Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.

Unit: Puppets and Puppet Theatre

🎭 Puppet Workshop

Learn 10 key words for talking about puppets, stage shows, and stories in 20 minutes.

A colorful wooden puppet stage with handmade wooden marionettes on strings, vivid colors, theatrical lighting, whimsical

💡 How to use this lesson

For Teacher

Use this 20-minute guide to teach puppetry words step by step.

Check student answers in the practice section and listen to their audio recordings.

For Learner

Read the word table and memory tips first to learn new words.

Then complete the 16 practice items and record your voice in shadowing.

📚 Word table

10 Words

Theme 1: The show

troupe noun

Meaning: a group of performers

Collocation: puppet troupe

Word forms: –

"The puppet troupe performed in the main town square."

💡 Memory tip: Sounds like "troop": a troop of soldiers, a troupe of actors.

prop noun

Meaning: an object used on stage

Collocation: stage prop

Word forms: –

"The actor picked up a wooden prop during the show."

💡 Memory tip: Think of a stick PROPping up a puppet.

laughter noun

Meaning: the sound of laughing

Collocation: burst into laughter

Word forms: laugh (v, n)

"The audience burst into laughter at the funny puppet."

💡 Memory tip: Laugh + ter = sound of happy people.

tale noun

Meaning: a story

Collocation: folk tale

Word forms: –

"She told an old folk tale about a clever dragon."

💡 Memory tip: Sounds like "tail" – a story with a beginning and end!

Theme 2: Making a puppet

wooden adjective

Meaning: made of wood

Collocation: wooden puppet

Word forms: wood (n)

"The craftsman carved a small wooden doll."

💡 Memory tip: Wood + en = made of tree wood.

tug verb / noun

Meaning: to pull hard and quickly

Collocation: tug the string

Word forms: tug (v, n)

"You must tug the string to move the puppet arm."

💡 Memory tip: A short word for a short, hard pull: one quick pull is a tug.

wiggle verb / noun

Meaning: to move with small quick movements

Collocation: wiggle fingers

Word forms: wiggle (v, n)

"Wiggle your fingers to make the puppet dance."

💡 Memory tip: Sounds like a worm wiggling fast.

Theme 3: The story

fairy noun

Meaning: a small magical creature

Collocation: fairy tale

Word forms: –

"The child wanted a bedtime story about a fairy."

💡 Memory tip: Fairies wear shiny wings in magic stories.

heroine noun

Meaning: the main female character

Collocation: brave heroine

Word forms: hero (n)

"The heroine saved her village from the giant puppet."

💡 Memory tip: Hero + ine = female hero.

silly adjective

Meaning: funny and foolish

Collocation: silly joke

Word forms: –

"The puppet made a silly face and everyone laughed."

💡 Memory tip: Silly rhymes with chilly – makes you giggle!

✏️ Practice

16 Questions

Part A: Collocation Matrix

Match each verb phrase on the left to the correct ending on the right.

Action / Verb

your fingers

laughter

on the string

a troupe

1. tug

____your fingers ____laughter ____on the string ____a troupe

2. wiggle

____your fingers ____laughter ____on the string ____a troupe

3. perform in

____your fingers ____laughter ____on the string ____a troupe

4. burst into

____your fingers ____laughter ____on the string ____a troupe

Part B: Gap-fill with Word Bank

Choose the correct word from the bank to complete each sentence.

Word Bank: fairy wooden silly prop

5. The puppet has a ____ head, so it is hard and does not bend.

6. A mini sword is a very useful stage ____ .

7. The children love reading a magical ____ story before bed.

8. Don't be so ____ ; the puppet is not real!

Part C: Choose the word

Select the option that correctly fits the meaning of each sentence.

9. The traveling puppet _____ arrived in town today.

____ a. troupe ____ b. prop ____ c. tale

10. The grandfather told us an ancient _____ about a lost king.

____ a. laughter ____ b. tale ____ c. prop

11. The main _____ of the story was a young girl named Mia.

____ a. prop ____ b. heroine ____ c. laughter

12. Give a gentle _____ on the red wire to raise the head.

____ a. troupe ____ b. fairy ____ c. tug

Part D: Word Formation

Fill in the blank with the correct word form of the base word given in brackets.

13. The carpenter cut a piece of ____ to carve the nose. [wooden]

14. The puppet made the audience ____ loudly. [laughter]

15. The boy in the story is brave, so he is the ____ of the puppet play. [heroine]

16. The children's loud ____ filled the room. [laugh]

🎙️ Shadowing

Listen to the audio, repeat out loud, and record your voice.

12 Items

Part 1: Key Collocations

Collocation 1 🔊 Listen

puppet troupe

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 2 🔊 Listen

stage prop

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 3 🔊 Listen

folk tale

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Collocation 4 🔊 Listen

brave heroine

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 2: Short Sentences

Sentence 1 🔊 Listen

"Tug the string to move the arm."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 2 🔊 Listen

"Wiggle your fingers to start the show."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 3 🔊 Listen

"The wooden puppet made a silly face."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 4 🔊 Listen

"She told a story about a magical fairy."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 3: Full Practice Sentences

Sentence 5 🔊 Listen

"The whole audience burst into happy laughter today."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Sentence 6 🔊 Listen

"Our puppet troupe presented a famous old tale."

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 4: Tricky Words Focus

Hard Word 1 🔊 Listen

laughter

/ˈlɑːftə/

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Hard Word 2 🔊 Listen

heroine

/ˈherəʊɪn/

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Vocabulary & Pronunciation: Puppets and Theatre

🎭 Puppet Workshop

💡 How to use this lesson

📚 Word table

Theme 1: The show

Theme 2: Making a puppet

Theme 3: The story

✏️ Practice

Part A: Collocation Matrix

Part B: Gap-fill with Word Bank

Part C: Choose the word

Part D: Word Formation

🎙️ Shadowing

Part 1: Key Collocations

Part 2: Short Sentences

Part 3: Full Practice Sentences

Part 4: Tricky Words Focus

Related lessons

Correlative Conjunctions

Reading: Traditional Puppet Theatres

IELTS Speaking: Puppets and Puppet Theatre

IELTS Writing: Puppets and Puppet Theatre

B1 Vocabulary: Studying and Collocations

Vocabulary: Everyday Phrasal Verbs