Drama and Acting in our Classroom!

Not only will students be learning how to read and comprehend stories this year, but they will also get the opportunity to become part of these stories as actors and actresses! Students will also get to make and play with puppets to act out stories or events. In our classroom, everyone gets an opportunity to be an actor/actress, and a director. Some of the play activities we will be doing will be very formal and structured, but most will be child directed and very informal. We want your children to feel safe taking risks and using their imaginations!

The dramatic arts are included in all four subjects: literacy, mathematics, science, and social studies. In literacy, students are able to act out stories, practice writing out skits, and improve listening and speaking skills while working with a group and performing in front of others. During mathematics, children are able to explore abstract concepts and terms through using their imaginations during play. In science, students are able to better understand how the physical world works and how systems and processes work. Finally, during social studies, drama and acting helps build children’s appreciation for other’s ways and points of view. Students will get to act out both past and present events and actually experience some of the same feelings as people present at that event.

As part of our everyday centers, we will be doing thematic units. For each unit, a prop box will be created to help stimulate children’s creativity and allow them to work with others and pretend to be something new and exciting!

We have found in prior years that with a properly structured environment, students love these activities. We spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year setting up a classroom community conducive to taking risks and working together to solve problems. Below, I have listed just a few of the important things your child will be learning through the dramatic arts this year (and he/she won’t even know it!)

• Higher-order thinking, problem solving, concentration, and reflection
• Improving 4 of their intelligences:
o Bodily/kinesthetic (movement)
o Verbal/linguistic (speaking)
o Interpersonal (being able to work with others effectively)
o Intrapersonal (knowing yourself)
• Team-work and cooperation, as well as problem solving skills
• Imagining the situations and problems of others
• Improved skills in reading, listening, speaking, writing, comprehension, and acting
• Thinking analytically, and acting decisively and responsibly
• The ability to concentrate, follow directions, cooperate, and negotiate
• Showing their knowledge in many unique, diverse ways!

"Of all of the arts, drama invovles the participant most fully: intellectually, emotionally, physically, verbally, and socially. As players, children assume the roles of others, where they learn and become sensitive to the problems and values of persons different from themselves. As spectators, children become involved vicariously in the adventures of the characters on stage."
-Nellie McCaslin, 2006