A first-grade teacher's classroom investigations support earlier research findings that when dramatic play is presented in a thematic context and related literacy props are provided, the children will use literacy behavior as part of their play. The teacher's research also indicated that adult intervention, guidance, and modeling of literacy…

One of a series of resource manuals written by participants in the University of North Dakota teacher education programs to help teachers develop more open and responsive classrooms, this booklet focuses on the teaching of creative drama. Following an introduction by Vito Perrone, the titles and authors of the articles are as follows: (1) "'They…

The focus of this issue is to explore the lives of pioneers who lived during the territorial period (1838-1846). Articles and activities highlight various aspects of pioneer life. "Celebrate 150!" reviews the settlement of the territory and the establishment of a territorial government. Excerpts from actual newspapers and books,…

This booklet was developed from the premise that the activity of drama is central to a child's language experience. Its purpose is to help the classroom teacher initiate drama activities, understand the relationship of the activities to one another, use drama activities as an integral part of the classroom curriculum, and determine whether the…

Includes an annotated bibliography of documents in the ERIC system that (1) provide insight on the value of role playing and dramatic play in the classroom and (2) suggest a variety of classroom activities that use improvisation as tool to help children retain ideas, emotions, or any academic lessons. (JD)

Describes a class project for which students discussed their conception of a hero, defined a hero in an essay, researched a specific person they felt was a hero, and finally, gave an oral presentation to the class acting out the character of their hero. (SRT)

Describes a three-step process which enables students to understand the subjunctive in German. This method is based on Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell's Natural Approach and involves students in communicative situations through the use of props, dialogs, and mini-dramas. (SED)

Describes a case study which collected journals from, interviewed, and observed 23 children as they participated in a 6-week creative drama workshop using the Rutgers Imagination Method. Finds improvement in specific areas of learning, including vocabulary, imagery abilities, and dramatic behavior. (SR)

Discusses the pedagogical advantages in using live dramatic sketches in the classroom. These include drama as an interactive activity, repetition of language points, use of body language as an effective visual aid, personalized messages to the students, and a display of language in action. (CK)

Describes how a seventh-grade teacher introduced her students to poetry by having them create performances of rhythmic poems. Describes how her students created moving performances of poems and responded to poetry with deeper and more personal insights than she had ever seen. Describes students' public poetry performances. Offers examples of…

This book is a resource on using drama to enhance the ethnic literacy of children in kindergarten through grade 6 by developing insight into the multiethnic world in which they live. By combining folk literature with informal classroom drama, a hands-on strategy for promoting multiethnic awareness is developed. An anthology of 20 folk tales is…

Intended to accompany the children's play "The Prince Who Wouldn't Talk" by James Brock on a tour of elementary schools, this guide is designed to help prepare students for the production, stimulate them to new thinking, and create follow-up activities for the classroom. The guide's first section gives a brief history of the Children's…

A collection of 56 classroom games to be used in grammar instruction in English as a second language includes five game categories: (1) traditional, competitive games modified to allow students to work in small groups and show themselves and the teacher how much or how little grammar they know; (2) Silent Way or Silent Way-inspired exercises in…

This elementary and secondary drama guide contains activities to help teachers make drama more creative and more imaginative and rich for students so that they will have a rich appreciation of and taste for the theatre when they grow up. The many and varied activities described are first categorized into three main areas: awareness, interaction,…

Describes procedures found to be effective for eliciting children's creative dramatic play in the classroom. A second-grade classroom scenario provides an example of the way key components of play training techniques can be implemented by the teacher and indicates the decision-making processes to be addressed.