Recommends eight plays from the 1980s which will challenge the thinking of students with issues such as evolving independence of young people, growing up in the context of racism and discrimination, insights into the world of the deaf, and the suffering of humanity during the French Revolution. (MG)

To determine whether the genitalia of anatomical dolls are disproportionately large and may suggest sexual activity to children who have not been abused, the genitalia and breasts of 17 sets of anatomical dolls were measured. When the measurements were extrapolated to adult human proportions, the sizes were not found to be exaggerated. (Author/JDD)

Summarizes documents from the ERIC database that provide suggestions for integrating disabled students into elementary and secondary school drama activities, as well as information about programs and activities that encourage understanding and appreciation of school children with physical and mental disabilities. (MS)

Suggestions are presented for planning a successful dramatic production by adolescent deaf students. Suggestions deal with script selection, stage direction, scenery, props, costumes, use of American Sign Language rather than signed English, and the need for all actors' signed lines to be visible to the entire audience. (JDD)

Suggests allowing children to draw on their experiences with doctors and dentists and encouraging pretend play centered around medical settings such as clinics and hospitals. Provides guidelines to involve children's participation in such play, and provides detailed information on setting up appropriate play centers. (BAC)

Describes a theater exercise designed to help students develop sensory skills and learn improvisational skills at the same time. Explains the four steps: getting into the drama, mixing in sensory skills, deepening the drama, and finishing up. States that the exercise is valuable in teaching students skills that are difficult to teach with…

Provides a retrospective of Winifred Ward's career; she is credited with being one of the founders of creative drama in the United States. States that Ward wrote many books about theater, taught for 32 years, founded the first national organization for child drama in 1944, and received numerous academic honors. Relates anecdotes told by those who…

This program, which applies William Shakespeare's works for gifted intermediate level students, involves student reading of plays, students and teachers reading together and discussing scenes, individual students rereading the plays, student projects applying their knowledge of the play, and evaluation of play productions. (JDD)

Discusses the need to accommodate cultural diversity in education. Asserts that arts education can develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and offer a validation of a student's own culture and other cultures. Argues that teachers should seek arts education that develops creative, thoughtful students who can contribute to cultural…

Surveys 224 elementary classroom teachers in the Tacoma, Washington, school district to determine perceptions and successful uses of 7 creative drama techniques. Finds that interest was greater than use for all seven. Discusses teachers' perceived obstacles, and indicates that teachers need more opportunities for training in creative drama as an…

Describes "collective creation," an instructional technique involving drama that is useful in a wide range of disciplines. Discusses choosing the topic, gathering material, exploration, refining the collective creation, rehearsal and performance, and reflection. (SR)

Argues for the use of film in the teaching of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" because the play was meant to be seen and heard and not just read. Outlines a method of teaching the play by which students select a scene and perform it. Gives an example of a successful student performance. (HB)

Presents a unit of lessons in which intermediate grade students improvise fairy tales and learn dramatic techniques. Offers an overview, an implementation schedule with activities, creative activities for fairy tales, and a fairy tales chart. (SR)

Describes the ways in which one group of Head Start children included narrative features in their naturally occurring dramatic play and engaged in behaviors similar to process writing. Extends information about narrative features by describing play behaviors similar to mapping and revision. Presents findings that are part of a larger…

Discussion of the use of creative dramatics with gifted students considers the value of creative dramatics; components of creative dramatics (structure, open-endedness, a safe environment, and feedback); the actor's elements (voice, body, character or imagination, and group work). Specific exercises to develop the actor's elements are described.…