Drawing from six-months of action research with spectacle theatre-makers in Chicago, this study explores multimodal, expeditionary practice of teaching artists who apprenticed girls through Redmoon Theatre's Dramagirls program. Concepts of new literacy design and aesthetic experience illustrate teaching in socio-semiotic and material worldcraft,…

Increased emphasis on standardization in primary grades can stifle spontaneous literacy play. The authors argue that allowing playful, collaborative, multimodal literacies into primary classrooms and specifically in writers' workshop can expand and enliven the way we see students' literacy strengths. The authors look closely at the unique…

The field of literacy education encompasses many different modalities of reading and writing the world, including those of drama, theatre, and performance practiced in both school and community settings. As contemporary theatre practices have broadened performance creation approaches available to literacy and arts educators working with youth and…

Incorporating the arts into the classroom through the study of poetry and writing can improve literacy with the connection to the lyrical movement of dance, music, and art. Through the arts, teachers can guide students in exploring figurative language, tone, rhythm, and imagery as it pertains to the arts and its relationship to the voice and…

Drama is unique in providing an (inter)active context wherein participants can comprehend and stretch the limits of their day-to-day realities through the embodiment of critical reflection and both rehearsed and improvised action. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence from the authors' work as teachers, drama facilitators, and…

A study examined the effectiveness and replicability of staff training programs provided by the Northern New England Social Action Theater (NNESAT), whose touring component travels around the country promoting the use of improvisational theater as a means of training all levels of literacy practitioners. Questionnaires were administered at 13…