The Paper Bag Princess: Kamishibai Version

Dear passengers,

I´m not very fond of showing myself on social networking sites. This is the first time you will see me on screen.

The thing is I found out about kamishibai quite by chance one night while I was on my Pinterest account. It immediately called my attention and knew I had to get one for myself. It is every now and then that I fancy these simple, cute but effective gadgets that make classes more surprising, bearable and creative.

Just a few week before I discovered kamishiba I had prepared a didactic sequence featuring classic tales, stereotypes and fractured tales. I wanted my students to read The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch but finally decided to buy my own butai and design my own kamishibai cards using the illustrations and the words in the tale.

I wanted my butai to be for A4 paper sheets. Even though it might be a bit small (the normal size for it is A3), I though it would be more convenient when designing and printing my own kamishibai cards and more practical to carry it around.

I searched the Internet and finally decided on a modern version of the classic kamishibai theatre which I found on habiaunraton. While the theatre was on its way to my house, I designed the kamishibai version of the "The Paper Bag Princess" and had it printed in colour on cardboard.

When everything was ready, I went to a friend of mine who is a carpenter and he made a simple pair of hyoshigi for me.

In order to surprise children, the didactic unit was slightly changed. I did not want to mention the tale being told using kamishibai and spoil the moment. Yet, I wanted them to know a little bit about the technique in advance. So I prepared two videos which I edited using EDpuzzle inserting comprehension question. I could check that they had done the task and make sure they would recognise sounds and objects once in class.

And this is the result of the experience: a bunch of attentive students who listened quietly to the story and eager to answer question after it.

If you see a strange gesture on my part, it was due to an interruption by other students.