Dramatic+Play+&+Early+Literacy+Development+(Jennifer)


 * Purpose:** This Wiki page is intended to share insights from the literacy research I recently conducted.

-The impact Dramatic Play instruction can have for the development of literacy abilities, particularly in early childhood education.
 * 1) __BACKGROUND ABOUT MY TOPIC__**
 * Topic:**

-Using Dramatic Play to encourage struggling students to find meaning in the literacy learning experience.
 * Key Concepts Explored:**
 * -**Dramatic Play used as a student-centered or social means of learning.
 * -**Dramatic Play as an instructional method for teaching writing.

-I first became interested in this topic through my past teaching experiences. Then, I was only familiar with Readers' Theaters. This activity has students act-out stories with the use of a script. I discovered all of my students found great enjoyment in this activity, and this type of activityhad a tendency to help them develop their literacy skills. Therefore, this triggered my interest. Do Dramatic Play activities tend to impact the literacy learning of young children?
 * Why I wanted to learn more about Dramatic Play?**

-I researched this topic by reading and analyzing several peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles. These articles chronicled case studies or experiments that have been done in recent years, that directly relate to Dramatic Play and literacy learning.This learning includes developing the ability to read fluently, understan stories, decode or sound-out words, learn letters and the sounds of letters, and increase a child’s vocabulary. Dramatic Play activities all have the children interacting with each other in order to learn. I discovered many ways to do this at home and in the classroom. Children can make-up their own stories and act them out with their friends or peers. Young children are always having stories read to them, if your students or children are having trouble making-up their own story. Have them start out by acting out a story you read to them. Groups of children can also use toys to do this! We need to get children writing! The younger the better, so they realize that writing is a means of communicating and expressing themselves. The only way to get kids writing is to give them paper, writing utensils, and expressing stories and adventures. Teachers can set-up Dramatic Play centers, such as an office, store, or restaurant. In these centers, have paper and pencils so the students will naturally use these materials to make their play more “real”. Pretending everyday activities happens during play at home, so parents can do the same thing. This writing will get children making letter, words, and sentences. Have your child make-up a story about a toy or a pet. They can tell it to you, and you can write it out for them. This will show them how to write and why we write. Eventually, you can have them write their own story about themselves or their friend. Struggling readers can never get too much help. Dramatic Play can help these children overcome their struggles. Acting-out stories allows children to understand what is happening in the story and who the characters are. Children who are just learning how to read or have great difficulty reading may not always comprehend these notions. Children can act-out the stories themselves or use toys. In order to make these activities more interactive, the teacher or parents who have a computer can record the dramatizations and put them on the internet for other to enjoy. Readers’ Theaters can also help struggling readers because they are reading the same thing several times and the must act-out events as they are happening. Again, parents and teachers can make this activity more interactive by recording or podcasting the plays, and put them on the internet. -My research had these key connections and themes. I was humbled to see that Dramatic Play can be something that can happen in and outside the classroom. All of these different activities are really just play that comes naturally to a child. However, my research helped me to understand that this play can be used in a manner to help a child with literacy development. All the adult has to do is incorporate reading, writing, and speaking in the thoughtful ways discussed above.
 * How my topic was studied**
 * Central Findings**
 * 1)** **Dramatic Play is a social activity that can help with literacy learning.**
 * 2)** **Dramatic Play can be used to teach writing.**
 * 3)** **Dramatic Play can help struggling readers to improve their reading abilities.**
 * Bringing the Highlights Together**

Please click here! “A Vygotskian Perspective on using Dramatic Play to Enhance Children’s Development”, by Amita Gupta stood out to me because this case study really gave a great explanation as to why social learning can be effective and should be used in the classroom, especially for every young children. “Acting-Out: Connecting with History”, by Kornfeld and Leyden, reveals a study that has children acting-out non-fiction texts to learn other subjects. I would have never considered using dramatic play to learn other subjects, if it had not been for me stumbling across this article. This article can also get parents thinking about how they can get their child interested in non-fiction. Finally, “Naming Block Structures: A Multi-Modal Approach”, by Lynn Cohen was also a very interesting resource. This article made me realize that block play almost automatically fosters literacy learning, because the children must talk about how and why they are building their structures. More often than not, these structures reflect something from a story in life. Then, the children can use that structure they made though playing to make or act-out a story.
 * Resources:**
 * Insight on Three Resources**

-Teachers could find the information I researched useful because literacy is the foundation for all learning to be possible. Almost all lessons in the classroom require students to read, write, or speak. These lessons need to be engaging. Dramatic Play is most certainly student-centered and allows the student to be in control of their own learning experience.In addition, Literacy Specialists can use these Dramatic Play activities as a means of intervention for struggling readers. -I think administrators would find this information useful because Dramatic Play activities could be used for the foundation of a school-wide reading campaign, or an after school-program. These activities are fun, interactive, and revolve around playing. Children love to play; therefore showing how the literacy experience can be fun through play activities can only get more students reading. -It was not that long ago when I was doing my student teaching. I remember how overwhelmed I felt about creating literacy lessons that were fun, but also ensured that my students were actually learning something as well. Dramatic Play activities provide pre-service teachers with a basis for reading and writing instruction. Dramatic Play knowledge can also provide them with the confidence they need to actually teach in the classroom, with lessons that will be successful and engaging. These activities are not hard or scary. Dramatic play asks the students to do what they do best, play with their friends and their toys! -All families want their children do well in school. That is why many parents and guardians want to teach literacy skills at home. Children are always playing when they are at home, and with the information from this Wiki. They will now know how to make their child’s playing into literacy learning experiences. -The general public should know about Dramatic Play as a means for literacy development, because people need to be aware of how to teach young children how to read and what is effective in making that happen. The more the public knows about education, the more likely communities can come together to change and adapt schools for the better and public community facilities will be better able to encourage literacy learning for young children.
 * 2) __IMPLICATIONS FOR DIFFERENT WIKI READERS__**
 * Teachers**
 * Administrators**
 * Pre-Service Educators**
 * Family**
 * General Public**

[|Readers' Theater Scripts] [|Readers’ Theater in Action] [|Dramatic Play Centers] [|Acting out a Story] [|Dramatic Play Ideas]
 * 3) __RESOURCES__**
 * Professional resources for teachers, administrators, and pre-service educators:**

-I chose the YouTube clips to give teachers who are not familiar with Dramatic Play a direct view of how these different activities are effectively used in the classroom. The Readers’ Theater scripts are plentiful online. Teachers can use all of these resources to implement Readers’ Theaters, acting from reading aloud, and creating Dramatic Play centers. Administrators can use theses websites and clips to use for potential school-wide reading campaigns or for creating after school reading programs. Pre-service teachers can use these resources as a means to familiarize themselves with this type of literacy instruction, so they can become more knowledgeable and confident in teaching diverse learners. [|Other Reasons for Dramatic Play] [|Museum of Play] P[|BS Parent] [|Storyline Online] [|Dramatic Play Props and Toys] [|Play Ideas for Home and School]
 * General resources for family members/general public:**

-I wanted to provide families and the general public with resources that gave them a clearer understanding of how Dramatic Play can help with a child’s learning and development. I also wanted to provide them with ideas of how to do Dramatic Play activities at home. There is also a resource I provided that allows families to buy Dramatic Play props and toys if they desire. However, Dramatic Play is about pretending, so if you don’t have a prop, then your child can just pretend it is there. The general public should know about the Play Museum because this is something that other communities may want to have in their town to help children with literacy learning. Storyline Online is a website parents, and the community can use if they lack access to books for any reading activity.