Reviews four books dealing with different aspects of preschool and primary grades curriculum. The books address the following topics: the importance of a play-centered curriculum, problems and solutions related to children's transition from home or child care to school, how schools can teach respect and responsibility, and the theory and practice…

Developmental issues, short-term solutions for children's conflicts, and goals for conflict resolution training are discussed. A step-by-step approach for teachers to use in working through a conflict with children is included, as is a list of children's books that deal with conflict resolution. (LB)

Considers the use of sociodramatic play to help preschool children with their literacy development. Describes and assesses the Scrapbook Project at a university laboratory preschool. In this project, children dictate stories to their teacher, choose props to illustrate their stories, and act out their stories. (BB)

A study of 40 children (age 4) with disabilities examined their activities, adult involvement, and the social context of their activities within inclusive early childhood programs. Children with disabilities were most involved in play with manipulatives or in nonplay, while typical peers were most often involved in dramatic play. (Author/CR)

Observed the effects of dramatic play center variations on children's social and cognitive play behaviors. Found that solitary-designed centers facilitated more solitary play than group-designed centers; dramatic play increased in the intervention and follow-up housekeeping centers compared to the baseline housekeeping center; and thematic centers…

Notes that variety and difference in writing styles, methodology, and theoretical perspectives are both the greatest strength and greatest limitation of this book containing articles on child, adult, and animal play written by authors from education, psychology, anthropology, and sociology. Suggests that readers can gain theoretical and…

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…

This guide contains profiles of 16 activities for young children to participate in while attending camp. Each profile contains the theme of the activity, a list of materials needs, a description of the activity itself, and an explanation of the teacher's role in the activity. The activities focus on: (1) songs and dances; (2) dramatic play; (3)…

This study explored the effects of children's cultural group on the content of their dramatic and sociodramatic play. After defining play, dramatic play, sociodramatic play, and culture, observations were conducted by a preschool teacher of Latino-American and first-generation African-American 4-year-olds over an 8-week period. Play that was…

The chapters and essays in this book are drawn from the 1988 edition of "Play as a Medium for Learning and Development." The first chapter, "The Challenge of Educational Play," by Bernard Spodek and Olivia N. Saracho, is followed by two essays: (1) "Play and the Origin of Species," (Michael J. Ellis); and (2)…

A classroom research project in Alaska explored what role dramatic play and story reenactments have as a teaching/learning method for young childrens' development. A review of the literature identified several common elements that helped teachers elicit successful dramatic story reenactments: choosing a familiar book or story; encouraging…

A study investigated the styles teachers exhibit while interacting with children in literacy-enriched play settings, whether teachers switch between several different styles, and how different play interaction styles affect children's play behaviors. Subjects, seven 4-year-olds enrolled in a university laboratory preschool class, a lead teacher,…

In a study investigating the hypothesis that verbal paraphrase and explanation tasks account for part of the difficulty that young children have with tests of metaphor comprehension, 32 six-year-old children were read short stories that ended with metaphorical sentences. Half of the children were asked to paraphrase the metaphorical sentences…

This document outlines an approach to creativity called "developmental dramatics," in which process is considered to be infinitely more important than performance. "Four pillars of the foundation of learning" are explored in discussions of art and visual, music, movement, and make-believe activities. Basic guidelines for…

A total of 87 college professors, childhood development experts, and school teachers from the United States, Canada, the Republic of Korea, and the Philippines participated, along with 34 representatives from the host country of Taiwan, in a seminar to exchange views and experiences related to the role of the arts in child development. This volume…