FrankenMonster

Materials

Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves

Instructions

* Halloween is celebrated on October 31st.
1. Read Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves. Ask the
children if they would like to make their own FrankenMonsters.
2. Take a full-length photo of each child. Make sure you take the photos
from about the same distance each time and that the child fills the
whole frame from head to toes. Have each child stand with arms slightly
away from the body and legs slightly apart.
3. Develop or print the photos and make three copies of each one. (8" x 10"
photos are the best for this activity, but 5" x 7" will do. Anything smaller
makes the resulting project too small to appreciate.)
4. Cut around the child's outline in each photo. Cut the
photo apart according to body parts and label
the back of each one with the child's name.
5. Sort the pieces into separate containers. You
should end up with a container of heads (with
hair and neck attached), trunks, left arms, right
arms, left hands, right hands, left legs, right
legs, and left and right feet. Note: For younger
children, simplify this activity by dividing each
photo into four parts. First cut around the
child's outline; then cut each outline into four
equal parts by cutting just below the neck, at
the waistline, and below the hips.
6. Attach a piece of Velcro to each piece so it will stick to a
flannel board.
7. Place the containers next to a flannel board and
let the children experiment with the pieces.
They will naturally put the pieces together to
form a person. Comment on what they are
doing. Ask questions. "Whose face did you
use?"
8. The children will enjoy this activity just for
the pure silly fun of it without realizing they
are developing visual discrimination and
verbal skills.
More to do Follow steps 1-4 above. Let the children create their own FrankenMonsters
to take home by gluing the pieces of their own bodies to construction
paper.
Music and Movement: Play a rousing game of "Hokey Pokey"!