ABSTRACT
As well as being an important art form in its own right, drama can play an invaluable role in supporting a rich text-based English curriculum. The types of drama that children experience in primary school range from play and free-improvisation in the home corner or role-play area, to a scripted nativity or class assembly performance. In a text-based curriculum, children should have the opportunity to read play-scripts and perform them to an audience. While it is possible to study a play without ever reading it aloud or performing it, it is not until it is brought to life that the meaning of the words can be fully understood. In contrast to performance-led drama, improvised play-based drama is still concerned with acting, but it is acting as a character, rather than performing a given role written by someone else. Children's willingness to suspend their belief and join in with an invented situation is used by many teachers across the wider curriculum.
