RESIDENCY GOALS
Students will learn folk song lyrics and write original lyrics, using rhyme, meter, and other poetic devices, and expressing knowledge through creative writing.
Through group singing, students will cooperate, collaborate, and learn musical skills like pitch, melody and rhythm.
When building and operating puppets, students will make design choices, learn to be resourceful with everyday materials, and translate feelings into movement.
By studying and adapting folk songs, students will enhance their understanding of history and their empathy for people in different times, places and cultures.
Students will gain confidence in their bodies and voices through performance.
As students are exposed to several art forms at once -- music, puppetry, writing and more -- they will learn that arts disciplines are connected to each other, to academic subjects, and to everyday life.

WORK WITH STUDENTS
The central elements of Red Yarn's residencies and performances are music and puppetry. Students learn a folk song, rewrite the lyrics to connect to curriculum, make puppets of the song's characters, and put on a musical puppet show. By expressing their unit knowledge with original song lyrics, then by translating the story into a visual/sculptural medium and an embodied performance, students express their comprehension in several ways.

They learn skills like singing, rhythm, crafting with fabric, paper and recycled materials, public speaking and performance. Through active participation, teachers help guide the residency and learn new strategies for helping students creatively interpret texts.