It can be used as a teaching companion, an extra character in a scene, or a way to get someone shy to talk. Puppets work especially well with younger children, although even high school students can find amusement in them a la Sesame Street. Ideally, I would have a bowler, a beret, a beanie with a spinner on top, a big floppy lady's hat, and a fedora. The urge to dress up and become someone else stay throughout a person's life, and a hat is the simplest way to signal a change of character. With a larger group, divide into teams.
Groups stands outside a designated performance space.
Instantly, the next person runs on and forms something else in the same picture. I'm a bench under the tree. The next person further adds to the picture. I'm a bum on the bench. I'm the newspaper the bum is sleeping under.