Abstract of

The Literate Potentials of Book-Related Dramatic Play

Deborah Wells Rowe

In a 9-month study of 16 preschoolers' classroom literacy behaviors and a related study of one of the students' literacy activities at home, book-related dramatic play was observed to be an important part of the children's literacy interactions. Analyses of instances where play was related to the meanings of the books the children had read indicated that each instance of book-related dramatic play could be described in terms of six properties including (a) the scope of play, (b) the type of connection constructed between books and playscripts, (c) children's purposes for play, (d) the perspective or point of view explored, (e) the sign systems used and their relation to book reading events, and (f) the kinds of social interaction involved. Analyses demonstrated that the children created direct linkages between their book and play experiences. Further, the data supported the hypothesis that book-related dramatic play was much more than a context for literacy learning. For the children participating in this study, it appeared to be a part of the process of comprehending books, expressing one's reactions, experiencing books in affective and kinesthetic ways, and participating in literacy events. Book-related play also served as a means of inquiry and as a connecting link between the child's world and the adult one represented by books and the book-reading events in which they were embedded. Play provided a relatively risk-free environment for exploration of books through an open, child-directed agenda and offered an array of possible tools for exploration and expression (e.g., the multiple sign systems associated with drama).

Abstract from Rowe, D. (1998). The Literate Potentials of Book-Related Dramatic Play. Reading Research Quarterly, 33(1), 10–35. doi: 10.1598/RRQ.33.1.2