This paper reveals ways in which teachers can use roles and role playing to facilitate children's understanding and expression, by giving an example of a drama in which the teacher assumed a role. In this dramatic situation, a group of eight-year-olds and nine-year-olds was asked to assume the roles of American Indians whose valley was threatened…

In exploring nonverbal language, this book suggests activities in which children can express and interpret meanings with more than words, provides a starting point for teachers in helping children develop nonverbal communication skills, and recommends that teachers build language arts programs which emphasize more than just words. Contents consist…

Discusses guidelines for using various teaching methods: (1) lecture, (2) discussion, (3) demonstration-performance, (4) dramatization, (5) role-play, and (6) problem situation or case studies. Reviews the strengths and weaknesses of each method. Also suggests determinants for the selection of methods. (CSS)

Recently a group of Newcastle teachers spent a week inside some London schools teaching classes they had never seen before. They worked with local teachers and children under the eagle eye of Dorothy Heathcote. Here is a report on the way that the week developed. (Editor/RK)

Describes a role-play exercise in which several groups, of varying ability and of six members each, acted out a crime story, with the help of written information. Preparation included vocabulary and pronunciation exercises. After performance, errors were corrected and the play performed again, with roles re-distributed. (IFS/WGA)

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)

Emphasizes the educational benefits derived from research in dramatics arts. Cites research indicating that role playing has a positive effect on oral language, moral reasoning, and self-esteem. Points out that teachers and administrators do not include dramatic instruction in their curriculum, and offers ways to make dramatic arts more appealing.…

This paper argues the value of drama processes in science classrooms as a way of enabling students to learn openly from and with each other and of enhancing higher order learning skills. Role-playing, focus, and tension are described as constructs to guide the pedagogy of drama processes. (YP)

Examined the effect of sociodramatic play on the literacy learning of first graders. Found that sociodramatic play provided a vehicle through which the players practiced what they knew about literacy and provided an opportunity to think about literacy in the context of various play themes. Adult mediation enhanced the players' incorporation of…

Discussed is the purpose of role playing in the classroom. Suggestions for preparing for role playing are enumerated. The advantages and rationale for role playing in the science classroom are stressed. (CW)

This study compared the quality of preschool children's sociodramatic play in classrooms that used centers for housekeeping role play with those that used centers for various other types of role play. Classroom play sessions in the preschool were videotaped biweekly over the course of the 1992-1993 academic year. These videotapes were then…

The primary purpose of this book is to provide a practical working handbook for teachers and therapists. Chapter one is a general discussion of drama, with emphasis on its relevance to therapeutic work. Chapter two offers practical suggestions for starting a therapeutic session and for creating and extending specific environments. Chapter three…

This manual is designed for use by teachers engaged in doing dramatic work with their classes. The lesson plans and vocabulary are specifically suited to children in the primary grades, but they may also be used with older children who are inexperienced in this type of structured creative activity. The introduction to the book discusses the basic…

Discusses the characteristics of role playing, its advantages and disadvantages, methodology, and organization. A sample play, "Teenage Trouble," is presented. Information is given as to where material for plays can be found. (IFS/WGA)

Describes the use of drama to give meaning and understanding to a unit on Native Americans. Students worked in small groups or "tribes" to research cultural attributes, and then acted out tribal rituals and created costumes and artifacts. The group work and the active roleplaying helped students to develop a new understanding of…