Play Today in the Primary School Playground : Life, Learning and Creativity

by Bishop, Julia C.; Curtis, Mavis

• ISBN13: 9780335207152
• ISBN10: 0335207154
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-05-01
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Summary

This book examines the free play of children in middle childhood, exploring their actual play activities in the school playground. It counters the widespread concern about the supposed decline in children's play with fresh evidence from Australia, Canada, France, Israel and Britain of the vibrancy, creativity and variety of free play activities, particularly in the school playground. The detailed case studies discuss the many aspects of children's play traditions, including the use of playground space, the ways in which children learn and adapt games and rhymes in multicultural and monocultural settings, children's creative and subversive use of mass media items, and gendered dimensions of play. Emphasis is on children's own perceptions, the importance of free play at a time when it is increasingly under threat, and the benefits that an informed appreciation of contemporary children's play can bring to teaching, the management of school playtime, and intercultural and intergenerational understanding.

Table of Contents

List of contributors	vii
Foreword	x
Iona Opie
Acknowledgements	xv
Introduction	1	(20)
Julia C. Bishop
Mavis Curtis
Part 1: Today's play: adult and child perspectives	21	(38)
Three myths about children's folklore	24	(13)
June Factor
The ins and outs of school playground play: children's use of `play places'	37	(22)
Marc Armitage
Part 2: Creativity, continuity and variety in contemporary play traditions	59	(74)
Counting in and counting out: who knows what in the playground	62	(18)
Mavis Curtis
It's not all black or white: the influence of the media, the classroom and immigrant groups on children's playground singing games	80	(18)
Kathryn Marsh
`We like singing the Spice Girl songs...and we like Tig and Stuck in the Mud': girls' traditional games on two playgrounds	98	(17)
Elizabeth Grugeon
The saga of Susie: the dynamics of an international handclapping game	115	(18)
Andy Arleo
Part 3: Widening perspectives: the possibilities of play	133	(47)
Rhythm, repetition and rhetoric: learning language in the school playground	135	(17)
J. D. A. Widdowson
From Hopscotch to Siji: generations at play in a cross-cultural setting	152	(15)
Simon Lichman
`Our dreams in action': spirituality and children's play today	167	(13)
Carole H. Carpenter
Conclusion: The importance of play for today	180	(4)
Julia C. Bishop
Mavis Curtis
Bibliography	184	(12)
Audio-visual references	196	(1)
Games and rhymes index	197	(3)
Index	200