Improvisation with Favorite Tales: Integrating Drama into the Reading/Writing Classroom

Ruth Beall Heinig proves what a valuable medium improvisation drama is for the student of literature. Using nineteen traditional tales as a springboard for exploration,she explains some basic drama exercises and methods of teaching and then presents hundreds of drama activities based on the tales. Many of these tales - -from Beauty and the Beast to Snow White - are already wildly popular among children, who will certainly enjoy dramatizing their favorite characters. What's more, the activities frequently extend beyond the basic story line to create opportunities for exploring the characters, plot lines, and themes. To help teachers determine the level of difficulty, the activities for each tale are grouped into the categories of pantomime and verbal modes and then are further grouped according to solo or paired and group playing. A final set of extension activities for each tale focuses on writing, art, and music. Selected bibliographical sources for the stories are provided, including variations of the original tale.