Children and Drama

     The word drama is like the drama with its root; motion means changing the state over time. Drama is a play that is written to be played on the stage, which results in a conflict of opposites and develops with speeches and movements, as well as a metaphorical event. The art of drama is an art of action. The drama, formerly known as the Yunanda, is considered to be a painful or violent affair and a theater that is not as sublime as tragedy. In drama, drama is defined as the art of play writing. (Gönen ve Dalkılıç 1998; Adıgüzel, 2007).
    In addition to the improvisation and role playing techniques of individual, dual, small or large groups, there are also various techniques that are often involved in process drama studies. By using these techniques, it becomes possible to make life and participants more active, more creative and more unusual. Fifty-two techniques are mentioned in Adıgüzel (2010) in Drama in Education. These techniques Adıgüzel` (2006) Mc Casle literature quoted in Turkey (2006), Adıgüzel (2006); Bowell and Heap, (2001); Airs and Ball, (1997); Somers, (1995); Wolland, (1993). The main source of the subject is Akar`s (2000) `Expert Role in Teaching Turkish with Drama Method in the Second Stage of Basic Education“.The techniques that are specific to the drama are used in different ways depending on the characteristics of the children, the determined achievements and indicators, the choice of content and the competence of the teacher, as in the other techniques-methods and approaches used in teaching.
    Apart from mime / nonverbal play, role playing, improvisation and dramatization, there are many techniques in drama such as hot chairs, role cards, return, interviews, meeting arrangements, writing in roles. However, not all of these techniques are suitable for preschool children. (Öztürk, 2007).
    Drama involves the process of producing and interpreting: children play beyond the usual and familiar responses when they act. The drama experience offers an area of activity for mental effort, emotional commitment and aesthetic saturation. Drama is of vital importance for the development of children. Helps children grow up in play times and learn by talking, developing their imagination, and understanding their experiences through their observations and impressions (Hendy ve Toon,2001; Prendiville ve Toye, 2007; Booth, 2008; Wright, Diener ve Kemp, 2013; Burke, 2014).
In the drama work, there is a sequence that should be followed in flexibility, considering the structure of the group and the characteristics of the participants. The stages of implementation that should be in the process of drama are as follows;
-Iswork-Preparation Studies,
-Animation
-Devaluation (Köksal Akyol, 2003; Adıgüzel, 2006, 2013).
It is not possible to talk about a drama activity without leaders and children. Another element that is as important as drama leader and children is the drama environment. When the drama environment is mentioned, all the conditions of the drama process come to mind. When planning the drama, the leader should remember the environment in which the drama will take place and the tools and equipment to be used, and what activities and achievements the drama is planned to achieve.
      Drama activities in pre-school education should be planned by considering the fact that children are small in their age. O'Neill and Lambert (1991) stated that children who built the drama process were of key importance in the drama process. It is essential that children participate voluntarily and voluntarily, but in some cases it is not possible to talk about children being voluntary, as in the case of drama activities planned as a large group activity. However, with the well-planned drama activities that the leader will prepare, individuals can benefit from the process and their participation in the process can be increased. (Köksal Akyol, 2011). Aslan (2008) stated that children should not be forced to do drama activities, it is correct to take part in the studies in the way they want and they stated that the children who do not want to do or work can not be forced. Children participating in the drama event must be ready to work in a group, feel comfortable and safe, and be willing to discover new and different things. Although it is not necessary to have theater skills to participate in drama activities, drama activities improve this ability, drama and theater skills increase during the drama studies. (O 'Neil and Lambert, 1991; San, 1996).
     It can be said that the teacher, who will be the leader of drama or the activity of the drama, should have some characteristics. When children are exposed to tools and equipment that can be effective in appropriate environments, it facilitates them to take a creative journey. When planning drama activities, the leader should take into consideration the age and developmental characteristics of children, identify gains, indicators and concepts, plan appropriate learning processes, evaluate the activity plan in terms of children, teachers and programs after the implementation of the drama activity.