Session D2. Dramatic Adventures: Creating Original Stories with Children

Presenter:
Ali Oliver-Krueger, Master Teaching Artist, Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts 

Participants will explore drama strategies for creating lively stories and miniature plays with young children. The story-building process provides children with opportunities to practice key literacy, cognitive, and social emotional skills, use their imaginations, collaborate, and have fun! No prior theatre experience is needed… just a willingness to explore, imagine, and try something different! In this session, participants will explore and apply strategies/techniques for creating, or “devising” stories collaboratively with a group of young children. This session centers around supporting young children through the full storytelling process using different types of text. The session demonstrates how to center the voices of young children in creating and telling stories, emphasizing developmentally appropriate practice for collaborating with young children and encouraging their leadership in the crafting, telling, and sharing of stories.