A Dramatic Approach to Enhancing Reading Comprehension Skills in the Elementary Classroom.

摘要

The struggle for elementary students to construct meaning from literary text is a persistent educational problem in a suburban school in the southeastern part of the United States. Research that provides potential solutions to the educational problem is of interest to the elementary teachers, school and district leaders, and parents. The purpose of the study was to investigate how five struggling readers in Grade 4 used reading comprehension strategies during reading instruction. Social constructivist, process-drama, and reader-response theories anchored the study. The research question focused on how the participants used reading comprehension strategies, such as building and activating schema, questioning, and determining importance, when creative drama and literacy were integrated. Quality case study design guided the study. Data collection methods were classroom observations, student interviews, and artifacts. Interpretive thematic analysis strategies were used to analyze data. Key results indicate that (1) drama is beneficial in helping struggling readers use comprehension strategies, and (2) the strategies may be used to build and activate schema by consciously or unconsciously making connections to text. A major conclusion is that adequate background knowledge is required for students to use the strategies for building and activating schema successfully. Recommendations include (1) engaging students in an active, meaning-making process and (2) offering more courses to train teachers on how to use creative drama during language arts instruction. Implications for positive social change include creating organizational structures that integrate teaching and research through curriculum reform to improve teacher efficacy and, ultimately, student performance in language arts.