Effects of dramatic play on children's narrative competence were investigated among 36 second-graders. Children were read a familiar folktale and then "played" the story, discussed it, or drew a picture about it. They were then asked to retell the story either to an informed or to a naive listener. It was hypothesized that (1) more…

This study examined the effectiveness of elements by the thematic-fantasy play training paradigm in facilitating story recall of 192 disadvantaged kindergartners and first graders. Results include: adult tuition did not facilitate story recall; and fantasy enactment affected immediate but not maintained story recall. (BS)