This book examines dramatic interactions between a 3-year-old Inuit girl and the adults in her world. In these playful yet emotionally charged dramas, Inuit adults enact with children the plots that drive Inuit social life; they test, act out problems, entertain themselves, and create children who think and feel like an Inuit. The child, Chubby…

Presents results from ethnographic study on children's everyday life in Finnish daycare centers. Raises question of the relationship between play and real life, and analyzes play and playfulness as communicative resources used by children in creating everyday routines. Argues play is not a separate children's world; by using play, children also…

Recounts a week-long environmental program that revolved around staff dressing up as Alpha Centaurions to point out pollution on Earth. Activities were chosen to teach students about ways in which our environment is being ruined and students were encouraged to look for solutions. Activities included zoo visits, ecological study of Brockhill Valley…

Describes how one instructor incorporates daily poetry "breaks" in middle school. Explains that students begin by listening to Eve Merriam's "How to Eat a Poem," then imitate poems first in pantomime, then with sound and action. Notes that students later write and trade poems, and end the term with a poetry festival. (SG)

Describes and illustrates a technique for using guided dramatization in intervention with special needs or at-risk children. Discusses social benefits of the technique. Maintains that the technique is useful for helping mainstreamed children socially integrate into the regular classroom. (BG)

This dramatic reading was created from the questions generated by a class of drama education majors at the University of Alberta (Canada) and is used to describe a case study assignment approach to teacher education in drama. Education in a democratic society is underpinned with the willingness to listen. The mythology which claims that the gulf…

Part 2 of this five part project asks students of the Tasmanian region of Australia to explore the history of Port Arthur, a 19th century penal colony located in Tasmania. The project is based on three ideas: (1) studying history can be educational and enjoyable; (2) imagination is an essential part of studying history; and (3) history is most of…

Play is the spontaneous or organized recreational activity of children; it is at the heart of the preschool curriculum. Play aids in the development of physical, intellectual, and social skills. Children's play progresses through three developmental stages: solitary, parallel, and social. Preschool teachers should arrange for four kinds of…

Comprehensive instructions for selecting, staging, directing, and evaluating a program of readers theatre is provided for teachers of the elementary school grades. A step-by-step guide using a wide variety of detailed examples is presented in the first section of the booklet. Various chapters in this section discuss (1) readers theatre's unique…

A major purpose of this text is to present a broad program of varied and vigorous physical education activities for the preschool and early primary school child. The text also includes chapters dealing with equipment, effective teaching, effective class management, lesson planning, and movement education. (CS)

In child-centered education programs, children construct their own knowledge from their experiences and interactions with the world around them, and teachers foster children's growth and development by building on children's interests, needs, and strengths within a safe and caring environment. The Step by Step educational program developed a…

Intended to encourage children to develop their imaginations naturally, with only a small amount of help from adults, this book presents over 125 activities for creative and pretend play for young children. The book's introduction describes the importance and benefits of pretend play, the adult's role, and needed materials and space. The…

Details four developmentally appropriate dramatic play experiences for integration into the classroom curriculum to extend dramatic play into a classroom play experience. Provides guidance in turning dramatic play into a project, launching the play process, readying the performance, problem solving, playing the play, and enjoying the outcome.…

Offers suggestions relating to the general characteristics of young readers to aid library media specialists in effective teaching and communication. Topics discussed include physical access, dependence, and activity levels; the use of games and dramatic play; children's interests; conceptual development; and emotional needs and behaviors. (CLB)

This book describes a course in drama, art, and story writing for children in grades four through eight. Twenty lesson plans guide students from creating scenes in drama to writing and illustrating their own stories. The plans include simple and practical improvisations for the classroom, as well as suggestions for plays and exhibits of the…