Improvisation can show teachers ways to use the senses to make ideas, emotions, or any academic lesson stick with a child. By using improvisational techniques, the teacher asks the student to play--to be active and to discover. For example, there are games to help the child to concentrate, verbalize, touch and make contact with other children, and…

Dramatic activities, tasks that unite language learning with bodily movements, voice intonation, emotion, and imagination, may be eased into the traditional classroom structure to enrich and enhance the intellectual aspects of language learning and to motivate students. These activities can be modified to meet the needs and difficulty levels of…

Discusses connections between play and reading at the primary level. Notes that sociodramatic play has the clearest link to reading because it involves imagination and manipulation of time and reality. Argues that play facilitates reading when it involves both the manipulation of symbols and acts of reading and writing. (MM)

Describes the "Power Game," which has only one rule: the object is to win, and the game is over when one player speaks or touches the other. Explains the structure and progression of the game in rounds. States that the game provides a launching point for a discussion of power, winning and losing, and listening clearly. (PA)

Describes four-year-olds' fantasy play, and how their language manifests their imaginations, moods, and personal fears. (HTH)

Examines 16 preschoolers' classroom literacy behaviors. Studies one student's literacy activities at home. Finds book-related dramatic play to be an important part of children's literacy interactions. Indicates each instance could be described in terms of scope of play, type of connection, purposes for play, perspective explored, sign systems…

Provides specific steps and techniques for teaching and using creative dramatics in elementary school classrooms. Notes that creative dramatics address children's powerful emotions and imaginations, which children rely on to explore and understand the world. Discusses four necessary components of creative dramatics--structure, open-endedness, a…

Examines the use of dramatic techniques as tools for learning in the second language classroom. Discusses different ways to use improvisation. (EKN)

Offers suggestions for promoting dramatic play as a medium for literacy development by concentrating on three factors: (1) the settings in which play occurs; (2) the amount of time allocated for play activities; and (3) the type of teacher involvement in play episodes. (MG)

Takes a look at what creativity is and where it goes as people age. Describes six exercises the author has used to spark creativity in middle school and high school students, both in the classroom and on stage. (SR)

This study on the effect of participation in field trips as a literacy intervention in play investigated how preschool children incorporated the literacy behaviors emphasized during the field trips into their play activities. Authentic literacy materials were included in two dramatic play centers before and after 15 children participated in…

Seven situations are suggested for role playing exercises, with facial and physical movement emphasized as well as oral skill development. Possibilities for improvisation, props, variations, and linguistic objectives are outlined for each situation. (MSE)

This 16-month longitudinal study examined effects of time, classroom program, and child gender on play behaviors of preschoolers attending a formal education program or a discovery program. Analysis revealed that dramatic interactive play and transformational behavior increased, while constructive play decreased. Boys in discovery classroom…

Various techniques are described for which a teacher might use dramatics in a classroom situation. Questions which might be asked by the classroom teacher include: purpose and use of drama in the classroom; development of skills; classroom space problems; and time. (JN)

Proposes several strategies for overcoming obstacles to an integrated methodology, and to student interests and learning, in teaching a foreign language dramatic literature course. The activities focus on both reading and writing of drama, characterization, and interpretation. (CB)