The paper contains progress reports supported by data about two short activities aimed at introducing physics themes in primary school. The first is a formal storytelling intervention named "Mommy Comet" carried out in first- and fifth-grade classes and concerning motion in the absence of forces in the Solar System broad context. The…

Few national studies have been conducted on students' receipt of arts instruction, particularly in the early grades. To address this gap in the literature, this Issue Brief provides a descriptive look at the prevalence of arts instruction received by first and third grade public school students in their schools. Using spring 2000 and spring 2002…

A study examined the process of putting together a class play and assessed how the performance of the play affected the self-esteem of a first-grade class. Subjects, 21 students representing diverse demographic factors, completed two self-esteem measures (a self-evaluation instrument and an interview) before and after the theater production. Over…

First grade students (38) viewed a theater production on the theme of friendship in a study designed to determine the degree of the students' dramatic literacy. General objectives of the study were to: (1) compare children's learning from live theater with their learning from television; (2) describe what children knew about the play they saw and…