Drama in Literacy Education

Study Notes

Drama as a teaching tool enhances student interest in literacy, focusing on active and involved learning.
Drama encompasses all language arts modalities—listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Children challenged in writing or reading often respond positively to the imaginative and multisensory approach of drama.
Drama is a natural part of children's lives, enabling interactive learning and diverse perspectives.
Drama fosters essential soft skills like creativity, communication, inquiry, self-confidence, empathy, cooperation, leadership, and negotiation.
Incorporating drama into the curriculum enriches the learning process for literacy development.

Drama is a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and performance.
A drama can be composed in verse or prose; it can be presented through pantomime or dialogue.
The use of drama in the classroom connects with reading, enhances communication, promotes inclusive learning, social and active learning, critical thinking, and integrates communication and literacy.

Dramatic experiences based on literature motivate students to process and share information.
Story dramatization introduces children to the writing process enabling them to express ideas and feelings creatively, and develop social skills.
Drama (action and activity) promotes easy information retention and learning.
Various teaching strategies exist within drama, employing different categories depending on specific educational objectives. Two examples are Text-Centered Drama and Text-Edged Drama.

Its core element is the text; interpreting the text drives the process (e.g., Readers’ Theater).
The goal of this type of drama is developing fluency by assigning parts for children to read in scripts, focusing on the words on the page.
Teachers need to consider student abilities and reading levels when assigning parts.
Combining reading practice with performance enhances reading skills and confidence.

Puppets (movable dolls) are manipulated to visually convey emotions and thoughts via body movements.
Puppetry can be used to teach primary students various classroom topics and develops children's oral and language skills.
Shy students can benefit from puppetry as it shifts audience attention away from them, increasing their confidence in public speaking.

Text-Edged Drama focuses on a dialogic approach, exploring texts (books, plays, pictures, objects, and film clips).
Students elaborate upon the text, consider roles and social standing of characters, and develop perspectives by considering different social contexts.
All students contribute to the exploration of the text by contributing to group responsibilities and not being restricted to one specific role/character.

"Teacher-In-Role" feature: teachers participate side-by-side with students in a fictional encounter, without dominating the process.
Critical space: allows children and teachers to enter the world of the drama, then step back to critique it and apply context to real life, prompting critical evaluation. Questions raise deeper understanding, especially if the prompt is critical and goes beyond literal interpretation.
Critiquing questions create deeper connections with the text.
Drama helps children develop new perspectives and creative ways to express themselves in writing, speaking, listening, and reading.