Reviews two sets of play theories, classical and modern, noting that the reason and purpose for play are explained by classical theories; the role of play in child development, determined by modern theories. States that process of play has dual functions of personal expression and social adaptation. Examines the relationship between play and…

Found a relationship between enriched sociodramatic play experiences and increases in children's language performance in the year before the children entered kindergarten. (BC)

Describes a theater for children and youth on the island of Aruba and the celebration of the project in a youth theater festival. Outlines the goals of the theater project. Discusses the development of the festival plays, the themes expressed in terms of metaphor, and the communication through objects used in the plays. (CR)

Takes a look at what creativity is and where it goes as people age. Describes six exercises the author has used to spark creativity in middle school and high school students, both in the classroom and on stage. (SR)

Describes a drama lesson in which a class of grade-one students spent one and a half hours engaged with second-year elementary education student teachers. Illustrates the power of drama to deeply engage students in a range of language arts activities. (SR)

The paper considers the definition of high quality preschool from a Vygotskian perspective. Similarities and differences in the issues faced in Russia and those in the United States are discussed as background. Three major ideas are considered from the work of Vygotsky and of his students/colleagues, Daniel Elkonin and Alexander Zaporozhets. The…

The centenary of the first performance of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan was celebrated in December 2004. Taking account of the various events in Britain to mark the occasion--newspaper articles, radio and television programmes, retrospects in the original theatre--this article examines the status and popularity of Peter Pan after a hundred years. The…

Drama can enhance creativity for young children. Opportunities to participate in dramatic play activities and creative dramatics should be included in the experiences for young children. Through creative dramatics and dramatic play, children develop cognitive, motor, social and emotional behaviors, and they develop aesthetic appreciation. Dramatic…

War play is play with a toy that initiates violence or play that involves the imitation of war. War play can involve: (1) the use of toys based on television cartoon shows to imitate the action in the cartoons; (2) play with replicas of war paraphernalia or manipulatives shaped into guns; and (3) dramatic play. The negative effects on children…

This paper analyzes a conversational episode from a study of children's play in an educational setting to demonstrate conversational analysis as a research methodology. The analysis reveals the interactional means by which a dramatic play sequence is orchestrated. Children are seen to be sophisticated in their use of talk to create and shape the…

Two major questions were explored by this study: "Will the use of socio-dramatic play increase the use of language?" and, "Will the use of language in fantasy play transfer to a cognitive task?" Results affirmatively answer these questions. (Author)

Describes a program which was designed to encourage childern with cleft palates to verbalize experiences through creative dramatics. (SET)

To investigate the development of symbolic play, 18 Japanese normal boys and girls were individually tested once every even-numbered month from when they were 12 to 24 months of age. Symbolic play was generally defined as behavior which represents actual or imagined experience by using objects, gesture or language alone or in combination. The…

Relationships between kindergarteners' symbolic functioning in free play, selected demographic variables (sex, age, and socioeconomic status), and the children's ability to generate isolated written words were investigated. Sixty-five kindergarteners (37 male, 28 female) were tested and observed in their classes over a 4-week period. Play was…

Storytelling is a shared experience between the teller and the listeners. The two basic concerns of the storyteller are to choose good stories and to make the telling interesting and exciting. Selection of a story should be based on the criteria of good plot and characters, an authentic setting, appropriate dialog, and appeal to the listerners'…