Curriculum Drama: Using Imagination and Inquiry in a Middle School Social Studies Classroom

Authors

Catherine Franklin, The City College School of EducationFollow

Abstract

This essay provides a vivid window into an eighth-grade class engaged in a legislative curriculum drama. Students acted as members of political parties within the Senate and participated in legislative hearings, discussed costs and benefits to legislation, and engaged in debates. Curriculum drama formed a bridge that linked the task of teaching and learning about a defined unit of study to the authentic interests, concerns, and energies of the students

Author Biography

Catherine Franklin is an assistant professor in the School of Education at The City College of the City University of New York. She teaches social studies methods courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Her research interests include curriculum design, social studies, and the use of imagination in the learning/teaching process.
Catherine has been a classroom teacher, and has taught in a variety of schools around the world.While working on her doctorate in curriculum and teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, Catherine taught eighth grade at Bank Street’s School for Children. This essay is drawn from her dissertation, entitled Being There: Active Imaginations and Inquiring Minds in a Middle School Classroom.

Recommended Citation

Franklin, C. (2003). Curriculum Drama: Using Imagination and Inquiry in a Middle School Social Studies Classroom. Occasional Paper Series, (10). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1232