Creative Drama in Language Arts

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"Although drama may not be a communication form that we, as teachers, find comfortable, our students do" (O'Day, 2001, p. 25).

Here are some specific ways that teachers can use creative drama in the classroom. Please feel free to print and use the information.

Creative Drama Reading Activites

  • Dramatic story reenactments--After a story is read, let the students act it out.
  • Dramatize vocabulary words--Let the students act out the words.
  • Vocabulary charades--Let some act while the other students guess.
  • Vocabulary skits/short stories--Have the students create a skit using the vocabulary words (Sun, 2003).

Ceative Drama Writing Activities

  • Have the students take on the role of a character, then write from that perspective. This can work with fiction and nonfiction. Ex: Become a butterfly, dramatize the role, and then write about it.
  • Create documents for characters in stories such as diaries, passports, etc. This will give practice in writing in different genre (Sun, 2003).

Creative Drama to Promote Tolerance

  • Give students scenarios to improvise drama based on intolerant acts. Ex:
    • You can't sit here. This is our table.
    • My mom says I can't play at your house anymore.
    • Sorry, but we don't hire______(race, gender, etc.).
  • Have the students write a character profile for each role
  • Have the students write a short scene based on conflict.
  • Give the students a scene relating to history and let them create the dialogue (Dupre, 2004).

Creative Drama through Scaffolded Plays

  • Start by giving the students a set of lines with some blank they are to fill in. Ex:
    • Waiter, waiter!
    • You rang?
    • My wife just found a bug in her soup.
    • (students fill in from here for characters)
  • Use known characters from literature, such as Julius Caesar, to start a play .
  • Use characters from an historical event (O'Day, 2001).

"When drama is used as a way for children to understand the essential elements of a story--plot, setting,and character--it also becomes a vehicle for them to understand the essential elements of living" (O'Day, 2001, p. 24, 25).