AATE 2025 National Conference

This story drama workshop centers around the picture book, "Encounter" by Brittany Luby, and illustrated by Mikaela Goade. Participants will be introduced to drama and movement exercises encouraging active engagement in an anchor text, rather than being objective observers or audience members. They will participate as their students would, while still having an opportunity to ask questions and engage in professional discourse as educators. They will learn how to conduct a story drama class by guiding their students through text exploration using character, relationship, and environment-building, writing in role, improvisation, soundscapes, dialogue, creatively and deliberately moving through space, and more. Teachers will discover that drama does not require a culminating, rehearsed performance piece that is scripted and needs an audience. Instead, drama often resonates deeper when students are invited to use their imaginations to bring a story to life. Story drama helps students understand differing perspectives, build empathy, and gain a deeper understanding of themes in a book, poem, or other text. Story drama encourages problem-solving, teamwork, creativity, risk-taking, openness, and imagination. This presentation will show participants how drama can be embedded across the curriculum to help students understand a wide variety of academic and interpersonal topics, rather than just in its own “drama silo.”