Young children learn to walk and speak primarily through imitation. They learn their personal histories and group identities through family photographs, videos, and stories their families tell. Young children integrate this information with data from other sources in their environments, forming their own self-identities through activities such as dramatic play. 

In many ways, theatre and the other arts are among children's first languages. Rhyme, rhythm, color, texture, movement and sound are among the ways young children first learn, Think of the determination of preschoolers learning the ABC's and the joy they have in playing dress-up. Theatre is a fundamental way of exploring and knowing the world.

The focus of elementary theatre is creative drama, a form of theatre in which teachers guide learners through the processes of imagination, enactment, and reflection. Creative drama, a form of improvisation, uses stories drawn from literature, history, and current events to spark children’s imaginations and original thinking. The success of creative drama depends very strongly on the teacher’s choice of relevant, appropriate resource materials and how the improvisations are introduced and structured by the teacher. In kindergarten through grade 5, teachers and students may use printed materials and current or historical events as resources to stimulate children’s imaginations. For example, a children’s trade book may provide the basis of a re-creation or improvisation of the story.

The skills and knowledge of creative drama are carefully structured throughout the elementary curriculum . Young children build perceptual and communication skills by participating in experiences in which they:

• Imitate and re-create the world around them
• Develop body awareness and sensory and emotional perception
• Gain deeper understanding of themselves, others, and the environment
• Explore sound and space
• Use expressive, rhythmic movement.

Instruction in beginning theatre techniques can also involve:

• Unison play, in which the teacher provides a stimulus, and each child plays the same role simultaneously, yet independently of the other children
• Pair playing, the basis for a dramatic plot, wherein two students work together, deciding between themselves how a scene will be staged
• Group playing, similar to pair playing, in which 3-5 students work together
• Warm-ups to help students focus and express themselves
• Theatre games as strategies for developing engagement and other theatre skills
• Teacher in role in which the teacher plays a character to engage students further in the drama or intensify the problem or conflict to be solved
• Side coaching, a skill used throughout the development of acting, which begins with the teacher suggesting actions or ideas from the sidelines.

Following the Theatre TEKS continuum, students advance from teacher-directed activities to projects in which they demonstrate independent thought and action within the structure of a peer group.

Theatre provides excellent opportunities for children and young adults to explore and experience connections to other historical periods and cultures. The Theatre TEKS can easily be taught in conjunction with other related subjects in the elementary school, such as English language arts and social studies, providing teachers with opportunities to teach theatre processes and knowledge while developing students’ understandings of the world around them.

Alternating as players and observers in creative drama lessons, students begin to learn appropriate audience behavior. Participating in classroom conversations in which drama experiences are critiqued builds the foundation for independent reflection about dramatic events they experience in school and at home, in live or filmed formats. Scaffolded, or sequenced, theatre instruction helps children develop the concepts, techniques, and skills that serve as the basis for evaluating productions in which they observe others perform.

Scheduling

Students achieve their highest potential in theatre course content when there is adequate "time for teachers to teach and for students to learn." Scheduling theatre instruction in an already-crowded elementary schedule may be challenging; however, as part of the enrichment curriculum, school districts are obligated to provide instruction in creative drama. Chapter 74 gives districts the option of flexible arrangements and class setting, including mixed-age programs, as long as the instruction is appropriate for all students. In theatre, as in other content areas, students learn and develop skills with regular daily instruction.

Facilities

While the standard classroom is suitable for many creative dramatic activities, an alternative facility, such as a clear space, accommodates large group activities and minimizes distraction to neighboring classes. A formal theatre is not necessary since students engaged in creative drama activities do not generally perform for a formal audience.