A Little Drama: Playful Activities for Young Children

by Lavinia Roberts

Overview

With more than 50 inquiry-based and child-centered activities and exercises, A Little Drama will help teachers (including those with no theater experience of their own) develop the body, voice, mind, and heart of young children. Use these activities to help children navigate daily transitions, to calm children when it’s time to quiet, and to develop children’s creativity, sense of self, and social-emotional, physical, and literacy skills (and have a lot of fun along the way).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605545868
Publisher:	Redleaf Press
Publication date:	07/03/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Lavinia Roberts is a playwright and theater teacher based in Brooklyn, NY. She has over thirty plays for young people published, and her work has been seen in Philadelphia, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, London, Bath, and Athens, among other cities. Her play "Counting Skunks" won the Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Award at the Castillo Theatre in New York City. She has a master’s in educational theater for colleges and communities from New York University and a bachelor's in fine art from the University of Kansas.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Pedagogy and Class Management Ch. 1: Introduction and Pedagogy Ch. 2 Focus Activities Part 2: Building a Drama Class Ch. 3: Breathing Exercises and Techniques Ch. 4: Body Warm Ups Ch. 5: Vocal Warm Ups Ch. 6: Imaginative Play Ch. 7: Creative Movement Ch. 8: Reflection Tools and Closing Rituals Part 3: Incorporating Music, Art, and Literature into the Drama Classroom Ch. 9: Incorporating Music Ch. 10: Incorporating Visual Art Ch. 11: Literature and the Storybook Drama Part 4: Bringing it All Together Ch. 12: Devising Plays with Pre-K Appendix Sample Lesson Plans Blank Lesson Plan Template Glossary of Terms Resources/Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Filled with easy-to-implement ideas for incorporating drama into early childhood classrooms . . . This book is an excellent resource for both beginning and experienced early childhood educators.” — Booklist

“A substantial and comprehensive addition to the field of theatre pedagogy in the early childhood classroom. Easy-to-use and full of multidisciplinary activities, A Little Drama serves as a valuable reminder that young children learn in different ways, and that play and drama can help to diversify teaching and to meet students’ varied learning needs.” —Alexander Santiago-Jirau, director of education, New York Theatre Workshop and instructor, Educational Theatre at New York University–Steinhardt

“A Little Drama is the most comprehensive and thorough book on how to use dramatic activities with young children, that I have ever come across. It is a must-have tool for educators, administrators, parents, or anyone that works with the very young.” —James Miles, executive director, Arts Corps & veteran Teaching Artist

“Lavinia Roberts provides a wealth of well-organized drama activities, especially for busy educators who have not facilitated drama with young children. Teachers may easily choose and integrate any number of brief exercises, including simple yoga poses, that inspire child-centered learning and promote social, emotional, physical, and metacognitive development in their daily plans.” —Jeanne Klein, associate professor emerita, University of Kansas

From the Publisher