Several characteristics of children's play were noted by observing the playground activities of Vietnamese refugee and American children. The Vietnamese children tended to participate in highly structured games while their American peers often chose spontaneous play--games with structures that go beyond or destroy rules. It is suggested that…

To document the frequency of sharing in the context of classroom activities, a total of 116 preschool children 3 to 5 years of age were observed for half-hour periods in 17 classrooms of 4 preschools. Sharing was defined as interchanges in which the original holder grants to another child the partial use, or possession of a thing. All observations…

Play is children's active involvement with the environment and the things in it. It is apparently enjoyable, voluntary, self-initiated, often social and a natural product of the processes of physical, social and cognitive growth. Play is also the context in which parents interact often and meaningfully with their children. But what do parents or…

This study compares the effectiveness of three methods of teaching object names to young children. These methods were (1) informal play, in which an adult named and described those objects with which a child played; (2) picture reading, in which an adult named and described objects depicted in photographs; and (3) a combination of the first and…

Subjects were 26 female three-, four- and five-year-old children who free-played four different sets, each containing a culturally-defined feminine, masculine and neutral toy. A same- or opposite-sex adult was either present or absent during play. Results included the following: (1) girls played longer than boys with feminine and neutral toys,…

The independent contributions of action and violence in television programs to children's attention and social behavior were investigated. Pairs of preschool children were assigned to one of four television conditions (1) high action-high violence, (2) high action-low violence, (3) low action-low violence, or (4) no television. Action was defined…

A study was undertaken to observe the frequency of play of 30 preschool handicapped children (physically, emotionally, or hearing impaired) in either a mainstreamed or segregated setting. Each S was observed 6 times over a 7 month period. Results showed a higher frequency of play in the mainstreamed preschool classroom, and that adult initiated…

This paper takes the position that toys can significantly modify children's behavior and that considerable care needs to go into the decisions one makes when buying a toy. Toys are regarded as educational aids and sources of potential learning. A given toy can provide a variety of lessons. Such lessons include: (1) learning about the various…

BY PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONS AND SAMPLE SCRIPTS, THE AUTHOR SHOWS TEACHERS HOW TO BROADEN THE ENVIRONMENT OF HANDICAPPED CHILDREN THROUGH DRAMATIC PLAY. TECHNIQUES OF PLAY PLANNING, MATERIALS, ADAPTATIONS FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN, PLAY ORGANIZATION, AND PLAY PRESENTATION ARE DISCUSSED. NINE PLAY SCRIPTS AND FOUR MUSICAL REVIEWS DEVELOPED BY…

This study tests the hypothesis that components of play such as immagination contribute to cognitive development. Twenty-four middle-class children attending a university-affiliated preschool were observed for 20 one-minute play observations during the Spring Semesters of 1978 and 1979. Play was coded using categories for both social (solitary,…

In this study of early peer interaction, 32 first born infants (16 boys, 16 girls) were videotaped in pairs at 6, 9 and 12 months. Each 15 minute session consisted of Toys Present (TP) and Toys Absent(TA) conditions counterbalanced across dyads. Three questions were addressed: (1) Are infants as young as 6 months capable of interacting with a…