Classifies the major kinds of learning apparently inherent for children participating in creative drama and attempts to define the kinds of learning a teacher can help promote. Available from: Children's Theatre Review, Children's Theatre Association of America, American Theatre Association, 1029 Vermont Avenue, Suite 402, Washington, D.C. 20005.…

Poems, activities and your kids' own ideas can produce a play that is truly their own. (Editor)

Offers a defense of the school play as a vastly underrated educational tool. Available from: Speech and Drama, Elizabeth Gradwell, Distribution Manager, The White Cottage, Allington, Chippenham, Wilts. (MH)

Summarizes interviews with five students concerning an elective creative drama course and their subsequent experiences as drama leaders. Suggests that it is necessary to study classroom teachers in order to devise effective ways of persuading them to include more drama in the elementary curriculum. (MS)

Four articles present practical classroom ideas related to language instruction, including (1) a children's circus production; (2) a language-learning game using the French Revolution as its theme; (3) a play using the French Revolution as its theme; and (4) definitions of terminology used in language teaching. (MSE)

An approach to staging examinations that uses dramaturgical techniques to achieve fairness and prevent cheating has also been found to communicate important messages about the values of individualism and universalism and emphasize reward on the basis of equal competition. (MSE)

Reviews literature on creative drama for older adults which revealed reported increases in certain behaviors and attitudes of participants, including self-confidence, cooperation, communication skills, self-expression, relaxation, and sense of accomplishment. Recommends additional research comparing creative drama to other activities for older…

Enhances the grammatical and formal features of drama through the application of Kenneth Burke's "principle of perfection" and nine "indexes of dramatic intensity" to study the tragic-symbol preaching of Rev. Jerry Falwell. Finds that Falwell's televised discourses represent remarkably "perfected" and strong dramas.…

Describes an effective technique the author uses in college productions to combat staleness in rehearsals and to help actors make new discoveries about their roles. (PD)

Presents results of a study indicating that constructive and dramatic play contexts affected language to the extent that children use more exophora in the constructive context and more linguistic verbs, third-person pronouns, and displaced reference tenses in the dramatic context. (HTH)

In answer to points raised by Dansky (1985) about specific inferences from Simon and Smith's study (1985) and broader issues about a single-session paradigm used in play and problem solving studies, Simon and Smith argue that their study adequately demonstrated how methodological factors in paradigm can swamp the effects of any treatment…

Describes Holy Names College's Children's Theatre program for children in underprivileged areas. The program consists of a "What-to-Look-for-in-a-Play" demonstration, the production itself, and creative dramatics sessions arising from the demonstration and production. (DMM)

Describes an integrated approach to teaching broad-based theatre skills, including script analysis, research, design, directing, and acting. (PD)

Looks at the work of the Hoxton Hall Community Theatre and Education Project in the East End of London. (Editor)

This book is a guide for teachers that offers an approach to teaching based upon techniques and strategies for the stage. Performance theory is adapted for the non-actor. Using performance theory, an educator is shown how to transform ordinary classroom experiences into occasions that attract and engage the students. Case studies are used to…