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David and Goliath - Finger Puppets - Bible story

Colour and black-and-white finger puppet templates of David and Goliath let students reenact the biblical showdown with a teacher-led narration script.
Grades
Grades 1–4
Pages
11
File type
PDF
Preparation
Print ready

Updated May 14, 2024

Subject
Religion, Life Studies
Topic
Bible, Finger Puppets
Resource types
Activities
Preparation
Print ready

From the author

About this resource

David and Goliath : Finger Puppets based on the Bible story

With these finger puppets, your students can act out the biblical story as well as act it out.
You get the template once in black and white and once in colour.
For example, the students can design the black and white templates themselves.
With the coloured templates, you can quickly create a set of finger puppets that you can give to students to play with.

Production:


Variant 1: Finger puppet set for all students
A second option is to create the finger puppets yourself and make them available for students to play with. If you want to make long-lasting finger puppets from the coloured templates, I recommend laminating them. To do this, after laminating, cut away the adhesive surfaces, fold the finger puppets and glue them together on the sides with clear tape.

Variant 2: Each student makes their own finger puppet to play with.
I always cut up the templates and have each student make a finger puppet to play with afterwards.
The students colour in the black and white templates and glue them together to form finger puppets according to the instructions.

Uses:

1) Playing along with the story
You introduce the protagonists of the story.
Your students choose the person they want to play with during the narration (or they have already created their own puppet).

-To slip into the role, each student says what role he or she plays. E.g. "I am...."
You define certain locations of the action where the action is played, or where certain people are (e.g., stable, field, castle). You can also visualize this, for example, through cloths or houses/game objects.


Here's how your narrative could begin:

"I'll tell you a story. You play along with your finger puppets. Listen carefully and do or say what I tell you about your people. Before we begin, I want each of you to say once again who you're going to play. Now we're going to decide where we'll play. Here lives ..., There is ... Now our story begins."

During the narration, the students act out the story with their finger puppets according to your stage directions. Pay attention to precise stage directions (where the character is going, who is he talking to, what is he saying). e.g., "David says to Goliath that he comes in the name of God and does not need a sword or spear."

The student with the David finger puppet formulates and says: "You come against me with a sword and spear, but I come in the name of the Lord!"

Please note that you will need about twice as much time as usual, as the students have yet to implement everything.

2) Re-enactment of the biblical narrative
After you tell the story, the students act out the story with their puppets.

Stage your own biblical story
The students work through the Bible story in small groups. The size of the group depends on the characters in the story.
The students read the story in the group and assign the roles. A student takes over the narrator.

Each student explains which character he or she wants to use with his or her finger puppet to slip into his role.
E.g. "I am David..." Students determine the locations of the action where they play or stay (e.g., stable, field, on the road). A student begins with the narration/ Reading the story. The other students play the story with their finger puppets.

Reflection of finger puppetry

After the story, the students tell the story from the perspective of the biblical character they are playing.

I'm David.

I have experienced...
I think...
I feel...
I hope...
I pray to God...
I thank you God...

Best Regards,

Doreen Blumhagen - Die Relitante

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

  • Retell the sequence of the David and Goliath story while manipulating the puppet characters through the action.

  • Speak in role as a Bible story character, using first-person lines to introduce who they are playing.

  • Describe a character's feelings and experience after acting out the story, using sentence starters.

Teaching tips

  • Laminate the colour puppet templates before cutting so one durable set can be reused across multiple classes or years.

  • For younger students, pre-cut and assemble the colour puppet set yourself; for students ready for scissors work, hand out the black-and-white sheets for them to colour and assemble.

  • Fold the backdrop template's two flaps to the back so it stands upright on a desk during the retelling.

  • Establish where each character is located in the story before starting the narration script, so students know when to move their puppet forward.

Skills covered

  • Oral retelling — students speak lines as their puppet character while following a teacher-led narration script through the story.

  • Fine motor assembly — students cut along the puppet outlines, fold tabs to the back, and glue each puppet closed around a finger opening.

  • Character perspective-taking — a reflection page has students describe events, thoughts, and feelings from their character's point of view.

  • Craft sequencing — students fold and glue a storage pocket and a two-piece standing backdrop in a set order.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Are the puppet templates provided in one style or two?

Two — a full-colour version ready to cut and use, and a black-and-white version for students to colour themselves before assembly.

What comes with the puppets besides the characters themselves?

A storage pocket that folds into a notebook and a two-piece backdrop scene that folds to stand up during the retelling.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

  • Bible story retelling

  • Puppet craft assembly

  • Character role-play

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