Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/using-beginnings-workshop-to-train-teachers-of-preschoolers-and-school-agers/5013543/
Drama: A Rehearsal for Life! by Julia Gabriel,Starting With a Story by Ruth Stotter,
and Helping Teachers Become Comfortable
with Creative Dramatics by Naomi Leithold
Reflection: Ask teachers to reflect on their early childhood creative drama memories. Do they remember feeling like the little girl described by Leithold? Do they recall a teacher who incorporated creative drama in their classroom?
Getting Started: Break the ice with a rousing round of "If You're Happy and You Know It" as described by Leithold (p. 59). Ask teachers to identify feelings from their daily experiences in the classroom to include in the song (like joy, confusion, excitement, fatigue, etc.) Or use Stotter's Mood Game (p. 55) as an opening activity, perhaps sending the director out first!
Exploring Ideas: Divide teachers into pairs. Brainstorm possible roles that each teacher might incorporate into his or her teaching repertoire. The role could be a character (like He Who Must Be Obeyed or Old Mother Hubbard), an animal, insect, or creature (like a firefly, tiger, or dinosaur), or even a personality (like Mr. Green Jeans or Mother Goose). Have some fun with this step! Take the time to describe and expand the role, the name of the character, and the personality it ...