Discusses how identifying Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) characteristics in her own behavior helped one drama teacher to better understand and deal with ADD students. (NH)

Argues that linking ethics to rituals in drama lessons can promote reflection on individual responses to moral dilemmas. Describes how a group of drama teachers and theater students worked with 24 children (9 and 10 years old) from a public primary school in a process-drama in which the children worked in-role to solve a dilemma. (SR)

Suggests that improvisation is an excellent catalyst for getting a scene jump-started or back on track. Presents two specific examples of how the author used improv in his own scene study classes. Notes the fundamental task teachers must master prior to improv work is how to isolate the essential dynamics of the scene. (RS)

Explores the implications of recent developments in social theory for the understanding of childhood. Draws upon children's experience in drama education to examine how schools can provide opportunities for children to become active agents in constructing their own identities. Places particular attention on the production of new ethnic identities.…

Describes how to use drama to help students live through and see what they are reading, thus enjoying reading more. The workshop offers strategies for reading and writing dramatic texts. A reading and writing workshop poster on a Midsummer Night's Dream is included. A reproducible sheet allows students to use their imaginations to create dramatic…

Steven Z. Athanases, a high school English teacher, describes a unit of studying poems through performance where students spend their time looking deeply into a single, chosen poem. The processes of reflection and preparation often result in increased understanding of the poem's meaning.

An experience on teaching a drama class and staging performances with available resources is described. Some of the more challenging circumstances are highlighted and it is demonstrated that a sense of humor and community support is needed for the show to go on.

A unique production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was staged in early 2004 by students of the Marshall Islands High School, Majuro, in the Central Pacific. The play's director, Andrew Garrod, describes the rehearsal process and performance of the play, in which the school students were supported by undergraduates from the…

This article aims to help teachers looking for an exciting major unit designed to help their students meet educational standards in these areas: (1) library research skills, (2) preparing and writing a standard, (3) research paper, in this case on a significant figure in world history, (4) writing a creative story, including adaptation of…

Part 2 of this five part project asks students of the Tasmanian region of Australia to explore the history of Port Arthur, a 19th century penal colony located in Tasmania. The project is based on three ideas: (1) studying history can be educational and enjoyable; (2) imagination is an essential part of studying history; and (3) history is most of…

Comprehensive instructions for selecting, staging, directing, and evaluating a program of readers theatre is provided for teachers of the elementary school grades. A step-by-step guide using a wide variety of detailed examples is presented in the first section of the booklet. Various chapters in this section discuss (1) readers theatre's unique…

Asserts that the use of creative drama in early childhood education enhances artistic sensitivity, develops self-awareness, and integrates mental and physical activity. Maintains that creative drama is a learning continuum that extends from the beginnings of creative spontaneous play to the production of theater artists. (CFR)

Through the use of some purposeful anachronisms, Tom Stoppard uses his 1993 play "Arcadia" to explore the effects on man's psyche of the transition from Newton's Laws to the laws of thermodynamics and from thermodynamics to chaos theory. However, remarkably similar reactions to these changes are also reflected in works from the actual time periods…

This book describes a course in drama, art, and story writing for children in grades four through eight. Twenty lesson plans guide students from creating scenes in drama to writing and illustrating their own stories. The plans include simple and practical improvisations for the classroom, as well as suggestions for plays and exhibits of the…

Presents a sample lesson (on the Middle Ages) using movement, verbalization, and role playing to introduce students to drama and creative expression. Provides teachers with an in-depth look at a creative process through which they can stimulate learning across the curriculum. (ARH)