Dramatic response to children’s literature in an early childhood classroom setting

My study focused on kindergarten children's dramatic responses to children's literature, specifically picture storybooks that were read aloud as part of a kindergarten literacy program incorporating book-related dramatic play. The aim of the research was to investigate how kindergarteners use dramatic responses as a kinesthetic mode of expression that offers an alternative to the oral, written, and drawn measures that are usually used to capture children’s thinking about and experiences with the story. The research was engaged with over a twelve-week period in a rural city in South Korea, using a sociocultural approach to learning and response to literature. I conducted the present study twenty kindergarten children learning to read and write were chosen for this study, and they participated in large group read-aloud activities with book-related dramatic play for twelve weeks (three times a week) with twelve different children's literature picture books. After finishing the large group read-aloud sessions, every child participated in the book-related dramatic play as a free choice. Throughout the observations of the classroom activities and the children engaged in those learning experiences, I investigated the meanings of children’s literary experience through dramatic responses to children’s literature by looking at classroom read-alouds and engagement in the classroom book-related dramatic play area. The results of the study may offer insights to kindergarten teachers who are considering providing a dramatic response area during read-alouds as an integrated part of their regular literacy instruction and connecting activity in the book-related dramatic play area to literary comprehension and engagement with various children’s literature. Through engaging in book-related dramatic play, children had the opportunity to expand their understanding of both existing and novel experiences. The study showed that by incorporating book-related dramatic play in the classroom, educators can foster the development of literacy skills, literary understandings, critical thinking, creativity, and social-emotional competencies among young learners. While the study was limited to a specific context in a rural South Korean kindergarten setting, the findings may contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the importance of integrating dramatic responses to literature in early childhood education. Future research should explore diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and educational settings, including the U.S. and perhaps other countries, to enrich the field’s understanding of how children’s social context influences children's responses to literature and participation in BRDP, ultimately informing educators on how to create successful and inclusive experiences for diverse learners.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Hyeryung

Contributors dc:contributor

• Möller, Karla
• Smith, Stephanie
• McCarthey, Sarah
• Cho, Byeong-Young

• Children's Literature
• Read-aloud
• Play
• Dramatic Play
• Book-related Dramatic Play
• Transactional Theory
• Sociocultural Theory
• Kindergarten
• Literary Understanding
• Literacy Development

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Hyeryung Kim

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120557

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120557