A report from the Educational Resources Information Center at the National Council of Teachers of English; includes ERIC abstracts of documents pertinent to this topic. (RD)

Shows how children's use of explicit oral language is related to success in learning to read and writing. Outlines a technique to teach the use of explicit language through dramatic play. (HTH)

A recommended class activity is a simple gift exchange. Vocabulary, including a wide range of options, holiday terms, and idioms, is introduced at the beginning of class. Partners are assigned, exchange takes place, and thank-you notes may be written. Student enthusiasm and attention are often by-products. (MSE)

Discusses the advantages of play-acting for teaching English to children. The play is a challenge that is not examination based, it breaks down barriers between teacher and learners, the speaking-load is spread among the students, many different skills are harnessed, and parents can witness their children's progress. Other considerations are…

Presents a model of a communication game involving adult learners in psychosocial roleplaying and decision making. Each adult develops a distinct character by continually making decisions and by relying on the other adults to add to the role-playing drama. In justifying character development choices, conversation skills are exercised. (PJM)

Reports on an educational project that focused on the nature of the support one teacher gave to the children in her kindergarten class while engaging with them in literacy play. Contends that the project revealed that young children have their own assumptions about and knowledge of the written language, which they actively use in their play. (PM)

Describes Improvised Musical Play (IMP), a teaching strategy that uses simple rhythms, chanting, and singing to make participation in social play with nondelayed peers easier for developmentally delayed children. (BB)

Describes the potential that theater has to exert a positive influence on students' behavior patterns. States that positive educational experiences for African-American children may be achieved through the development of "an alternative frame of reference, positive self-concepts, a Black identity, and a commitment to their people."…

Investigated feasibility of teaching socio-dramatic play through the use of a verbal script to increase sophistication of free play behavior in preschoolers with developmental disabilities. Found support for the clinical utility of scripted play as a teaching strategy for such children. (SD)

Learning through the arts has the potential to stimulate open ended activity that encourages discovery, exploration, experimentation and invention, thus contributing to children's development in all areas of learning and helping to make the curriculum meaningful to them. In this book, the author draws on her extensive experience of promoting young…

Advocates the use of little puppet plays for teaching English as a foreign language to elementary school children. (Available from English Inspectorate, Ministry of Education and Culture, P. O. Box 292, Jerusalem, Israel.) (CHK)

In the back to basics era, creative dramatics should still be used in the English classroom because it helps to develop the entire child. For some time, teaching strategies have been directed at the left brain, the hemisphere that deals with logical and linear functions. Recently, however, attention has been given to the right side of the brain,…

Students consider the case of Marbury v. Madison in a one-act play in an attempt to present constitutional issues in a more understandable format. Included are brief statements of purpose, objectives, background information, and the play. (SM)

Intended for use by reading teachers, this document presents classroom activities for using drama as an aid to reading comprehension. Following a brief introduction discussing the rationale for drama in the reading classroom, the paper details various phases in comprehension, matching each level with suggested books and appropriate dramatic…

Although the material in this booklet is specifically designed for National Park Service employees, the subjects covered apply to all oral interpretive programs. The first chapter considers researching and writing the script and music and dance in the script; chapter 2 discusses settings, including speaking positions, decor, and properties;…