British drama instructor discusses how drama provides a sense of immediacy to subjects or stories and to the discovery process of learning. She also discusses how the dialectic aspects of drama aids in children's language development. (HTH)

Concludes that the dramatic play context requires children to convey meaning through explicit oral language in order to introduce and sustain play episodes. (FL)

This 16-month longitudinal study examined effects of time, classroom program, and child gender on play behaviors of preschoolers attending a formal education program or a discovery program. Analysis revealed that dramatic interactive play and transformational behavior increased, while constructive play decreased. Boys in discovery classroom…

Various techniques are described for which a teacher might use dramatics in a classroom situation. Questions which might be asked by the classroom teacher include: purpose and use of drama in the classroom; development of skills; classroom space problems; and time. (JN)

Describes various types of play typical of infants and toddlers. Includes discussion of the developmental benefits of object play, social play, motor play, and imitation. Focuses on the concept of causality, toddler-invented games, repeated movement to gain mastery, and the beginnings of dramatic play. (KB)

Examined effects on target children's sociodramatic role play of sociodramatic script training in combination with an intervention package consisting of peer role prompting, a group-oriented reinforcement contingency, and visual feedback. Found support for use, with a minimum of teacher involvement, of the peer-mediated intervention package in…

Documented differences in the quality of play in thematic and housekeeping organizational patterns of the sociodramatic play center in a preschool classroom. Found the thematic organization resulted in higher quality sociodramatic play in which the children enacted more roles outside the home, utilized more aspects of their roles, demonstrated…

Explains how high-level play is an instructional strategy that builds language, vocabulary, and underlying cognitive skills necessary for children to become successful readers and writers. Notes that high-level play in the classroom occurs in two major areas, manipulative materials play and dramatic play. Explains that in dramatic play the teacher…

Studies low income special education students decided on a theme/story line/subject for an improvisational drama and developed it into a radio play. Concludes that drama is one effective way to find out what quiet people may have to tell educators about themselves and about complex situations and problems that need to be heard and analyzed before…

Discusses how story enactments can be used in preschool and kindergarten classrooms to allow children to take on the role of storymaker and to provide experiences for children to draw upon as they learn to read. Offers tips for individual story writing and suggestions for group story telling. Asserts that a variety of storymaking experiences…

Proposes several strategies for overcoming obstacles to an integrated methodology, and to student interests and learning, in teaching a foreign language dramatic literature course. The activities focus on both reading and writing of drama, characterization, and interpretation. (CB)

Examines research into the various factors affecting the frequency and complexity of dramatic play. Lists and elaborates on those factors, which include the child's maturity; social and cultural settings; teacher intervention in play; children's individual differences; children's familiarity with and security in play surroundings; and presence or…

Explores the beliefs of an elementary school teacher who consistently used drama in her classroom. Finds that the use of drama is contingent on the teacher's beliefs about the kinds of support provided within the school, about the value of drama, and about her own ability to structure effective drama experiences. (SR)

Discusses how outdoor play can be as effective as indoor play in facilitating young children's development. Offers advice on selection of toys and materials; organization of play spaces; addition of movable toys and equipment; ways to stimulate imaginative outdoor play; and playground safety. (TJQ)

Discusses, in poetic form, the writing of the play "Salvador" from the perspective of the author. Explains her thoughts about writing for children, including didactic relationships with children, didactic functions of art, and how adults teachers try to create a sterilized, lifeless, good-thinking, and artificial world for children when they are…