This arts-based research invites the reader to consider the complex learning that emerged when a group of pre-service teachers collectively developed a play about anti-bullying as part of a teaching practicum. To capture the learning that emerged during the collective writing and rehearsing, the author engages in an artistic process by writing the…

Teachers who want to involve their pupils in classroom drama need to be aware of the necessary conditions for dramatic engagement. In this article we seek to identify four conditions for the preparation of successful drama, and support our argument with reference to Shakespearean drama. The conditions are identified as: agreement by the…

In this article, the author describes a social studies class activity that uses primary sources to develop a soap opera based on the American Civil War. In the soap opera activity, students can watch historical characters as they grow, develop, and change. Not only do people in the soap opera develop over a long period, but their accumulated…

As an Old Testament professor, I struggled with how to teach the Book of Proverbs and the genre of Wisdom Literature in general to my seminary students. As I read and re-read Proverbs, however, I saw it contained many character stereotypes. It is a very contemporary book, for it shows the qualities that contribute to success or failure in life…

The use of drama to teach social skills to public middle school students labeled at-risk is powerfully effective. Drama is a universal form of human expression found in cultures all over the world and throughout history. For students at-risk of poor educational outcomes, drama is effective for teaching social, emotional, and physical development.…

During spring, 2005 The University of Montana, Department of Drama/Dance successfully piloted a small ArtsBridge Program through a new service-learning course for advanced dance and drama students. This article describes the process of setting up the university-public school partnership; describes challenges to faculty, staff, scholars and host…

This paper arises from research into inclusive literacy for pupils with severe learning difficulties who do not learn to read and write conventionally. The ultimate aim of the study was to seek out examples of good practice in teaching and learning literacy that includes students with severe learning difficulties and disseminate them as widely as…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of resilience among Australian adolescents, the extent to which resilience might be strengthened through participation in a dance/drama competition, the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge (REC), and the impact participation may have on health related behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: …

Objective: To document young people's and teachers' responses to "Icebreaker", a Theatre in Education (TIE) performance exploring themes of sexual health and relationships, in relation to "Healthy Arts"' objectives. Design: Data reported here were part of a wider evaluation of a government funded scheme. Setting: Data was…

In this article, we make the case that HIV/AIDS clubs in Ugandan schools provide valuable information to students who may not have easy access to health services. As one club motto suggests, the clubs "talk what others think you can't talk". The innovative peer education methods, which include drama, popular culture and community…

Rich with case material and artwork samples, this volume demonstrates a range of creative approaches for facilitating children's emotional reparation and recovery from trauma. Contributors include experienced practitioners of play, art, music, movement and drama therapies, bibliotherapy, and integrative therapies, who describe step-by-step…

Investigating the nature and value of dance drama as an expressive idiom for elementary school children, this paper discusses foundational concerns about the nature of dance drama, aesthetic content, learnings in dance drama, and the organization of these learnings. Noting that the ideas of dance drama presented have largely emerged from a content…

This book provides easy-to-follow procedures for producing a play in an elementary school classroom. The book discusses choosing a play, casting, coaching, costumes, sets, and props. The process described in the book begins with simple creative dramatics that can be done easily in class, and then moves on to small group activities that continue to…

This special commemorative theme issue features a Philadelphia Folklore Project that sought to encourage a wider discussion about art and the politics of culture; to document and explore the history of a significant folk art form--in this case, tap dancing--from the perspective of the generation of African American women and men who "came…

Gail Carr, a classroom teacher, and Rosalind Flynn, a drama specialist, have found that drama learning strategies can be applicable to many curriculum areas, especially literature. The teacher must take part, according to Carr and Flynn, by maintaining the drama in motion by questioning, challenging, organizing the group's thought, focusing on the…