How can teachers transformclassroom teaching and learning by making pedagogy more socially and culturally responsive and relevant to students' lives and more collaborative? How can they engage disaffected students in learning and at the same time promote deep understanding though high-quality teaching that goes beyond test preparation? This text for prospective and practicing teachers introduces engaging, innovative pedagogy for putting active dramatic approaches to learning and teaching into action. It features real stories of struggle as well as success and analysis of, and by, teachers working in actual classrooms in diverse settings. The stories explore not only how, but also why, these teachers have changed how they teach. Each chapter introduces core ideas, related theory, contrasting stories, and guidance, building on ideas developed in the previous chapter. The introduction situates this pedagogy within current, but also historical desires, for alternative pedagogies. The final chapter on planning invites readers to apply these principles as they plan for their own classroom contexts.