A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension: Strategies and Activities for Classroom Teachers

Integration occurs when separate parts or elements are combined into a unified whole. A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension focuses on classroom arts integration- equally incorporating skills in drama and reading comprehension into all lessons. Drama and reading comprehension share a multitude of authentic connections, including meaning making and interpretation. Each subject complements the other, leading, ideally, to increased abilities in both. A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension explains the what, how, and why of effective classroom drama as well as how drama increases students reading comprehension skills.

Lenore Blank Kelner and Rosalind Flynn make what is implicit to experienced educational drama specialists explicit for classroom teachers. A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension is designed for teachers with little to no experience in drama. It contains information, advice, directions, steps, tips, charts, lists, photos, and ideas for use with students in grades one through eight. Readers will find in-depth explanations of the layers of effective educational drama experiences based on classroom texts. Kelner and Flynn devote individual chapters to each of four drama strategies-story dramatization, character interviews, tableau, and human slide shows-with a step-by-step process for integration of the drama strategy and reading comprehension.

In addition, A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension includes a comprehensive treatment of assessment in both drama and reading comprehension. Readers will find a variety of assessment guidelines, tasks, tools, and definitions of terms.