Unit 5 Oral Language and Dramatic Play

Overview
This unit will continue to examine the important role that oral language plays in the
development of literacy. The central focus, however, will be on the value of dramatic
play, storytelling and creative dramatics as a means of fostering oral language growth.
As you work through this unit you will become more familiar with the role of dramatic
play in developing students’ oral language competence. You will also learn how to
structure dramatic play to develop oral language and support curriculum goals.

Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this session you will be able to:
1. Use dramatic play in the classroom to develop oral language
2. Develop dramatic play units (Readers’ Theater) from literature

Readings
1. Dean, S. (2006). So, you want to tell a story? Retrieved February 12 , 2007 from
the National Literacy Trust web site:
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Pubs/dean.html

2. Fredericks, L. (n.d.). Developing Literacy Skills Through Storytelling. Retrieved

February 12 , 2007 from the Corporation for National and Community Service
web site:
http://nationalserviceresources.org/resources/newsletters/resource_connection/vol
ume_2_number_4/developing_literacy.php
3. Fields, M., Groth, L. A. and Spangler, K. L. (2004). Let’s Begin Reading Right: A
Development Approach to Emergent Literacy. (5th ed.). Upper Saddlr River, NJ:
Pearson/Merril Prentice Hall. 47–54.

4. Storytelling: Its Wide-Ranging Impact in the Classroom. (1998). ERIC Digest

Number 9. IDEN: *Story Telling by Children; ERIC Digests. Retrieved February
12 , 2007 from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills
web site:
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-929/wide.htm

5. Temple, C. et al. (1997). Children’s Books in Children’s Hands: An Introduction

to Their Literature. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 423–432.
Session 5.1
Oral Language and Dramatic Play
As teachers, our ultimate goal is to develop learners who are competent in all areas of the
language arts – listening, speaking thinking, viewing and reading. Oral language is the
base on which all other language arts are built and is an essential part of learning in a
classroom community (Tompkins, 1998). It is therefore intimately connected to the
acquisition of literacy as it forms the foundation. The challenge occurs, however, when
this foundation is missing. Students may be coming from an environment that may be
lacking in oral stimulation.

The school must provide activities that allow students to develop their oral language in a
variety of authentic contexts. The medium of play is one such avenue. Play is an activity
we choose to do because it is inherently interesting or pleasurable (Fields et al., 2004).
Within the context of play students are able to explore their environment while
interacting with their peers. It is this interaction which will provide the pivot for
developing oral language skills.

You must have had the experience of observing children while they play. During these
interaction students formulate beliefs and test boundaries while observing the rules they
have constructed. Play inherently involves talk and social interaction. Through children’s
interaction with peers in play, both oral language and the mental processes of literacy are
supported (Soderman, 1999).

Pretend play, otherwise known as dramatic play, refers to children playing make-believe
roles. If you visit most classrooms within the Caribbean you will notice a classroom shop
or a play house centre. Some classrooms may even have a post office area with
envelopes, stamps and writing paper. Dramatic play is especially essential for students
whose learning style supports active immersion and hands on activities. Students visit
these centres and engage in play with their peers. An important contribution of this kind
of play to oral language and by extension literacy development, is the engagement in
symbolic thought, the thinking that children must use when reading and writing
(Soderman, 1999).

How Dramatic Play Supports Literacy Development

Examine the scenario which follows. You will be required to make some observations at
the end.

Scenario I

Kimoy and Rojay are playing in the play house centre at a school in St. Lucia. Here is the
conversation that ensues.
Kimoy: I am the Mommy, you will be the father.
Rojay: Yes , I am the Daddy getting ready to go to work. You go and make the
breakfast.
Kimoy: I don’t want to make the breakfast and stay at home I want to go to work
too.
Rojay: No, you have to stay home and look after the baby and cook the dinner.
Kimoy: No way. That is boring. My mommy goes to work, Granny takes care of
us.
Rojay: So when you go to work who makes the breakfast?
Kimoy: We can both make the breakfast and then go to work.
The children proceed to the area kitchen, Rojay puts the pot on the stove which is also
labeled, while Kimoy makes motions as if breaking eggs and scrambling them.
Kimoy: We need some food in the house. Remind me to go to the supermarket. I
better make a list.
Rojay: Yes, then we will drive to work this morning instead of taking the bus. We
don’t want to be late.
Kimoy: We don’t have a car yet, remember.
Rojay: We are just pretending. We can have anything we want.
In this scenario above Kimoy and Rojay were participating in dramatic play in the
classroom home play centre. What were some of the observations you made? How did
the children use oral language? Connect your response to the functions of language. How
were their literacy skills being developed?

Dramatic play offers the opportunity for children to interact with their peers within a
classroom setting that is more structured than unsupervised play. Dramatic play centres
are usually modeled from real life activities. This gives students the opportunity to use
literacy skills for authentic purposes in real situations. In the scenario above the children
negotiated, developed oral and listening skills as well as refined their thought processes.
Rojay became aware that there are some mothers who go to work. We are not sure of the
background of these children but my guess is that Rojay does not have a mother who
works outside of the home.

Listening and oral skill were developed as the children had to listen to give appropriate
answers. Both were able to use manipulate language through verbal exchanges. The
labeling of objects in the dramatic play centres is very important as it helps the children
to see the connection between the symbolic and the actual.

Activity 5.1
Observe a group of children as they interact in the dramatic play centre. Note your
observations as they use and develop their literacy skills. Post your observations
online.

Ideas for Dramatic Play

Here are a few ideas for play centre activities. You may add others.
Post Office: This is especially important as the element of literacy is very evident.
Students can write letters, post them and write replies. A student can be assigned a class
postman/mistress. Include stamps, envelopes, letter boxes, cash register, money and a
scale.
Restaurant: This centre should incorporate as many literacy elements as possible. The
teacher can allow students to make menu cards and a menu board. The centre can also
include order writing pads and pencils.
Travel Agency: This centre has many possibilities for incorporating literacy. The centre
can include travel posters, brochures, maps and airline tickets. It is important to note,
however, that you create dramatic play centres according to the topics you are exploring
in content areas. The play centre can also be coordinated with literature units or themes
covered in class. These centres do not have to be set up at once but remain until your
units change the themes of the centre.

Literature and Dramatic Play

You may be thinking that these activities provided for play are just for fun and may not
apply directly to your students’ literacy development. Teachers like structure so you may
be wondering how you can add some element of structure to these activities. Well it may
be easier than you think. Literature provides the prefect medium for using dramatic play
to develop oral skills through the use of reader’s theatre. Students also develop
comprehension, social skills and fluency while engaging in this activity.

Reader’s Theater
Reader’s theatre is defined as a dramatic interpretation of a prepared script designed from
a literary work. Benefits include engagement in creative oral expression, comprehension,
social interaction, interpretation and appreciation of literature and improvement in
listening skills. This strategy can be used for all levels of literacy development. This
strategy is an after reading activity as students must be familiar with this text in order to
participate in dramatic presentation.
Developing a Reader’s Theatre Presentation
After reading a story and completing the necessary activities to support meaning making
and appreciation of the text you can then create a reader’s theatre. Here I pause to stress
the importance of providing before, during and after reading activities before engaging in
reader’s theatre. Students must understand and appreciate the literature to make any
dramatic presentation worthwhile and meaningful.
Step 1: Discuss with students your intention to produce a dramatic piece from the
literature read. Allow students to assist in highlighting main characters. This can be done
as a class activity on the class board.

Main Characters
(List these)

Step 2: Students should be given the opportunity to assist in writing the script using the
words of the characters taken from the text. The teacher may need to write the first script
by herself so students will become aware of the format and not confuse it with a play. It
is advisable to choose a short story with a minimum of five main characters in the first
instance. Here is an example taken from a Jamaican folktale.
Anancy: Morning, Brother Tiger. I have a favour to ask.
Brother Tiger: What is it, Anancy ?
Anancy: I want the stories to be names after me.
Brother Tiger: Well, you have to bring Snake to me alive first.
Anancy: Ok then, I will try.
Brother Tiger: You have one week.
Step 3: The students will then select the roles that they want to play. They will then
practice the script for the dramatic presentation.
Step 4: Students stand in a straight line and deliver the script to audience.The story line is
conveyed through intonation and phrasing.
Activity 5.2
Using a storybook with which your students are familiar, create a reader’s theatre script
and allow students to choose their parts. Have the students deliver the script to the class.
1. What are your observations?
2. What challenges or joys did you face in doing this activity with the students?

Storytelling and Creative Dramatics

Storytelling is the act of telling a story orally without the use of a text (Vacca et al.,
2006). Everyone loves a good story and especially children they are held spellbound by
it. For years teachers have used the elements of a story to convey difficult and abstract
concepts. The art of storytelling can be utilized effectively in the literacy classroom. The
often neglected art of using the voice is utilized in storytelling exercises (Martinez et al.,
1998). Through the voice the storyteller has to convey mood, suspense, motion and the
pace of the story.

The use of storytelling in the literacy classroom has immense potential for developing
oral skills, comprehension and self-confidence. It develops comprehension as a thorough
understanding of the story is required to retell it. To stand in front of a live audience and
deliver a piece without a script can be intimating for adults and even more for children.
They will have to be keen to the response of the audience in order to know how to
proceed. The round of applause, smiles, and nods of approval go a far way in boosting
the self-confidence a usually shy and reserved child. It also encourages students to take
risks. The storyteller is not sure of the response of his/her audience but an attempt is a
risk that must be taken.

As students gain practice in telling story you will see their oral skills and self-confidence
mushrooming before your eyes. The need for modeling and explicit instruction cannot be
overemphasized. Students cannot be expected to deliver good stories if they were not
exposed to them. It is therefore your responsibility to tell stories to your students. It is my
belief that the art of storytelling comes naturally to teachers. As you grow in the art of
storytelling you will become more confident. Offer tips to your students for effective
storytelling and encourage your shy and reserved students to have a try. Offer
encouragement and be prepared to help if needs be. Oral language development is a
process that is enhanced by high expectations and encouragement.

Creative Dramatics
Creative dramatics requires students to act out a story.It is often known as role playing
and requires few props. Students usually find creative dramatics more challenging than
reader’s theatre and storytelling. In this mode students are not given a script but are
required to improvise dialogue. Students are required to understand the story in order to
participate in this activity. Students are required to become the characters so as to convey
the story accurately. The improvised dialogue requires students to be attuned to others as
they have to respond appropriately to the words of their fellow players. To do this
requires quick thinking and creativity.

Activity 5.3
Read course reading Children’s Books in Children’s Hands by C. Temple et al. and
discuss the different ways in which teachers can offer support to students in creative
dramatics. Is there any method which you have found particularly helpful or enjoyable
that you can share with others in your group?
Post your comments online.

Using Creative Dramatics and Storytelling in the Literacy Classroom

Immense possibilities abound for the use of these two strategies in the literacy classroom.
These strategies provide the perfect medium when used with literature to pull together the
strands of the language arts – reading, thinking, listening talking and writing. Students
listen to the story read then use oral skills to deliver and reenact it. They will understand
that what is written can be read and then be spoken. These strategies provide the elements
of engagement, interest and motivation as students participate actively. Locate a story
that has possibilities for creative drama, engage students in before, during and after
reading activities to ensure that they understand and appreciate the story. Engage
students in retelling the story with or without aid. Students can creative props and
volunteer to reenact the story in a creative drama presentation.