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Workshop Objective:
This interactive workshop will present the rationale for using theatre arts to engage
student learning in the language arts curricula for the elementary years. This session
will demonstrate the use of dramatic tools to build early literacy skills. Through
practical, hands-on activities, participants will learn to integrate dramatic games into
the literacy program with a focus on oral language development, word work, reading
comprehension, and writing. Throughout the session, research and resources will be
presented to advocate for the integration of the theatre arts into every language arts
classroom.
Activities
INTRODUCTIONS
StageWrite
Literacy & Theatre
READING COMPREHENSION
Setting Sound-Scape
Imagery Reading
Character Auto-Images
Plot Point Tableaux
WRITING
Character Profiles
Monologues
CLOSURE
WORD WORK & WARM-UPS
Objective: To use visual imagery to enhance oral language and vocabulary skills through
dramatic activities which emphasize individual expression and group building
EMOTIONAL STATUES
CONFIGURATION: Players stand in Ready Position in two lines facing each other on opposite
sides of the space.
• The leader asks players to physically represent how they are feeling right now by
creating a tableau (statue or frozen pose).
• Players are asked to exaggerate the pose and facial expressions.
• The leader prompts players to take a moment to look around and see how other people
are feeling. The leader can also leave half of the group frozen while the other half
relaxes and observes, calling out words that the images evoke.
SAMPLE CA STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Listening and Speaking 2.4 Provide descriptions with
sensory detail Theatre 2.1 Demonstrate the emotional traits of a character through gesture (4th
grade) Theatre 1.2 Observe and describe the traits of a character (1st grade)
PHYSICAL BRAINSTORM
CONFIGURATION: Standing in a circle
• One at a time around the circle each player finishes the sentence, “Literacy is…” or
“Theatre is...” and creates a gesture or movement to represent their idea.
• Players can complete the sentence in any way they wish, with a word or phrase. For
example, a player might say, “Literacy is power.” or “Literacy is reading and writing.”
• Group repeats back in chorus after each player has a turn, “power” or, “reading and
writing” doing the gesture offered. If desired, go around the circle twice to brainstorm
more ideas.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Reading 1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary
Development, Listening and Speaking 1.0, Theatre 2.1 Participate in improvisational
activities to explore complex ideas (5th grade)
ABSTRACT IMPRESSIONS
CONFIGURATION: Standing, spread out around the space
• Leader calls out words: colors, seasons, emotions, times of day, etc.
• Players walk through the space improvising immediately then freezing into a tableau
when signaled by the leader.
• Leader calls out a new word for them to act out as they unfreeze and continue to walk
around the space in response to the word. Guidelines: no touching each other, no
talking, fill in the whole space. Freeze in tableau.
• Note: If using a text the leader can move into references from the story. (Where the
Wild Things Are: mischeif, boredom, hunger, anger, magic trick, growing forest, wild
ocean, terrible teeth, homesick)
STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Reading 1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary
Development (Vocabulary and Concept Development), Reading 3.0 Literary Response and
Analysis (narrative analysis), Theatre 2.3 Use improvisation to portray such concepts as
friendship, hunger, or seasons (2nd grade)
Pre-Reading of Text
SETTING SOUND-SCAPE
CONFIGURATION: Sitting in a circle
• The group is given a stimulus such as a picture or poem, or is asked to imagine the
setting from a piece of text. (Wild Things: a magical forest)
• The group brainstorms what different sounds might be heard in that environment.
Words and ideas are written down for all to see.
• One player starts the sound-scape with a sound appropriate to that place which can
easily be repeated throughout the duration of the game (e.g. the wind, a bear’s growl, a
fairy bell, waterfall, rustling leaves).
• One by one, players add on other repeating sounds. The leader conducts the group
experimenting with pace and volume.
STANDARD ADDRESSED: Literary Response and Analysis 3.0 (setting)
Text
IMAGERY READING
• Leader reads the text without showing illustrations asking the players to relax with eyes
closed and create pictures in their minds as the story is read.
STANDARD ADDRESSED: Listening and Speaking 1.0 (Comprehension)
Post-Reading of Text
CHARACTER AUTO-IMAGES
CONFIGURATION: In a circle, players start in neutral with backs to center
• The leader explains that a tableau is a frozen picture created with the body. Even though
tableaux are perfectly still images, they show emotion and are moments where motion
just happened or is just about to happen.
• Players are asked to create automatic images of characters from moments in a story.
• On, “One, two, three: picture!” players turn to face the center and freeze, as directed, in
images of different characters from various points from the story. After each picture,
players return to neutral.
• Ask students to create automatic images of: Max making mischeif, Max’s mom mad at
him, sailing a boat on a wild ocean, a growing forest, The Wild Things growling, the
magic staring trick, frightened monsters, a wild rumpus, Max punishing monsters, Max
smelling his mom’s supper, lonely Max, monsters begging Max to stay, Max leaving on
the boat, Max back in his room seeing his dinner, Max’s mom downstairs.
STANDARDS: Reading 3.0 Literary Response and Analysis (narrative analysis-character),
Theatre 1.2 Identify a character’s objectives and motivations to explain behavior (4th grade)
CHARACTER PROFILE
CONFIGURATION: Individuals sit with paper and pencil or for younger students this can be done
as a whole class activity with the teacher writing the ideas of the group onto chart paper
• Players are told they are to think about the character they just played in Plot Point
Tableaux.
• Leader models writing a sample character profile using one of the characters from the
story.
• Individuals write a character profile for the character they played in their tableau.
• Profile includes: Name, Age, Family, Want, Fear, Habitat, Most Important Being, &
Secret.
• Players walk through the space in character.
• Volunteers share profiles.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Literary Response and Analysis 3.3 Contrast the actions, motives
(e.g., loyalty, selfishness, conscientiousness), and appearances of characters in a work of
fiction and discuss the importance of the contrasts to the plot or theme (5th grade), Theatre 2.1
Demonstrate the emotional traits of a character through gesture and action (4th grade)
MONOLOGUES
CONFIGURATION: Back in three tableaux groupings (beginning, middle, end)
• Players re-create their character position from the tableaux of beginning, middle, and
end.
• One at a time, players are touched on the shoulder to say one line their character might
say. This can be the same line they said before or a new line based on their character
profile.
• After all players have performed, they write the line of dialogue on a piece of paper.
Then they are to add a second sentence that the character might say.
• Players review their character’s secret.
• Players write without stopping for two full minutes, creating a monologue
• For younger students, this can be done as a whole class activity with the teacher taking
ideas from volunteers and writing the ideas from the group on chart paper.
• Volunteers perform their monologue in character.
STANDARDS ADDRESSED: Theatre 2.2 Perform character-based improvisations,
pantomimes, or monologues, using voice, blocking, and gesture to enhance meaning,
Writing 2.0 (Genres and their Characteristics)
Elana Lagerquist is a teacher and teaching artist in San Francisco. She holds a B.A. in
Theatre Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a master’s degree in
Educational Theatre from New York University. She received her multiple subjects
teaching credential with Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD)
emphasis through San Francisco State’s Muir Alternative Teacher Education program in
1997. She has taught second and third grade at Alvarado, John Swett, and Sunset
Elementary Schools and has been a tenured teacher with the San Francisco Unified
School District. While in New York pursuing her master’s degree, Elana worked with
The Creative Arts Team as a teaching artist in the New York City public schools as a part
of the Annenberg Challenge grant for school reform through the arts. Elana has presented
staff development workshops for artists and teachers at various seminars for arts and
education organizations including Performing Arts Workshop (PAW), Young Audiences,
KQED-SPARK, Arts Education Funders Collaborative (AEFC) and SFUSD arts
professional development workshops, and the Tennessee Arts Academy. Elana serves as
Diversity and Outreach co-chair with the Arts Providers Alliance of San Francisco. As a
teacher, arts administrator, and teaching artist, Elana is dedicated to working with all
students and teachers to integrate the arts into the core curricula.
Beall Heinig, Ruth (1992). Improvisation with Favorite Tales, Integrating Drama into the
Reading/Writing Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bell, Nanci. Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking.
San Luis Obispo: Nancibell Inc/Gander Publishing, 1991.
Kelin II, Daniel (2009). In Their Own Words: Drama with Young English Language
Learners. Charlottesville, VA: New Plays Incorporated.
Miller, Carole (2004). Into the Story, Language in Action Through Drama. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Sklar, Daniel (1991). Playmaking: Children Writing and Performing Their Own Plays.
New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
Wagner, Betty Jane (1998). Educational Drama and Language Arts. Portsmouth, NH:
Heineman.
Worthy, Jo (2005). Readers Theatre for Building Fluency. New York, NY: Scholastic.
STUDY NAME: Drama and Drawing for Narrative Writing in Primary Grades
AUTHORS: Blaine H. Moore and Helen Caldwell
PUBLISHED: Journal of Educational Research, November/December 1993, 87(2): 100-110
Research Questions
What are the effects of thought-organizing activities involving drama on narrative writing in comparison to
traditional pre-writing-planning activities?
What are the effects of thought-organizing activities involving drawing on narrative writing in comparison
to traditional pre-writing-planning activities?
STUDY NAME: The Effect of Dramatic Play on Children’s Generation of Cohesive Text
AUTHOR: Anthony D. Pellegrini
PUBLISHED: Discourse Processes, 1984, 7: 57-67
Research Questions
To what extent does the informational status of a listener (whether familiar or not familiar with a story)
affect a student’s use of oral language to retell the story? (Do students use effective and appropriate
language when told in advance the knowledge base of the listener?) With what relative effectiveness can
children’s use of oral language (retelling stories to non-familiar listeners) be facilitated through the use of
alternative interventions, namely discussion, drawing, and dramatic play?
STUDY NAME: The Effectiveness of Creative Drama as an Instructional Strategy to Enhance the Reading
Comprehension Skills of Fifth-Grade Remedial Readers
AUTHOR: Sherry DuPont
PUBLISHED: Reading Research and Instruction, 1992, 31(3): 41-52
Research Question
Does a program of creative drama integrated with children’s literature contribute to the growth of reading
comprehension skills of fifth-grade remedial reading students?
STUDY NAME: The Effects of Creative Drama on the Social and Oral Language Skills of Children with
Learning Disabilities
AUTHOR: Rey E. de la Cruz
PUBLISHED: Doctoral Dissertation, 1995, Department of Specialized Educational Development,
Illinois State University, Bloomington, IL
Research Question
Can a creative drama program with an emphasis on specific social and oral language skills lead to increases
in the social and oral language skills of children with learning disabilities?
STUDY NAME: The Effects of Thematic-Fantasy Play Training on the Development of Children’s Story
Comprehension
AUTHORS: Anthony D. Pellegrini and Lee Galda
PUBLISHED: American Educational Research Journal, Fall 1982, 19(3): 443-452
Research Question
What are the relative effects of three modes of story reconstruction training—thematic fantasy play,
teacher-led discussion, and drawing—on the development of children’s story comprehension?
STUDY NAME: The Flight of Reading: Shifts in Instruction, Orchestration, and Attitudes through
Classroom Theatre
AUTHOR: Shelby A. Wolf
PUBLISHED: Reading Research Quarterly, 1998, 33(4): 382-415
Research Questions
Are children’s reading comprehension, expressive fluency, and attitudes toward reading affected by a year
of periodic dramatic coaching based on texts?
What happens when an academically diverse classroom of 8- and 9-year-olds makes a transition from a
traditional “round-robin” reading program to one involving the creation of and performing in a classroom
theater where children are encouraged to consider and enlist multiple forms of expression?
STUDY NAME: Imagery-Based Learning: Improving Elementary Students’ Reading Comprehension With
Drama Techniques
AUTHORS: Dale S. Rose, Michaela Parks, Karl Androes, Susan D. McMahon
3-D Group, Berkeley, California; Whirlwind, Chicago, Illinois; DePaul University
PUBLISHED: The Journal of Educational Research, September-October 2000, 94 (1): 55 - 63
Abstract:
The causal relationship between drama-based reading instruction and reading comprehension among 4th-
grade students was examined. Cognitive theories related to the role of imagery in memory were used to
develop a drama-based reading comprehension program. A randomized pretest-posttest control-group
design was then employed to assess the impact of the drama-based instruction on students’ test scores on
the reading comprehension portion of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Results suggest a direct causal link
between drama-based instruction and improved reading comprehension
STUDY NAME: The Impact of Whirlwind’s Reading Comprehension through Drama Program on 4th
Grade Students’ Reading Skills and Standardized Test Scores
AUTHORS: Michaela Parks and Dale Rose
PUBLISHED: Unpublished Evaluation, 3D Group, 1997, Berkeley, CA, 25
Research Questions
What is the impact of a collaboratively developed reading comprehension/drama program on reading skills,
standardized test scores, and drama skills?
How does collaboration among teachers, principals, artists, and researchers to develop the curriculum,
assessment tools, and the goals of a drama-skills and reading program play out?
STUDY NAME: A Naturalistic Study of the Relationship Between Literacy Development an Dramatic
Play in Five-Year-Old Children
AUTHOR: Jennifer Ross Goodman
PUBLISHED: Unpublished Ed.D. Dissertation, 1990, George Peabody College for Teachers,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Research Questions
How is literacy used within dramatic play and why?
What factors influencing how literacy is used within dramatic play are important?
STUDY NAME: Strengthening Verbal Skills Through the Use of Classroom Drama: A Clear Link
AUTHOR: Ann Podlozny
PUBLISHED: Journal of Aesthetic Education, Fall 2000, 34(3-4): 239-276
Research Question
Does classroom drama help students develop verbal ability? (The researcher created seven meta-analyses
that considered nine related hypotheses related to type of plot, role of leader, degree of transfer, amount of
drama instruction, age, type of population, study design, publication status, and publication date).
STUDY NAME: Symbolic Functioning and Children’s Early Writing: Relations Between Kindergarteners’
Play and Isolated Word Writing Fluency
AUTHOR: Anthony D. Pellegrini
PUBLISHED: EDRS Number ED 201 407 (1980): 1-15. Early Childhood Education, University of
Georgia,
Athens, Georgia
Research Question
What is the relationship between kindergartners’ use of symbolic expression (mainly the use of spoken
words) in free play and their ability to generate isolated written words an inquiry with implications for
success in writing)?
STUDY NAME: “You Can’t Be Grandma; You’re a Boy”: Events Within the Thematic Fantasy Play
Context that Contribute to Story Comprehension
AUTHORS: Peter A. Williamson and Steven B. Silvern
PUBLISHED: Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 1992, 7: 75-93
Research Question
What behaviors within fantasy play activities (playing out roles and scenes in a story) contribute to the
development of story comprehension skills among kindergarten children?
In their studies, Alber and Foil illustrate how to effectively introduce new vocabulary and
facilitate the learning activities with dramatic techniques. “Creating a memorable event”
is recommended when introducing new vocabulary.
Alber, S. R., & Foil, Carolyn R. “Drama activities that promote and extend your
students’ vocabulary proficiency.” Intervention in School & Clinic 39.1 (2003).
It allows exploration and problem solving in safe, supported and motivated situations
where children are more likely to take risks and ‘have a go’ without the threat of real-life
consequences.
Cusworth, Robyn and Simons, Jennifer. “Beyond the script: drama in the classroom.”
Primary English Teaching Association (1997).
It works from a premise of shared power between students and teacher, allowing students
to see their ideas respected and used to further the drama. This promotes students’
engagement, ensuring that drama remains an enjoyable and desired activity.
Cusworth, Robyn and Simons, Jennifer. “Beyond the script: drama in the classroom.”
Primary English Teaching Association (1997).
For some children who struggle with understanding the written word, the provision of a
physical and visual context can help them make sense of language. In this way, practical
drama can help children whose preferred learning style is auditory or kinesthetic as
opposed to verbal/visual.
Kempe, Andy. “Drama in and out of the literacy hour.” Literacy Today 21 (1999).
Rationales for the use of educational or process drama highlight the unique power of
drama to tap into children’s intrinsic motivations and to involve the emotions for lasting
and memorable learning. It enables children to use and reflect upon what they know and
through this assists them to make their own knowledge conscious. Heathcote says
children are often barely conscious of what they know or understand and drama
promotes awareness and ownership of knowledge.
Martello, Julie. “Drama: Ways into critical literacy in the early childhood years.”
Australian Journal of Language and Literature (2001).
Drama is an invaluable tool for educators because it is one of the few vehicles of
instruction that can support every aspect of literary development.
McMaster, J. C. “Doing” literature: Using drama to build literacy. The Reading Teacher
574 (1998).
Dramatic activities are crucial to early literacy development because children can be
involved in reading and writing as a holistic and meaningful communication process
McNamee, G. D., McLane, J. B., Cooper, P. M., Kerwin, S. M. “Cognition and affect in
early literacy development.” Early Childhood Development and Care 20 (1985).
In writing development, children who experience drama also appear to be more capable
of making appropriate linguistic choices as well as expressing opinions or suggesting
solutions.
McNaughton, M. J. “ Drama and children’s writing: A study of the influence of drama
on the imaginative writing of primary school children.” Research in Drama Education
2.1 (1997).
If students engage in [the] process of creating mental images, reading becomes less
dependent on memory of text and more focused on the visual images described. Readers,
then, are more likely to store, retain, and recall more about what they read.
Rose, Dale et al. Imagery-Based Learning: Improving Elementary Students’ Reading
Comprehension With Drama Techniques (2000).
For children from preschool to second grade, researchers have demonstrated that
children who reenact stories are better at connecting and integrating events to
storytelling than children in a story reading group.
Saltz, E., & Johnson, J. “Training for thematic-fantasy play in culturally disadvantaged
children: Preliminary results.” Journal of Educational Psychology 66 (1974).
In addition, researchers have discovered that the mental requirements for understanding
drama are similar to those for reading. For instance, the meaning of a reading is
generally grasped in a transaction between the reader and the text. “Process drama”
refers to a teaching method that involves children in imaginary, unscripted, and
spontaneous scenes, in which the meaning is made from the engagement and transactions
between the teacher and students.
Schneider, J. J., & Jackson, S. A. “Process drama: A special space and place for
writing.” The Reading Teacher 54.1 (2000).
The primary purpose of creative drama is to foster personality growth and to facilitate
learning of the participants… Brian Way describes the goal of this type of drama as
leading “the inquirer to moments of direct experience, transcending mere knowledge,
enriching the imagination, possibly touching the heart and soul as well as the mind.
Wagner, Betty Jane. “Educational Drama and Language Arts.” Roosevelt University
(1998).
Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development
The Compendium summarizes and discusses 62 research studies that examine the effects
of arts learning on students’ social and academic skills.
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