The Moving On project is an initiative of Griffith University and the Aftercare Resource Centre, a service agency established to meet the ongoing needs of ex-residents of institutional childhood care in Queensland. This collaborative action research project is funded by a three-year Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to explore the…

This paper outlines research which examined the relationship between drama and writing, detailing the method of enquiry, theoretical foundations and emergent findings. The study sought to understand the nature of the support that drama offers children as writers and to identify features of writing which regularly surfaced in drama-related writing.…

Creative dramatics (the spontaneous expression of feelings and ideas in an imaginative manner) brightens the reading program and provides teachers and students with both enjoyable and academically profitable experiences. Any reading teacher can comfortably integrate creative dramatics into the basal reading program. Activities such as creating…

A study compared the effects of dramatic enactment as a class activity with more traditional teaching methods on students' acquisition and retention of the concepts taught in the lesson. Subjects were 102 secondary school students from various content classes, randomly assigned to a half-class. Each half-class was taught two lesson topics, half…

With the development of educational drama and the popularization of differing drama theorists, an uneasiness has developed in teachers' minds concerning the relationship between drama and theatre. This uneasiness is manifested by the polarization of opinion as to whether the focus of drama should be an orientation towards process or product. It…

Often the way one communicates ethical choices is conditioned by the dynamics of the communication process more than by a well-developed "ethical system." Sociodrama is an excellent method of teaching both ethics and communication skills. The technique can be used for playing out any real-life situation, but unlike much actual life experience, it…

Guidelines and examples for using dramatization to teach elementary German are presented. Dramatization can be used productively as an aid to learning even at the very beginning of a course or in an academic environment that is hostile to innovation. In order to learn an utterance in a foreign language, the students must be able to project their…

The process by which preschoolers generate cohesive oral text was investigated in two fields of discourse: social dramatic and constructive play. Four preschoolers, 2 boys and 2 girls, ranging in age from 51 to 60 months were observed and videotaped in their regular preschool classroom on 2 successive days during free play periods. Each child was…

TWO MAIN METHODS OF APPROACH IN UNDERSTANDING THE SCHOLASTIC FAILURE OF CULTURALLY DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN WERE--THE USE OF SUCH TEACHING METHODS AS TEXTBOOKS, WORKBOOKS, TEACHERS' GUIDEBOOKS, AND OTHER TEACHING AIDS SUITED TO THE SPECIAL NEEDS OF THESE CHILDREN, AND THE USE OF EXPERIMENTS ON THE KINDERGARTEN LEVEL AIMED AT FINDING WAYS TO DEVELOP…

The functional theories of James Britton and M.A.K. Halliday are compatible in that they both (1) view language use as functional and situationally determined; (2) recognize a developmental process that involves learning the rules of use of the mature functions; (3) recognize a participatory role of language for doing and a spectatorial role for…

The primitive elements from which drama evolved--group participation with no audience, a strong relationship between drama and other arts, and a sense of emotional release associated with physical expression--are also the bases for creative drama. Creative drama in the secondary school should (1) avoid a formal stage, the intrusion of an audience,…

Two major trends in psychodramatic research during the last 10 years are delineated: (1) evaluating its effectiveness as a form of therapy; and (2) varying the communications process via role playing to produce attitude change. Examples of both are given. The author concludes that findings to date may well dissatisfy the practicing psychodramatist…

"Making Music Your Own" is the eighth component of the Bridge-to-Reading series, a comprehensive year-long reading readiness curriculum for use with 2 1/2 -- 6-year old children. This book offers the teacher a wide variety of materials to help children enjoy music, discover music concepts, and integrate music with everyday experiences. Included…

Developed by the Oregon Elementary English Project, this curriculum unit contains drama activities intended for grades one and two. The activities are not ordered in a definite sequence; rather they are meant to be used as the opportunity arises. The activities are divided into (1) exercises based on puppetry, including a puppet hunt, the making…

This teacher guide, intended for teen-age educational settings, explores the possibilities of "spontaneous drama" which incorporates acting techniques to evoke the life experience of the student and to encourage self-revelation in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Primarily designed for use in Christian education, but with application to literature…