Improvisation teaches students that they have the power to create. Drama can be a rehearsal for life, where students learn from successes and mistakes. Topics for improvisation can relate directly to class work or stimulate discussion of new topics. The article examines three steps for teaching improvisation (verbalization, visualization, and…

Reviews existing evidence and presents new evidence supporting the view that gender segregation in play may be in part the result of gender differences in physiological and behavioral reactions to emotional arousal and its regulation. Suggests that differences in contexts that elicit arousal in boys and girls may also contribute to gender…

Examined effects of exposure to print and interaction with a more knowledgeable adult partner on 56 kindergarten children's environmental print knowledge. Results suggest that exposure and functional experiences with adults in print-enriched play settings may offer an important opportunity for young children to associate meaning with print. (WP)

Two studies examined 19 preschoolers' ability to distinguish between pretense and reality, testing whether emotionally charged events can cause children to lend probability to pretense. Subjects were assigned to various conditions including termination or no termination of pretense and emotionally colored pretense play scenarios. Found that, even…

Seven children (ages 4 to 7) with autism were taught to engage in symbolic play using Pivotal Response Training. Children with autism rarely exhibited symbolic play before training, but after training they learned to perform complex and creative symbolic play at levels similar to that of language-matched controls. Interaction skills also improved…

Investigated the effects of three types of block, housekeeping, and changing thematic play centers on young children's language production. Although results indicated that language production and vocabulary varied according to the type of center, children produced more oral language and used more diverse vocabulary in the block center. (Author/BB)

Examined young children's social play for length of play episodes, use of communicative strategies, and complexity of play. Concluded that children spontaneously constructed shared meaning during interactive play from their shared knowledge about everyday activities and by responding to and building on their partner's ideas as the play unfolded.…

A study was conducted over a 15-week period during which 6 preschoolers made weekly visits to a day-care center. There was little spontaneous cooperative play between day-care children and children with disabilities. Students with disabilities showed increased social and play skills. (LB)

In comparison to infants of mothers who had no symptoms of depression, infants of mothers with symptoms exhibited reduced left frontal lobe activity during play and failed to exhibit increased right frontal lobe activity during distress. Infants of symptomatic mothers showed less distress during maternal separation than infants of nonsymptomatic…

Literacy materials were added to preschoolers' play areas. The teacher encouraged some of the children to use the materials. Observations revealed that children who received encouragement engaged in more literacy-related play than other children. Subsequent literacy assessments revealed no differences in literacy between the groups of children.…

This Dutch study examined the play behavior of 18 kindergarten children without mental retardation and 55 children with retardation, all at a developmental age of 4 to 5 years, as they played individually with a stimulating adult. The study found few differences with regard to activity, types and quality of play, and play content. (DB)

A study of 3-5 year olds in child care focused on the children's real and pretend aggression, rough-and-tumble play, and nonaggressive pretend play. Results suggest that toy gun play and parental punishment are positively associated with a high level of real aggression but not of pretend aggression. (LB)

Children between 5 and 10 years of age watched boys and girls endorse toys of varying attractiveness and then play with the toys. Boys with gender constancy spent more time than other boys in playing with unattractive sex-typed toys. Among girls, toy play was related to the toy's attractiveness. (BC)

Considers contributions of Sigmund Freud and Rene Spitz to developmental psychology. Freud's contributions include his observations about play, perspectives on developmental processes, and ideas about unconscious mental activity. Spitz's contributions include his assessments of infants, perspectives on developmental processes, and his concept of…

Describes a research project that focused on the work of a teacher and students in an afterschool drama class during two academic years. Explores the development of the researchers' and the teacher's increased understandings about effective processes for story development in dramatic contexts. (SR)