This paper discusses the role that imagination plays in child development with an imaginary dialogue between Sigmund Freud and a child. (CB)

Research related to how young children's drawings change and develop is well documented and an extensive literature on this area can be traced back to the nineteenth century. Most of this literature, however, focuses on developmental aspects and largely fails to explore what would seem to be an essential ingredient in each drawings…

This study tests the hypothesis that components of play such as immagination contribute to cognitive development. Twenty-four middle-class children attending a university-affiliated preschool were observed for 20 one-minute play observations during the Spring Semesters of 1978 and 1979. Play was coded using categories for both social (solitary,…

Describes how a teacher can use a puppet from outer space to help preschool children reinforce their knowledge of facial features, stretch their imaginations and practice using verbal skills. (CM)

Three experiments examined 24- though 39-month-olds' understanding of pretend episodes, such as a puppet pouring pretend milk into a container and then tipping it over a toy animal. The children understood the linkage between the two actions and realized that the toy animal would become "wet." (MDM)

Results of two studies indicated that three- and four-year-old children understood that, although perception is necessary for knowledge, it is irrelevant for imagination and that three year olds often claimed that imagination reflected reality. (MDM)

Research Findings: This study content analyzed 29 frequently used children's books in pre-kindergarten through 3rd-grade classrooms. Although the books included European and African American literature, none of the 29 books addressed other ethnic groups in the United States, and only two included international perspectives. Male and middle…

This article proposes a cognitive theory of how drama affects two aspects of language development: narrative comprehension and narrative production. It is a theoretical model that explicitly posits the role of the imagination in drama's potential to enhance the development of both narrative comprehension and narrative production. (Contains 2…

This description of the development of imagination and fantasy in children outlines how children view their fantasies, imaginings, imaginary companions, and lies at different stages of development. Main topics include (1) the purposes of fantasy; (2) fantasy in preschool children; (3) imaginative games and dramas; (4) promotion or inhibition of…

The structural elements of the spontaneous symbolic play of 2- and 3-year-olds were compared with those of 4- and 5-year-olds. All 32 children studied were enrolled in a private day care center. Each child was observed during free play in the center for 15 minutes. Three categories of signifiers (animate, inanimate and imaginary) and five modes of…

Maintains that listening to storytelling is an important developmental experience for young children, and provides suggestions and information on techniques for telling traditional, personal experience, and personal imagination stories. (CM)

Pairs of preschool children saw television commercials that varied in formal features (high versus low perceptual salience) and placement in a television show (dispersed through the program versus clustered at the beginning and end). Sixty-four subjects (32 female and 32 male) from a university preschool participated in the study. (Author/RH)

Analysis (using semantic scoring criteria) indicated that: (1) self-action yielded higher scores on recall; and (2) girls scored significantly higher than boys. When absolute and syntactic criteria were used, self-action, puppet-action, and color, paste, and cut actions were equally facilitative. (Author)

Presents findings concerning the role of symbolic play. Assumes that symbolic play has seven functions in the child's development: cognitive, creative, ordering, stimulative, social, expressive, and substitutive. Considers play as a phenomenon that prepares children's abilities through symbolic play. (BAC)