Drama

= = = = =Drama in the Classroom/Theatre in the Classroom=

The word drama comes to us from the Greeks and quite literally means "to do". Drama in the classroom, or theatre in the classroom places a focus on the process of imagining and creating rather than on a performance. A focus on the process of drama - "to do" - allows the student to engage in //learning by doing//, using aural, visual and kinesthetic means.

This type of drama for learning uses the techniques of process drama and creative dramatics to marry the elements of theatre- voice, movement, image, action, metaphor, inference and text- with the classroom curriculum; as a dynamic tool to increase student engagement and comprehension.

[|Research] tells us that drama in the classroom directly links to improvements in reading, writing, language and literacy skills, reading comprehension, attitudes about school, self esteem and other affective and emotional benefits.

An excellent collection of books and websites of theatre practictioners can be found at the [|Theatre in Education] page on the Applied and Interactive Theatre website.

Check out this video which shows snippets from a sequence of drama in the classroom experiences leading up to a creative writing piece. The video is a collection of snapshots showing a drama in the classroom experience.

- How does the teacher use a sequential curriculum? - What evidence do we see of arts integration in which both the classroom content and the elements and principles of the dramatic arts are being taught? - What evidence do we see of the use of arts for deep understanding?
 * FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A snapshot of the steps in an arts infused unit of study building from the initial meetings to the final creative writing connection.**

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 * FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Sample Process Drama with Dorothy Heathcote**
 * Dorothy Heathcote is shown using role play and creative dramatics to immerse students in role as workers in a factory as part of a student centered learning experience in which students use an imaginary custom leather factory to learn about history.**

- How does this video clip show evidence of a student centered approach? - How does Ms. Heathcote use dramatic play to engage the students in deep understanding? - What about this drama exercise allows students to construct their own learning? - How does Ms. Heathcote uses questions and role play to become the "guide on the side" rather than the "sage on the stage"? - Where might you find connections to the curriculum such as possibilities for math connections? for language arts/writing connections?

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- How does the speaker use humor to make a point? - What bias is evident here and how does it inform or detract from the message for you? - How does the animation add to the message? - What can we infer about trends in education from Sir Ken's message? - How might this animation help us understand the pressures that exist in schools today? - How might this animation help inform the process of collaborating on arts infused instruction?
 * FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Sir Ken Robinson on Education**
 * Sir Ken Robinson is a noted speaker on the topics of education, creativity and testing. In this animation portions of one of his lectures are illustrated to inspire dialogue.**

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=Resources: Great Books=

The following books offer easy to use hands on examples, lesson plans and tips- essential "users manuals" for drama in the classroom.

[|Teaching Drama to Young Children] - Mem Fox

This delightful Australian Educator and Drama Teacher gives step by step instructions for using drama to teach reading concepts, science concepts and more in these easy to follow lesson plans. Suitable for early childhood and early elementary grades.

[|Reader's Theatre for Building Fluency: Strategies and Scripts for Making the Most of this Highly Effective, Motivating and Research-Based Approach to Oral Reading]by Jo Worthy

The author taps into Reader's Theatre for reading fluency. Suitable for grades three through six.

[|Action Strategies for Deepening Comprehension: Role Plays, Text Structure Tableaux, Talking Statues, and Other Enrichment Techniques That Engage Students With Text] by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm

The author shows teachers how to deepen comprehension and engagement using a wide variety of dramatic techniques. Examples are given in later elementary grades and above however the techniques can be modified for younger children as well.

[|History in the Spotlight: Creative Drama and Theatre Practices for the Social Studies Classroom] by Sharon M. Fennessy

Drama techniques specific to the Social Studies classroom, however ideas easily translate to other subject matter with a bit of imagination!

[|Taking Time to Act - A Guide to Cross Curricular Drama]by Chris Ball and John Airs

Explains the rationale behind process drama while offering tips for setting up the classroom, examples of drama in action and easy to follow drama games and exercises.

=Resources Online=

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