AN EXAMPLE OF PREPARED-PLANNED CREATIVE DRAMA IN SECOND GRADE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION

Abstract

The aim of this research is teaching addition with natural numbers and the concept of large and small natural numbers in the second grade mathematics course, through creative drama method. The study has been applied to 31 elementary school second grade students studying at a public school in the province of Aydın. In this research, case study based on observation method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, has been employed. The data have been collected through drama lesson plans, observation, and interview methods. The activities involving the acquisitions of ''adding two-digit natural numbers'' and ''absorbing large-small concepts'' prepared by the researcher, have been applied in the classroom. The drawings of students, literary notes, and observation reports kept by researchers have been used in the evaluation of the activity. As a result of this application, students' views towards the questions covering the whole application have been gathered. The results of the study suggest that prepared-planned creative drama activities are an entertaining and enjoyable way for students to learn. The notes taken by the participative observers and findings obtained from the interviews indicate that drama activities increase sharing among students and that the students could associate what they have learned with some of the situations they encounter in their every day-life. It is observed that the students learn by having more fun while playing games, which involves a high amount of physical movements. Drawing the attention of students through instructions in the warm-up phase of the activity increased students' curiosity in learning. In the animation phase of the activity, it was observed that the students' interest in the mathematics increased, they had fun while making the mathematical operations, their participation to the lesson was high throughout the activity, the energy they received from the lesson was at the maximum level, they learned by doing and living, and they obtained an experience they could use in their every day-life. In the evaluation phase of the activity, the students were asked to describe how they felt by drawing a picture or writing a story as a summary of the creative drama activity they experiences by doing. According to the stories they have written and the pictures they have drawn, it is apparent that they were entertained and happy throughout the activity. The results of this study indicate that the students relieve their mental exhaustion and a relaxed classroom setting is achieved through the relaxation activities.

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