Describes frame play as a type of play in which children and teacher jointly plan the theme, roles, and actions and produce an extended imaginary play situation that can be repeated. Presents other types of play and discusses teachers' role in supporting theme development, resource organization, and environment transformation. Analyzes frame play…

This booklet discusses the importance of pretend play in the education of young children in Australia. The booklet notes that pretend, or socio-dramatic, play is characterized by imitative role playing, make-believe objects and situations, persistence, interaction, and verbal communication. Pretend play can appear as early as age 2 and peaks at…

Focusing on spontaneous drama--a means of encouraging, extending, and enhancing children's imaginations--this book discusses the growth in language creativity that results when students work with teachers who provide informal drama experiences in their classrooms. The book describes what drama is, how it is done with children, and why it should be…

Through storytelling and creative drama, teachers can introduce children to good quality literature they might otherwise miss. By making the connection between books and storytelling and between books and creative drama, the storyteller/teacher introduces literature as a source of pleasure. Storytelling and creative dramatics also give children…

Ways in which early childhood educators can help children prepare for medical events through play are suggested in this pamphlet. Three qualities are seen as essential to a valuable hospital/medical play experience: (1) a focus on the child's current medical interests and experiences, (2) inclusion of information about a child's forthcoming or…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the preschool teacher in dealing effectively with aggression in the classroom setting. First, assertiveness, aggression and hostility are differentiated and theories of aggression are reviewed. Subsequently, social, home, family, and temperamental factors influencing aggressive behavior of…

Vivian Gussin Paley's "storytelling curriculum" consists of two interdependent activities, dictation and dramatization. It has long been recognized for its impact on young children's psychosocial, language, and narrative development. As a result of the Bush administration's educational policies, holistic, play-based curricula like storytelling are…

Presents the idea that self-questioning is an important resource for learning, and that creative drama should provide a unique support for "wondering" in the classroom because drama teachers model open-ended questioning and elicit the same from students. (JC)

Discusses how large hollow blocks can meet many preschool children's learning needs through creative dramatic play, and also gives some guidelines on how these blocks can be constructed by parents and teachers. (BB)

Describes ways in which the inclusion of literacy materials in kindergarten classroom dramatic play centers encourages young children to incorporate literacy activities into their play. (BB)

Sociodramatic play, which combines role play and dramatization, is suitable for elementary and secondary language classrooms. It is learner centered and caters to varying language abilities. Children draw upon their existing experiences as the basis for their play. Teacher input is essential. The paper examines advantages and disadvantages of this…

In this article, the author describes some of the key research findings that demonstrate the relationship between school readiness and preschool play. She begins with definitions of both school readiness and play, and then describes the teacher's role in ensuring that play is used effectively to promote school readiness. The author goes on to…

This article presents the Let's Talk project as a different approach to oral language development. This approach was based on observations of classrooms in the Netherlands where children talked at large tables while playing with miniature figures representing people and objects they were familiar with in their daily lives. It was also influenced…

This paper provides an extensive discussion of children's play, including examination of theoretical, developmental, measurement, and classroom or playgroup perspectives for teachers of children between the ages of 2 and 6 years. The first section offers a brief overview of theories of play and describes several distinguishing features of play,…

Suggests that children will become more constructively involved during outside play time if teachers and caregivers plan and implement outdoor learning centers and change them frequently. Identifies four kinds of play and describes appropriate learning center activities for each. (BB)