Why Teach Drama to Primary School Children?

From ‘Learning Through Drama in the Primary Years’ by David Farmer.

Engaging in drama activities allows children to learn actively and interactively throughout the primary years and across the curriculum.

Children are hardwired to learn through play. Educators can plug into this innate ability by using drama games and techniques, enabling students to explore their imaginations, express their emotions, and develop their social skills through enjoyable and fun activities.

Structured play and drama enable students to make sense of their own identity by exploring meaningful fictional situations that have parallels in the real world. Children like to move and to interact with others. In drama we ask them to do exactly this. Rather than sitting still and listening they are encouraged to move, speak and respond to one another.

Students who are challenged by reading and writing (including those with English as a second language) often respond more positively to the imaginative and multi-sensory learning offered by drama. This in turn helps them develop such skills as creativity, enquiry, communication, empathy, self confidence, cooperation, leadership and negotiation. Most importantly, drama activities are fun – making learning both enjoyable and memorable.

Drama is ideal for cross-curricular learning and is a valuable tool for use in many subject areas. This is explored further in Drama Across the Curriculum and through the use of Drama Strategies. In particular, drama develops literacy skills – supporting speaking and listening, extending vocabulary and encouraging pupils to understand and express different points of view. Dramatic activity motivates children to write for a range of purposes.

Drama gives children opportunities to explore, discuss and deal with difficult issues and express their emotions in a supportive environment. It enables them to explore their own cultural values and those of others, past and present. It encourages them to think and act creatively, thus developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills that can be applied in all areas of learning. Through drama, children are encouraged to take responsible roles and make choices – to participate in and guide their own learning. Teachers can take a more open-ended approach, concentrating on the process of learning at least as much as – if not more than – the product.

Benefits of Drama

Learning through play
Active and interactive
Develops speaking and listening skills
Motivation and inspiration for all kinds of writing
Multisensory
Learning through experience and fun
Emotional involvement promotes learning
Promotes teamwork and other skills
Appeals to different learning modes

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Drama uses the greatest resource that teachers have available to them – children’s imagination. Creative play is a natural part of children’s lives before they start school, helping them to make sense of their place in the world. Such creativity can be harnessed through drama to enable active and interactive learning experiences throughout the primary years and across the curriculum.

CLICK TO DISCOVER 5 WAYS to try out drama in your lessons across the curriculum, to inspire and motivate your students.