The Impact of Dramatic Play on Improving Phonological Awareness

Thursday, 5:15pm
Exhibit Hall 1AB
Poster 14
Phonological awareness (PA) has been shown to impact academic success (Smith, Simmons, & Kameenui, 1998). Traditional approaches to improving PA skills in children with a phonological disorder include highly structured, formal exercises (Bingham & Pennington, 2007). It has been suggested that such approaches may not be appropriate or effective for all preschoolers (Constantine, 2001). Research also supports the use of dramatic play for literacy development (Constantine, 2001; Ferguson, 1999). Dramatic play is any activity whereby a child acts out a domestic role or situation such as pretending to be a doctor or nurse. Therefore, the purpose of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of dramatic play in increasing phonological awareness for children with phonological disorders. Following database searches and application of predetermined inclusion/exclusion criteria, two case reports were selected as best evidence and reviewed. Constantine (2001) investigated the effects of integrating two intervention approaches for preschool children with speech articulation/phonological disorders: thematic fantasy play (TFP) and phonological awareness instruction. Outcome measures of interest included rhyme discrimination and rhyme production. Results indicated substantial improvements in both areas for all children; however, statistical results were not reported. Munro, Lee, & Baker, (2007) investigated the effects of a hybrid language intervention on vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness. All participants demonstrated statistically significant improvement in phonological awareness using a pre-post test design. Taken together, these results support the use of dramatic play in increasing phonological awareness in preschool children with phonological disorders. Implications for practice, education and future research will be discussed.
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Poster