Drama in the Elementary School.

In introducing drama into the elementary classroom it is wise to start by having children portray that which they have experienced. First attempts should be short and simple with later attempts more complex and of longer duration. The first section of this bulletin offers numerous types of preliminary activities. The remainder of the booklet presents two experiences that are culminative as examples of what can be done with elementary school children and drama. The first experience described is the Medieval Day, an attempt to immerse the child in an environment in which things happen in a spontaneous, though structured, manner. It fills an entire school day in which the children and the teacher assume roles and engage in activities befitting those roles. Preparations for these role-centered activities are the core of the unit as the Day is its culmination. The second experience presented is the production and staging of a play. A description of the actual production of "Wizard of Oz" at one elementary school provides examples. A glossary of stage terms completes the bulletin. (TO)