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LEARNING PAPER NO. 1

GROUP PRESENTATION (DRAMA)

I. Objectives:
The targets of the future educators in analyzing the pedagogical approach of
theatre acting/drama in incorporating to an everyday learning and knowledge
acquisitions are to showcase the capability of a learner to join and to
participate in positing a creative learning environment. Also, in discussing
various topics under drama will help in stimulating knowledge in order to foster
a holistic development among learners. Some of the skills that can be honed in
the process of theatre based learning are the use of movement, pantomime,
improvisation, story dramatization and group discussion; children may also
acquire language and communication skills, social awareness, problem-solving
abilities, self-concept enhancement, and understanding the whole concept of
theatre.
Furthermore, rather than attempting to create a professional child actors, the
goal of theatre acting/drama is to guide a child to self-fulfillment through the
process of theatre techniques. In this introductory course, teachers will learn to
create and implement drama exercises in their own classrooms and foster an
environment where youngsters can feel comfortable to work creatively and
think critically. Students will apply their ideas as well as formulate their own
ideas into creative expression. Also, students will learn to contribute to their
own students' development as thinking, feeling, and creative human beings.

II. Preliminary Activity: Acting mo to!

Mechanics:
The game is similar to charades; the only difference is that each representative
will act out a scene (may sing, dance, state a famous line) in a particular
movie/show. The point of the game is to act as many scenes as they can within
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the given time. (e.g. title of movies: frozen, little mermaid, titanic, wonder pets,
sponge bob etc)

III. Content
A. Creative Dramatics
What Is Creative Drama?
Creative drama is an improvisational, non-exhibitional, process-oriented form of
drama, where participants are guided by a leader to imagine, enact, and
reflect on experiences real and imagined. Creative drama takes children’s
natural world, creative play, and develops it further, using theatre techniques,
to create learning experiences which are for the participants. Drama specialist,
Brian Way states in Development Through Drama,“Theatre is largely concerned
with communication between actors and an audience; Drama is largely
concerned with experience by the participants.”

REASONS FOR USING CREATIVE DRAMA IN EDUCATION

 Social Skills
 Individual Growth and Development

Why should educators use Creative Dramatics?

Because Creative Dramatics
 Affirms that all people can play, that all people can succeed at it, and
that all people are creative; has no right or wrong answers.
 Develops people, is not a product; has experience and not performance
as the goal.
 Promotes physical, mental, and emotional learning.
 Supports concentration, imagination, problem solving, and critical
thinking.
 Fosters empathy, cooperation and compromise.
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 Cultivates self-control, initiative and self-esteem.

 Helps children absorb, process and retain concepts.
 Develops communication and language skills, breath awareness and
voice control.
 Enhances physical control and awareness, develops gross and fine motor
skills.
 Encourages theatre and art appreciation, provides accessibility; debunks
the myth that only actors can use drama.
 Requires only space, leadership, imagination, and participation; is
inexpensive and uncomplicated.
 Invigorates any subject, but can also be a subject unto itself.

PROGRAMMING COMPONENTS:
Some building blocks of Drama:
 Action Movement  Character Development/Role
 Sensory Exploration Playing
 Emotional Awareness  Interaction/Cooperation/
 Stories/Storytelling Negotiation
 Dramatic Play/Improvisation  Masks/Puppets

Springboard Subjects for Creative Drama

 Museum Exhibits  Feelings and Emotions
 Books or Poems  Dance,Rythm and Movement
 Songs or Music

The Actor's Toolbox

 Body  Concentration
 Voice  Cooperation
 Imagination
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Programming Checklist
Is the program
 Flexible  Fun  Prepared
 Physical  Practical

Does the program encourage the "I"s?

 Imagination
 Innovation
 Improvisation
Does the program encourage the "C"s?
 Communication
 Cooperation
 Creative

IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVE DRAMA in the CLASSROOM

Creative drama activities offer an opportunity for children to:
• Expand self-awareness • Improve communication skills
• Develop imagination • Express a healthy release of
• Think independently emotions
• Work cooperatively • Build social awareness

In essence, creative drama is dramatic activities which have the experience of

the participants as the goal. Creative drama can include dramatic play, story
enactment, imagination journeys, theatre/drama games, music, and dance.
“Let’s pretend” is the norm in creative drama class; it’s not just a child’s game.
Because the emphasis in creative drama is process rather than product,
teachers should have the freedom to take as much time as needed with their
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classes. When a student in a creative drama class prefers to watch instead of

participate, because of shyness or fear, a teacher should be able to allow this
also. The teacher can also become a participant at any stage and let the
children lead the activities rather than being guided through them. Creative
drama can help children learn about emotions, problem solving, and relating
to other people. Through their experiences with drama, students develop their
imaginations and their confidence. One of the most special things about
creative drama is that there are no “wrong” answers – through pretending,
animals can talk, kids can travel to outer space or the jungle, and the sky can
be green while the grass is blue.

Dramatic play is so important in all stages of child development. Through

creative dramatic activities:

• Children learn about themselves and the world. Dramatic play experiences
are some of the first ways children learn about their likes and dislikes, their
interests, and their abilities. They experiment with role playing and work to make
sense out of what they’re observing in real life.

• Children work out confusing, scary, or new life issues. Have you ever witnessed
children pretending to visit the doctor? One child dutifully holds the mock
stethoscope as the others line up for a check-up. Through these role plays,
children become more comfortable and prepared for life events in a safe way.
Children often use pretend play to work out more personal challenging life
events too, whether it is coping with an illness in the family, or the absence of a
parent or divorce.

• Children develop important complex social and higher order thinking skills.
Dramatic play is much more than simple play activities; it requires advanced
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thinking strategies, communication, and social skills. Through dramatic play,

children learn to do things like negotiate, consider others’ perspectives, transfer
knowledge from one situation to another, delay gratification, balance their
own ideas with others, develop a plan and act on it, express and listen to
thoughts and ideas, assign tasks and roles, and create different information and
ideas. In this creative play description, we could just as easily be describing the
skills needed to successfully manage a work project for an adult as describing
children’s dramatic play.

• Children cultivate social and emotional intelligence. How we interact with

others is key to our lifelong success and happiness. Knowing how to read social
cues, recognize and regulate emotions, negotiate and take turns, and engage
in a long-term activity that is mutually beneficial are no easy tasks. There is no
substitute for creative and imaginative play when it comes to teaching and
enhancing these abilities in children.

• Children create knowledge and skills. Because learning and child

development doesn’t happen in discrete pockets of time or during isolated
activities, children need opportunities to blend their skills and knowledge
together. Dramatic play is an ideal way to do this. Think of children acting out a
‘supermarket’ scenario. They take on roles such as shopkeeper, shop assistant
and customers working collaboratively they are interacting and engaging with
one another, using their imaginations to help make sense of the world around
them.

B. Multisensory Learning
Multisensory learning isn’t limited to reading and listening. Instead, it tries to use
most of learner’s senses. Not every lesson will use all the senses, but in most
multisensory lessons, kids engage with the material in more than one way at a
time.
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These are the common senses employed in multisensory learning:

 Auditory – through the sense of hearing
 Visual – through the sense of sight
 Tactile – through the sense of touch
 Kinesthetic – through body movement

The Auditory Modality

Children who are strongly auditory process information best through listening.
Students remember and understand new concepts better when they are
explained out loud or even if they’re doing the speaking themselves. For
younger students, they can better retain knowledge when new ideas are
paired with nonverbal sounds such as music, drum beats or clapping.

The Visual Modality

These children process information best through visual representation of new

concepts in an organized way. Students benefit from charts or graphs that
organize content in ways that make sense of the whole. For younger students,
they benefit best from illustrating what they are learning.

The Tactile Modality

Children who learn tactilely must have the opportunity to use their hands to
learn. Students make meaning by moving things around and manipulating
objects that represent the concepts they are learning. For younger students,
tactile teaching techniques are more likely to engage fine motor skills. This
includes the use of modeling materials, textures, letter tiles, etc.

The Kinesthetic Modality

Kinesthetic learners learn through motion and doing, using both fine and gross
motor skills. For younger students, body motions that imitate the shape of
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alphabet letters are very helpful learning to relate the name of letters with their
symbols and sounds.

C. Creative Drama for Children

Creative drama is a type of theater used for educational purposes that
helps children work on social skills and academic subjects using theater games
and improvisations while being led by a trained instructor. It also provides a safe
environment for students to explore behavior, ideas, creativity, and school
subjects. Ultimately, creative drama is an out-of-the-box approach to learning
that engages imagination, concentration, and sensory awareness in a theater
environment.

Creative Drama Techniques

Creative drama incorporates the following techniques:

● Pantomime: Pantomime is the expression of non-verbal communication,

showing how much we can say without speaking and how much we
communicate with gestures. Examples: Follow the leader game.

● Improvisation: Improvisations are scenes that are planned in advance, but

the action and dialogue are performed spontaneously in the moment.
Example: One word at a time

● Role-Playing: The children act out a life problem and play different roles in
the scenario.

● Sense Memory Improvisation: These exercises emphasize the five senses -

sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste - and also work on sound and visual
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perception. We experience life through our senses, and seeing and hearing are
essential tools for reading and reading comprehension.

● Emotions: Children learn to express and understand their emotions with

these exercises. They have a safe place to explore their own feelings and the
feelings of others through role-playing.

● Characterization: These improvisations teach the similarities and

differences of people, such as physicality, culture, age, religion, and ethnicity.
Kids can learn about real people and characters in literature, and they
experience how to think, feel, move, and behave like the person they are
portraying

● Dialogue: Children use dialogue to express their thoughts, ideas, and

feelings. They can discuss and organize the dialogue in the scenes they act out,
and then, after the scenes are performed, they express their responses to the
scenes.

● Story Dramatization: The children act out stories they write, enjoy, or have
heard previously. They can also create stories to dramatize in small groups.

D. Stages of Drama Development

Dramatic play is most typical of three, four, and five-year-old children. In this
type of play, children represent their growing understanding of the world
through their body language, spontaneous oral language, and vivid
imagination.
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Characteristics of Dramatic and Socio-dramatic Play

Play Behaviour Characteristic Example

Dramatic play includes:
Imitative role play Child assumes make- Child walks with arms
believe role with imitative outstretched, pretending
actions or verbalizations to mow the lawn.
Make-believe Child substitutes actions, Child picks up a short
with objects words, or materials that stick and pretends to dial
are not the real objects. a telephone and begins
to talk to father.
Verbal make-believe Child provides verbal Child holds a small block
with actions and descriptions for actions and makes car sounds.
situations. and situations. Child narrates the action
as the ‘car’ rolls along
the floor.
Socio-dramatic play
adds:
Interaction At least two players Child describes the
interact in the play ‘family’ story that s/ he
episode. will play with a play
partner.
Verbal communication Verbal interaction occurs As the family story
in play. unfolds, the play partners
suggest new actions and
events to insert into the
story.
(adapted from Isenberg & Jalongo, 1997, p. 57).
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According to Ages and Stages: Imagine and Pretend by Susan A. Miller Ed.D.,
Ellen Booth Church, and Carla Poole

At a Glance 0- 2

 Infants will remember much of what they see, hear, and feel - memories
they'll reenact in their later pretend play.
 In their second year, children begin to engage in symbolic play. A doll will
represent a baby, and blocks will become a garage or a house.
 More imaginative fantasy gradually emerges in the pretend play of twos.
 Two-year-olds sometimes lose sight of the line between fantasy and reality
- even in their own pretending.

At a Glance 3- 4

 Threes' play is often related to their real-life experiences- and usually

includes props and lots of language.
 In the early stages of peer play, one child often assigns roles to the others -
who may find creative ways to make up their own.
 Imaginary friends often appear around the age of three - and can play a
big role in a child's day-to-day life.
 The pretend play of 4 - year - olds becomes more realistic and detail-
oriented.

At a Glance 5- 6

 Kindergartners have a strong grasp of the difference between real and

pretend -- which makes engaging in fantasies all the more enjoyable.
 Five- and 6-year-olds' increased attention spans and awareness of detail
enable them to stick with and extend play themes for long periods of
time.
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 Pretending is social for kindergartners, and interacting together is half the

fun.

E. Benefits of Creative Drama

● Prepares Children to deal with life's problem
Drama provides children the opportunity to practice roles, characters and
different real life situations helping them to explore some of the individual and
personal ideas they are naturally experiencing. By doing this, it allows the
children toto make sense of the real life problems that they may experience
and help them to learn about themselves and the importance on how to deal
or cope with it.

● Builds Confidence
Acting helps children to realise their potential. It allows a great sense of
accomplishment if they achieved something through crafting a production
over time. It also provides an oppopportunity for self-expression and allows a
child to to find out more about themselves. Most importantly, drama or acting
can break a fear of public speaking. Through practicing speaking aloud in front
of other people can help to develop skills for delivering talks, presentations and
speeches later in life.

● Develops speech, communication and presentation skills

Through the help of new songs and lines for a show, writing and presenting
monologues and scripts and participating in scenes and shows contribute to
the child's vocabulary. The children are encouraged to communicate both
verbal and non-verbal using different voices and tones as well as the use of
facial expression and body language which is essential in making them better
and effective communicators in life.
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● Encourages and develops creativity

Creative drama stimulates creativity and self-expression. It encourages the
children to get outside of their own selves and to try something new. It gives
them the opportunity to express a wide range of emotions, thought and ideas
that may not be part of everyday life.

● Helps concentration
Through playing, practicing and performing it will help the child to develop
the ability and skills for them to be able to focus their mind, body and voice.
When a child is concentrating and focused their overall understating increases.

● Encourages teamwork and cooperation

Combining the creative ideas and the abilities of all participants is required
for best outcome. They are taught to respect, support and encourage each
other.

● Develops emotional and intelligence and empathy

Acting and drama allows the children to express a range of emotions and
encourage them to understand their own emotions and develop empathy with
others. Through drama they will be able to explore conflict and challenges in
their characters and they will learn how to express themselves through
dialogue, presentations and debate.

F. Types of Drama for Children

• Comedy – Comedies are lighter in tone than ordinary writers, and provide
a happy conclusion. The objective of dramatists in comedies is to make their
audience laugh. Hence, they use quaint circumstances, unusual characters
and witty remarks.

Example: Despicable Me and Ice Age movies.

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• Musical Drama – In musical drama, the dramatists not only tell their story
through acting and dialogue, nonetheless by dance as well as music.
Generally the story may be comedic, though it may also involve serious
subjects.

Example: Glee and High School Musical

• Farce – Generally, a farce is a preposterous genre of drama, which often

overacts or engages clowning humor.

Example: Teen Titans Go

• Melodrama – Melodrama is an extravagant drama, which is sensational and

appeals straight to the senses of audience. Just like the charade, the
characters are of single dimension and simple, or may be stereotyped.

Example: Dudley do right

G. Planning for Drama Activities

Good drama lesson plan include structured goals, objectives, activities and
assessment of progress. In creating a lesson make sure that you organize and
plan well the materials needed. By doing this, you can save more time.

● Set goals for the drama class, lesson or unit

Choose the right goals for your lesson. This are the general statements based
on the curriculum, student and community needs.

● Write Clear Objectives for Drama Lessons

Create proper objectives for your lesson. Objectives are measurable, specific
and observable. It is exactly what you want your students to know and be able
to do.

● Choose Appropriate Activities for Drama Class

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In making appropriate activities for your lesson, it should be written in detail.

It should be in a step-by-step procedure and in a numbered list. The activities
should be related to your objectives. By carefully planning, you can ensure the
success of your lesson.

● Select and Organize all Materials before Drama Class Begins

List all the necessary materials that you will need for your lesson. The
materials should be gathered and organized in advance so that they are easy
to use during the drama lesson.
● Develop an Assessment that Matches the Goals, Objectives, and Activities
of the Drama Class

Match the assessment to your objectives. Assessment can be opportunities

for feedback for student's growth and improvements.

H. Theater for Children

Theatre for children or Children’s theatre is a piece of performance that

involves children as actors and/or as audience. It is specifically created and
performed for children audience either by children actors or professional adult
actors or a combination of both (Rosenberg and Predergast, 1983). The focus is
to direct the people in to creating a theatre for children that will allow them to
learn and develop holistically while enjoying the process of knowledge
acquisition. Some factors may be included in discussing theatre for children
such as:

 Aesthetics - branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and

appreciation of art, beauty and good taste
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 Arts Council England’s policies - Arts Council England is a government-

funded body dedicated to promoting the performing, visual and literary
arts in England. Since 1994, Arts Council England has been responsible for
distributing lottery funding. This investment has helped to transform the
building stock of arts organizations and to create lots of additional high
quality arts activity.

 Melodramatic acting style - The melodrama acting style requires the use
of strong facial expressions, large movements and gestures, and a clear
and well-projected delivery of lines

 Morality - speaks of a system of behavior in regards to standards of right

or wrong behavior.
 Theatre with children - children and adult are actors, working
collaboratively to create a stimulating piece of performance (Goldberg,
1974)

 Theatre by children - children are the actors even though the devising
and directing process might be done by adults (Goldberg, 1974)

IV. Post Activity: ROLE PLAY

Mechanics:
Students are given a situation then they are going to do the roleplaying in a
creative way.

V. References:
Child 1st Publications. (2018). What is Multisensory Learning & Why is it so
Effective?. Retrieved from: https://child1st.com/blogs/resources/what-is-
multisensory-learning-why-is-it-so-effective
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Confidence Community Creativity. Experience the Power of Drama. Benefits of

Drama. Retrieved from: https://www.bytdrama.com/

Eluyefa, D. (2017). Children’s Theatre: A brief pedagogical approach. Retrieved

from
https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/scmsAdmin/media/users/cl1097/D_Eluyefa_
-_Childrens_Theatre.pdf

Frere, J. (2018). 15 Funny Kids Movies That'll Keep All Ages Laughing Retrieved
from: https://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/g22620731/best-funny-kids-
movies/

Gardner, L. (2013). Why children’s theatre matters. The Guardian.

Goldberg, M. (1974). Children’s theatre: A philosophy and a method.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Isenberg, J. & Jalongo, M. (1997). Creative expressions and play in early

childhood. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Morin, A. (n.d). Multisensory Instruction: What You Need to Know. Retrieved

from: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-
school/instructional-strategies/multisensory-instruction-what-you-need-to-know

Matz R. (n.d.). Creative Drama. Retrieved from:

https://study.com/academy/lesson/creative-drama-definition-example.html
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Miller Ed.D, S., Church, E. and Poole, C. (2019). Ages & Stages: Imagine &
Pretend | Scholastic. [online] Scholastic.com. Available at:
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/ages-stages-
imagine-
pretend/?fbclid=IwAR0zDOJcFbrUdQvvejZXhr21clb2MAEE0uesy2cZE_NYHEBH7J
S_6kDm28U [Accessed 28 Sep. 2019].

Romans, J. (2019). How to Teach Drama: Lesson Plans, Drama Games,

Improvisation and Monologues for the Classroom. Retrieved from:
https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-to-Teach-Drama

Specadel Technologies Private Limited (n.d). Drama. Retrieved from:

https://english.edurite.com/literary-response/drama.html?view=simple

The Gaiety School of Acting (2017) Retrieved from:

https://gaietyschoolofacting.wordpress.com/2017/08/03/the-importance-of-
creative-dramatic-activitiesgames-in-the-classroom/

Tubal, M. (2001) LinkedIn SlideShare Retrieved from:

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/michaeltubal/creative-dramatics

What is Creative Drama? Youth Stages LLC (2001) Retrieved from:

http://www.youthstages.com/CreativeDrama/WhatIsCDrama.asp