The Peace Journey: Using Process Drama in the Classroom

Overview

From Theory to Practice

OVERVIEW

Process drama is a powerful and motivating teaching tool that engages students in writing for imaginative and functional purposes. In their lives, students have had a wide range of experiences with peace and conflict. In this lesson, they will participate in a simulation of a “Peace Journey” as they engage in a variety of literacy activities. Each student will respond to an imaginary advertisement, role play, work in small groups to develop a visual map, and create a skit that reflects his or her developing notions of peace. Students will then perform their skits for the class. After the class has performed, teachers may wish to lead a discussion about the students’ ideas and their interpretations of the idea of “peace.”

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Schneider, J.J., & Jackson, S.A.W. (2000). Process drama: A special space and place for writing. The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 38–51.

• Process drama involves students in imaginary, unscripted, and spontaneous scenes and is framed by curricular topics, teacher objectives, and students' personal experiences.
  
  
• Process drama involves reading, writing, and visualization and provides a context within which students may write for functional and imaginative purposes.
  
  
• Process drama is an instructional tool that supports literacy development and fosters students' imaginative capabilities.

   

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