Center for Puppetry Arts
Spiders
Spider Marionette Puppet
Materials:
1 jumbo craft stick (or popsicle stick)
2 pieces of string (12 inches in length)
1/4 of a piece of pipe cleaner
Cephalothorax (template)*
Abdomen (template)*
8 legs (template)*
8 eyes (template)*
hole punchers (students can share)
glue (students can share)
scissors, scotch tape
Each student will need all of the above items except for glue and hole punchers.
Instructions: Please read carefully
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Trace all templates except eyes onto black, brown, or grey construction paper and cut-out.
Trace eyes onto a contrasting color of construction paper (or hole punch eyes) and cut out.
Bring all other supplies to the program site the day of the program.
Pass out all materials to students prior to program start time. Students will each need 8 pieces of
tape about the length of a band-aid. You can stick the tape to the side of the table or to the
students’ shoulders if they are working on the floor.
5. Wait for the program to begin!
Templates:
cephalothorax
abdomen
Templates cont.
Leg template (8 per student)
Eye template (8 per student)
*Students can also use hole punchers
to make small circles for eyes (use the
actual circle that is punched out of
the paper)
Curriculum Based Activities:
Did you know?
Biologists guess they have only identified about 20% of Australian spiders. This is largely due to huge
sections of the continent that are still uninhabited. Also, Australia is home to some of the world’s deadliest
spiders such as the Sydney Funnel-Web Spider.
Activity 1
QCCs: Meets various language arts skills in oral and written communication; visual arts skills; connecting
arts to other disciplines; life science skills
Have students “discover” their own spider. Explain to students that there are still many spiders that have
not been discovered or identified in places such as Australia or South American rain forests. First, as a
class identify the main body parts of all spiders—cephalothorax, abdomen, eight legs, simple eyes, fangs,
spinnerets, etc. Next, have students draw and label the body parts of a newly discovered spider. Encourage
them to be creative by using crayons or markers to add color and markings. Students should then write a
descriptive paragraph about their spider. Where does their spider live? What kind of web does it use? What
does it like to eat? Is it large or small? Is it hairy? What kind of egg sac does it make? Next, students should
present their discovery to the class. HINT: You can enlarge the spiders from Activity 2 to label body parts.
Activity 2
QCCs: Meets various math skills in measurement, patterns and relationships, problem solving
Spiders are a great way to introduce math skills to your students. Dragline rulers are a great activity for
learning how to measure. Cut string into various lengths. Attach paper spiders (figure A) to one end of
each piece. Explain to students that spider make draglines—long silk threads from which they hang.
Spiders make this special strand to help them drop from their webs or hang in the air to escape from
enemies. Have students measure the draglines and record their measurements. Next, ask students to
compare their findings. Which spider has the longest dragline? The shortest? Arrange them in order from
shortest to longest. Which dragline is ____ inches? How many draglines are longer than _____ inches?
* The above activity was adapted from Spiders, Creative Teaching Press, Inc, 1998..
Wolf Spider
Garden Spider
Crab Spider
Figure A
You can also create simple word problems using the dragline measurements. Ex: The Crab Spider has a
dragline that equals 5 inches. The Garden Spider’s dragline is 2 inches longer than the Crab Spider’s
dragline. How long is the Garden Spider’s dragline?
Activity 3
QCCs: Meets various language arts skills in written and oral communications; social studies/
multiculturalism skills
Learn about other cultures through folktales involving spiders. Anansi is a perfect example. Kwaku Anansi
is a favorite story of the Ashanti people of Ghana. Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott is perfect for
younger students. Try Trickster Tales: Forty Folk Stories from Around the World by Josepha Sherman for
older students. Anansi can be found in two folktales in this book- one originating from Africa and the other
from Jamaica. Next, Have students compare Anansi/spider figures from different countries. Do they
possess similar traits? How are they different? Do they play the same tricks? Are spiders tricksters in all
tales? How do they reflect the countries culture? HINT: Define “culture” to begin this activity.
Websites
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Visit the Center’s website to view puppets from our museum or to find out information about
performances and workshops, including Distance Learning.
www.puppet.org
This is a great standard website to use to research nearly everything for kids. Just type in “spiders”
in the search box.
www.yahooligans.com
Learn about different spiders through the eyes of 3rd graders at Angiers Elementary School. This
website offers reports and pictures on many different spiders.
www.newton.mec.edu/angier/ferguson/ferguson96-97/arachnids/spresearch/default.html
You can make a 3-D spider or spider mask with the help of this website. It also offers classroom
activities. Activities were taken from the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service.
www.slsc.org/docs/online/spiders/index.shtml
Bibliography
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Sponsors:
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Boston, Davie. Trickster Tales: Forty Folk Stories Around the World. August House Publishers, Inc.,
Little Rock, Arkansas; 1996.
Brazina, Rhonda. Spiders. Creative Teaching Press, Cypress, California: 1998.
Carle, Eric. The Very Busy Spider. The Putnam and Grosset Group, New York, New York; 1984.
Collins, Beverly. Spider’s Lunch: All About Garden Spiders. Putnam Publishing Group, Inc.; 1995.
Llewellyn, Claire. Spiders Have Fangs and Other Amazing Facts about Arachnids. Millbrook Press;
1997.
McDermott, Gerald. Anansi the Spider. Henry Holt and Company, Inc., New York, New York; 1972.
The Rich Foundation • The Goizueta Foundation
The Atlanta Foundation • The Jim Cox, Jr. Foundation
Equifax Inc. • Junior League of Atlanta
The Ray M. and Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation • The Livingston
Foundation • The Pitulloch Foundation • The Gary W. and Ruth M.
Rollins Foundation • The Gertrude and William C. Wardlaw Fund
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation • Mary Alice & Bennett Brown
Foundation
Contact Info.
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1404 Spring St. NW at 18th
Atlanta, GA USA 30309-2820
Ticket Sales: 404.873.3391
Administrative: 404.873.3089
Fax: 404.873.9907
www.puppet.org
[email protected]
Headquarters of UNIMA-USA