Education and Early Childhood Learning

K-DR-M1: The learner demonstrates an understanding of and a facility with a variety of dramatic forms.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Participate collaboratively in a variety of grade-appropriate dramatic forms.
  Examples:
  • pantomime, storytelling, choral speaking, choral reading, improvisation, puppetry, tableau, story theatre
  • Readers Theatre
  • collective creation
  • radio plays, learner in role, mime, monologue, farce, melodrama

K-DR-M2: The learner develops competencies for using the tools and techniques of body, mind, and voice in a variety of contexts.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Use voice, dialogue, body, gesture, and movement selectively to establish characters and roles and to express feelings.
• Collaborate with others in the interpretation of characters.
• Sustain a willing suspension of disbelief by staying focused and in character in play experiences.

K-DR-M3: The learner demonstrates an understanding of and a facility with theatrical elements that contribute to the dramatic arts.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Convey a sense of story through dramatic play.
• Select and use real and imaginary costumes, props, and objects to support and enhance dramatic play.

K-DR-CR1: The learner generates ideas for creating drama using a variety of sources.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Draw inspiration from personal experiences and relevant sources (e.g., feelings; memories; imagination; themes; observations; visual stimuli; learning in other subject areas; poems; stories; music; daily, family, or community life) to ignite ideas and questions for dramatic arts creation.
• Consider other arts disciplines (visual arts, dance, media arts, music) and other subject areas to inspire and trigger ideas for dramatic arts creation.
• Explore the tools and techniques (body, mind, voice) and use improvisation to generate ideas for dramatic arts creation.
• Create and use play areas for specific play experiences and use a variety of objects imaginatively as props.
• Engage in collaborative idea generation/brainstorming as inspiration for dramatic arts creation.

K-DR-CR2: The learner experiments with, develops, and uses ideas for creating drama.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Experiment with drama tools (body, voice, and mind), and costumes, props, or found objects to test and elaborate ideas.
• Make decisions, with teacher guidance, about the selection and use of ideas and dramatic elements and forms in own dramatic play (e.g., Pat: “I’ll use this cloth for my cape.” Ramon: “I’ll speak in an angry voice.”).
• Describe own decisions regarding the selection and use of ideas and dramatic elements and forms.
• Incorporate serendipitous discoveries into own creative work, as appropriate.
• Develop and extend dramatic arts ideas individually and in collaboration with others.

K-DR-CR3: The learner revises, refines, and shares dramatic arts ideas and creative work.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Share work in progress to inform revisions.
• Refine dramatic arts experiences to share with others.
• Share own dramatic work with others through performances, scripts, or video recordings.

K-DR-C1: The learner experiences and develops an awareness of people and practices from various times, places, social groups, and cultures.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Perform, observe, and demonstrate an awareness of plays and stories that serve as the basis for dramatic arts among various groups (ideally, include content from cultures represented within the school community).
• Identify, share, and talk about examples of dramatic play and dramatic performances experienced at home, at school, and in the community.
• Demonstrate an awareness of people who are involved in the dramatic arts in own community.

K-DR-C2: The learner experiences and develops an awareness of a variety of dramatic forms, styles, and traditions.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Demonstrate an awareness of different kinds of drama and theatre.
• Recognize that the dramatic arts are an art form, along with dance, literary arts, music, and visual arts.

K-DR-C3: The learner demonstrates an understanding of the roles, purposes, and meanings of the dramatic arts in the lives of individuals and in communities.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Identify when and why people use drama in daily life (e.g., for storytelling, celebrating, learning, communicating ideas, selling, entertaining).
• Demonstrate an awareness of the intended meanings and/or purposes of the dramatic arts encountered in own performance and viewing experiences.
• Demonstrate an appreciation of the dramatic arts as a means of experiencing and exploring own and others’ lives (e.g., feelings, values, stories, events, cultures).
• Demonstrate an awareness of ways in which the dramatic arts reflect, influence, and shape issues and events, as well as traditions, values, beliefs, and identities of individuals and groups.
• Demonstrate an understanding of ways to interact appropriately in dramatic arts situations as participants, audience members, and performers.

K-DR-R1: The learner generates initial reactions to dramatic arts experiences.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Take time to perceive dramatic arts experiences before sharing opinions and making judgments.
• Make personal connections to previous experiences with the dramatic arts and other art forms.
• Express first impression of own and others’ dramatic arts work (e.g., thoughts, feelings, intuition, associations, questions, experiences, memories, stories, connections to other disciplines).

K-DR-R2: The learner observes and describes dramatic arts experiences.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Discern details about drama/theatre elements, forms, styles, tools, and techniques.
• Use appropriate dramatic arts vocabulary to observe and describe dramatic arts experiences.
• Recognize different noticings and build common understanding about dramatic arts.

K-DR-R3: The learner analyzes and interprets dramatic arts experiences.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Analyze how dramatic arts elements communicate meaning.
• Reflect on and share personal responses (e.g., feelings, thoughts, images) evoked by dramatic arts experiences.
• Examine others’ interpretations to understand diverse perspectives and inform new thinking about dramatic arts.
• Co-construct criteria to critically analyze and evaluate dramatic arts works and experiences.

K-DR-R4: The learner constructs meaning and applies new understandings from dramatic arts experiences.

The learner is able to do the following:

• Justify own preferences, ideas, and interpretations about the dramatic arts.
• Recognize and respect that individuals and groups may have different preferences, ideas, interpretations, and opinions about the dramatic arts.
• Make informed choices for decision-making about dramatic arts.