Pretend play is often undervalued and ignored. This videotape and accompanying booklet highlight how the dramatic scenarios, microworlds, storytelling, and block building of pretend play provide young children the opportunity to develop skills for a lifetime of intellectual, social, emotional, and creative development. The booklet describes the…

This study assessed effects of teaching sociodramatic play skills to three children (ages five to nine) with autism. Positive changes were observed in play, language, and social skills. These changes generalized across toys and settings, although little generalization to other play partners occurred. (Author/DB)

Play, long seen as an outlet for unused physical and emotional energy, and as a way of learning adult roles, is also recognized for its role in language development in children. Through play, children gain the skill to use symbols and representation for things and events in the environment, providing the basis of their further use of language.…

Notes that Davidson's book provides an in-depth exploration of the contribution of dramatic play to emergent literacy and ways that teachers can implement play-based literacy learning. Maintains that the book has a balanced theoretical orientation, provides a sensitive treatment of intervention, presents a thoughtful treatment of oral and written…

Describes an instructional approach that encourages teachers to guide children in narrating stories based on actual or imagined experiences, particularly those that transpire in the classroom. Discusses ways of incorporating events from dramatic play and everyday occurrences into storytelling activities and offers a story sampler that exemplifies…

A study examined the social pretend play and conversational behaviors of three children (ages 4-6) with language impairment in dyadic interactions with peers. In all dyads, social pretend play yielded greater conversational success than other forms of play. Quality of play varied as a function of partner characteristics. (Contains references.)…

Pretend play and language growth are related through representational thought. Fundamental to representational thought are five connectives, at the theoretical level, which link pretend play and language growth: motor actions, roles and role changes, creative expression, concentration, and decentration. At the research level, results of selected…

This introduction to, and comment upon, a symposium on communicative competence argues that the appropriate unit of analysis in language development is communicative competence and proposes that the development of communicative competence can be studied usefully through observing children's communication during role play. Communicative competence…

Research findings indicate that role play can contribute to children's language growth through furthering: (a) growth in imaging, (b) increased recall, (c) discriminative listening, (d) development of novel forms of communication, (e) learning of socially appropriate communication, and (f) motoric actions. Teachers can facilitate role-playing by…

This paper reviews theoretical writings on the importance and function of imaginative play in the development of young children, and describes measurement instruments and instructional aids used for imaginative play in home and school settings. A historical summary of the function of play in the young child's life is presented. Early theories saw…