Prior to the 1990s, the term "arts integration" rarely--if ever--appeared in educational literature. The term may be new, but educators have been involving students in arts learning processes for centuries. In particular, teachers have long harnessed the power of drama to engage students in arts-integrated learning activities. Articles…

Research demonstrates young children with autism and other developmental disabilities can benefit from participation in play activities with peers. Play provides opportunities to increase social skills across developmental domains in an integrated manner and provides opportunities to develop a sense of belonging and friendship; these goals…

This socioculturally informed study examines space-time configurations of students' technology-mediated creative learning practices in a Finnish elementary school over a school musical project. This study focuses on the social practices of 21 students who worked with personal laptops, wireless internet access, and a collaborative writing service,…

An article on scripted drama might seem an unlikely choice for an edition devoted to getting students talking. Surely the point about a script is that the words used are chosen and prescribed by others. However, the examples presented here by Helen Snelson, Ruth Lingard and Kate Brennan demonstrate how effectively a well-crafted script can serve…

Presents four brief plays which elementary children can produce: a Peter Rabbit musical and a Halloween story for primary children plus a February radio play and a situation comedy for the intermediate grades. (Editor/SJL)

This article presents guidelines to the elementary teacher for producing a class play. The script for a short adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" is appended on pages 47-49. (SJL)

Provides a guide for helping students perform melodramas via the intercom. The benefits include motivating students to read and heightening student self-esteem. Suggests five elements for a successful performance: a clearly written script, rehearsals, optimal voice levels and microphone distance, an introduction by the principal, and…

Instructors who teach critical communication theory sometimes have difficulty explaining key concepts to students. Discussions of power, ideology, hegemony, and emancipation often bring confused expressions to students upon first exposure to these ideas. This activity provides a simple, grounded approach to examining facets of critical theory in…

The first article discusses three types of pair work activities in language classes: (1) role play, (2) "social interaction," and (3) "information gap." The second article describes semiscripted dialogues and dialogues that indicate the structure and direction of the discourse, but allow the speakers to improvise their language as they proceed.…

Describes a 24-hour commercial radio station simulation class project for eighth-grade language arts. Students wrote their own scripts, chose music and were disc jockeys on their own music and talk shows, and prepared news and traffic reports. Guest speakers from actual commercial radio came in to discuss issues such as advertising, censorship,…

The primary pedagogical principle of Reader's Theatre is that it "dramatizes" literature to provide both a visual and an oral stimulus for students who may be unaccustomed to using their imagination to experience literary works like novels, poems, essays, or short stories. Promoting a suggestive, "theatrical mind" approach to…

Gives an overview of how one English teacher uses students' inherent understanding of film by asking them to write movie scripts. Advocates the use of screenwriting in the classroom. Details numerous reasons for such methods, and describes eight specific suggested class activities employing script writing. (HB)

Describes the use of improvisation in English instruction, focusing on understanding the elements of fiction, writing monologues and playscripts, and collaborating. (RL)

Noting that knowledge of grammar rules does not ensure correct usage in one's own writing, describes an approach used in a summer workshop to promote awareness of appropriate idiom where 35 highly motivated black students produced 'Snow White' using their own script, half in standard dialect and half in black dialect. (JG)

In the communicative approach, English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners use scripted and unscripted language. In practice, scripted language is typically over-utilized at the expense of unscripted language. This study explores the characteristics of scripted and unscripted language in 11 beginner-level EFL students in a Japanese junior high…