by Elizabeth Bridgette

Created on: February 26, 2008

Integrating arts into the classroom has become increasingly important as budgets continue to get cut in many areas, leaving teachers without specialized classes, and forcing them to build them into their curriculum. I have been pleasantly surprised in my tenure as an Arts Integration Specialist, how incredible creative many teachers have become. And while "Drama" can be seen as a class by itself, it can also be applied to many different subjects as another way to help children of all ages understand their subject.

Preschool teachers typically utilize "centers" to introduce simple concepts of science, social studies, math, reading, and arts. My four year old's teacher has a special center where it becomes a new profession each week - from vet clinic, to hospital, to puppet theater etc. This enables the child to dress up as the professional and do their activities in that environment. My hat's off to her, and that center has fast become my daughter's favorite. One the week they dressed as doctors, while they learned about germs in the science center, counted germs in the math center, and drew and "created them" in the arts center. A terrific example of utilizing drama initially through make believe and following it through each center.

It is important that the concept of "drama" (which is process-centered) is introduced early. "Theater" (which is performance-centered) can be introduced over time. A field trip to see a show put on for children by a local professional group is a good way for them to understand how their drama activities are put to work to create a living story for the theater. To give some examples of what I mean by Drama versus the Theater, according to the State of Illinois Drama Resource Manual for Curriculum Planning, in traditional Drama activities for young children, the following is the focus: Dialog and action are improvised versus being scripted and memorized for Theater. In Drama activities, it occurs as a classroom Process focused on social, intellectual, emotional, creative and aesthetic growth versus in Theater the focus is the rehearsal process then performance for an audience where the show is the primary event. In other words, classroom work at this age is learning by playing instead of it being about the actual Play.

Drama activities in the classroom are used to inspire creative thinking in order to help them hone skills they will need in life: cooperation skills to work together and problem solve, concentration skills to be able

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>