Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-10-2020 03:28 PM
    Hello all,
    I am hoping to gather some specific items/ideas that you are using to incorporate Dramatic Arts into your classrooms (2J.2).  I look forward to your ideas!
    Thanks,

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    Kim Spankowski
    Education Director
    Grandma's House Day Care Center
    Brookfield WI
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  • 2.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-11-2020 04:04 PM
    Two Dramatic things that my classroom always loved! were:
    1.  Themed Prop Boxes such as Flower Shop with plastic flowers and vases, cash register or cash box, play money (easily made from clips art), apron, small papers for "orders", phone, you get the idea.  Pizza Shop was popular with 4/5 donated pizza boxes in different sizes, phone/money/apron, oven from housekeeping area or made from a box, paper or felt "pizza" made by children/teachers in art area and cut into triangles and squares. Ask those "ordering" to specify round, slice or square pizza. (math)
    We kept the props in a box so they could be easily pulled out. There was a list with each of things that needed to be replaced (i.e. pizza order forms) and things already in the room (oven/stove) to grab.  Each box had some available writing opportunity (order form, prescription pad. etc.) and a book. We had a book about jobs-people-do that worked if we had nothing more specific.
    One student teacher learned the hard way to stick to what they know. Her dad was an optometrist and while the kids loved the little glasses, most had never been to the eye doctor and didn't know what happened there. It was fun, just not in the way she intended. 

    2. Act Out a Story props, similar to Prop Boxes.  The Three Bears - 3 (different sized) bowls, chairs, and beds (blankets folded into different sizes work), either full size or doll size with plastic or stuffed bears. We had a "rocky boat" that turned over into steps which worked well for The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Or you could make one from blocks lined up on the floor. Everyone wanted to be the Troll so we had to repeat it multiple times (great!) so everyone got a turn to be the bad guy. 



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    Vicki Knauerhase M.Ed.
    Child Development Specialist (retired)
    Weston OH
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  • 3.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-12-2020 10:48 AM
    Puppets, prop boxes, and dress up clothes.

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    Mary Porter
    Lead Teacher
    Macfeat Laboratory School
    Rock Hill SC
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  • 4.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-12-2020 12:04 PM
    Hello! in addition to the previous suggestions, I love incorporating loose fabric, an overhead or digital projector to create a "mood", and instrumental music.

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    Vanessa Winn
    Anna Bing Arnold Children's Center
    Alhambra CA
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  • 5.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-13-2020 10:04 AM
    Dramatic Arts? - Isn't that PLAY!... Pretend and transforming self into something else is what kids do naturally all day. Catching children's stories and writing them down, retelling them or acting them out in the style of Vivian Gussin Paley is an amazing dramatic arts expereince for children and teachers.

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    Carol Murray
    Bard Nursery School
    Red Hook NY
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  • 6.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-13-2020 11:42 AM
    We just finished a drama unit in our preschool classroom.  We took the project approach and started with a web of all things theater related - costumes, props, scenery and set, theater jobs, how a show is put together, etc.  We had a book that helped us introduce theater to the children. We started by asking what they already knew about live theater.  Some of the children have family members involved in community theater, so there was some knowledge already.  

    We then spent a month leading them through the process of putting on a play. We started by reading three stories and voting to choose which one we would put on for our families.  Once the book was chosen, we selected roles. For roles that more than one child wanted to play, we didn't do auditions - instead we picked names out of a basket.  This seemed to work well - when their name wasn't selected they chose something else. We also let them create characters to add to the story (The Gingerbread Girl). This is the only reason that a couple of them participated at all.

    We then talked about each aspect, one at a time.  We made a model set, incorporating the children's ideas. We sketched costume ideas. We made costumes and masks. We built a set. We rehearsed several times. We made a "playbill" and invitations to the show.  We did a dress rehearsal for another classroom, and it culminated in a production for family members.  

    The children were completely engaged in the process, and excited to participate in each phase.  We did have lots of other things happening at the same time, so it wasn't forced on them.  They could choose to participate or not.  But they all did, eventually.

    Afterwards, my assistant teacher made an amazing documentation board that showed every step of the process. We have photos for portfolios, and it hit every single developmental domain along the way.

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    Elizabeth Richards
    Owner
    PACE Consulting, LLC
    Westbrook ME
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  • 7.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-15-2020 09:23 PM
    Dress-up clothes - I used to ask families at the start of the year to donate any clothing that their older children outgrew that weren't in condition to be worn by the younger siblings, and I went to rummage sales at the end when you could fill up a big bag for $1 and bought jackets and fancy clothes from about middle school age kids.  When they used parents' stuff, they tripped over them, but middle school age things were big enough to play with and small enough for safety.  Also, try to find sports shirts, suit jackets for males and females, uniforms of any kind.  I've gone into so many rooms where the dress up things were all female.
    Pieces of interesting fabric works well also.
    I'm presuming you have kitchen furniture and accessories, dolls, trucks, cars, large blocks, large cartons, rhythm instruments - all are or can be part of dramatic play.
    The most important ingredient is TIME to play.  Time to pretend, to work out roles and change them and work them out again.  TIME, TIME, TIME free from adult demands and questions.

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    Ellen Cogan, MS Ed - Owner, Chief Consultant - HILLTOP Early Childhood SERVICES
    NYS Early Learning Credentialed Trainer
    NYS Master Cadre, Pyramid Model
    Implementation Planner, Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership
    www.earlychildinfo.com
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  • 8.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-17-2020 05:24 PM
    Yes, yes, yes. Time.
    Time that is not scheduled, not adult controlled, not focused on a limited singular lesson outcome.
    Without open time - real dramatic play doesn't happen.

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    [Julie] [Olsen Edwards]
    Soquel CA
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  • 9.  RE: Dramatic Arts evidence

    Posted 02-17-2020 05:22 PM
    Oh this is such fun! Along with the excellent suggestions above, here's one that is about supporting children to engage in dramatic play directed by the children themselves. We regularly (each week more or less) made sure at least one book we read together was food for dramatic play. At the end of the book we would have a conversation about what happened, how the characters felt, where the story took place, etc. . Then we'd ask questions like: "If you wanted to play this story, who are the characters you would need? What kinds of things would you need for costumes or to use? Do we have those things? Can we make them?" That was usually all the children needed. Inevitably a few children would start gathering objects/costume materials (hats, scarves to become tails or capes or uniforms or?, etc.). And would begin playing. Other children would join in.  We tried to anticipate what key items might be useful (big cardboard boxes to be a bus, pads of paper and pencils, etc.) and would put them out for the children to explore. It wasn't "theater" in the sense of being organized for the purpose of entertaining an audience - but it was wonderful imaginative theatrical play.

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    [Julie] [Olsen Edwards]
    Soquel CA
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