachers Martha Dobbing and Peter Sanders, along with artist Rachel Howard and storyteller Roberto Lagnado, the children set about creating their own puppet shows, developing their confidence, speaking and listening skills in the process.

Firstly, Lagnado narrated a series of stories to the children and they chose some of the characters to develop, as well as creating some of their own from scratch. Working with artist Rachael Howard, they then looked at puppets from different cultures and talked about the ways in which characters can be represented.

The children then made puppets from wooden spoons and old tennis rackets, embellishing these with textiles, plastics and found objects. In the process, they learned skills in joining and decorating. The puppets were then used imaginatively to invent stories, combining the characters in new and unusual ways.

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Lauriston Primary School, Hackney
www.lauriston.hackney.sch.uk