Cooperation and Dramatic Play in the Kindergarten Classroom

Renee Ziegler

Introduction

In this language-rich unit, which fosters the social skills of cooperation and collaboration, my students will be immersed in playing, listening, speaking, learning, creating, and performing. Through various dramatic play activities, children will strengthen their speaking and listening skills, while learning the essential skill of cooperation with others. The culminating activity will be to create and perform in a play or puppet show.

I teach kindergarten at West Park Place Elementary School in the Christina School District. West Park is a neat little school in the city limits of Newark, a couple of blocks from the University of Delaware. The school is racially and economically diverse. The neighborhoods surrounding the school include beautiful, single family homes, as well as apartments. Our students are the children of college professors, graduate students, immigrants, and struggling single parents. We also receive children from the University’s Early Learning Center daycare, which has a sliding scale and “no expulsion” (for behavior issues) policy. In addition, the University has a large English Language Institute, so West Park has been fortunate to have children from many other countries in our student population. About 30-40% of the families are receiving free or reduced lunch.

Rationale

On average, I have twenty-two students in my class each year. They come to school with varying skills, background knowledge, and school experiences. While the occasional student enters kindergarten reading, a number of children come to school with no knowledge of letters or numbers. Many children have attended daycare or preschool (and the experiences in these different settings vary widely), but some have never been away from home. A typical morning in kindergarten finds children squabbling about who was first in line, grabbing books, crayons, or blocks from each other, and children hoarding materials, unwilling to share. At recess, kindergarten teachers will intervene with children who are aggressive, friendships that have gone awry, and games that have dissolved into tears. While many children enjoy the company of peers, some prefer to play alone, at least some of the time (especially if this means they don’t have to share prized classroom

materials). We have children who have been read to daily since birth and are highly verbal. There are also students who have never listened to stories or even heard nursery rhymes. Some children are adept at using writing utensils and others are struggling to write (or even recognize in print) their first names. Some children have never held pencils, crayons, or markers. A yearly first day assessment for me is to ask the children to draw a self-portrait. This simple (and developmentally appropriate) assessment tells me so much more about my students than the district kindergarten assessment or Dibels test!

Friedrich Froebel, in Germany in the 1800’s, created the first kindergarten, which means “children’s garden”. The emphasis was on play and social development. The children were viewed as creative beings. For many, many years, kindergarten remained a gentle introduction to school. Children were immersed in the arts, as a way to develop the language, fine motor, and social skills needed to become “school ready”. Children sang, danced, played, and created in the kindergarten.

Unfortunately, over the years, kindergarten has increasingly become more academic in nature. Half-day, developmental programs have given way to full-day academics for 5 year olds. Many people now refer to kindergarten as the “new first grade”. Art, which was an integral part of kindergarten, is now considered “extra”. When I first began my teaching career in the late 1980’s, I allowed 20 minutes in my daily schedule, in half-day kindergarten, to music and movement. Today, my schedule (in a full day program) is district mandated, down to the minute (and filled with math, reading, intervention, science, and social studies).

Despite entering school with varying readiness for academic learning, we are required to teach to the Common Core Standards. The reading, math, and writing standards are rigorous and highly academic for kindergarten. The students must be able to read sight words and solve math problems accurately. The standards include requiring five and six year olds to participate in shared writing and research projects, and to draw and write about a topic, supplying accurate information about the topic. If you have ever talked with a five year old, you know that it is hard for them, sometimes, to even respond verbally to specific questions without going off-topic!

In addition, Common Core pushes for communicating and collaborating in order to demonstrate mastery. Many of the kindergarten standards are language based, and social in nature, requiring children to demonstrate understanding in some fashion. Cooperative learning, pair-share, and buddy reading are terms commonly heard in education today. Cooperation is the key to living successfully in the world. It is also paramount in any classroom, in particular the early childhood learning environment. However, five and six year olds are egocentric by nature! Children who have never been to school before, or children who do not have siblings, are not used to sharing materials or taking another person’s point of view. For this reason, I want to concentrate on fostering cooperation in my classroom, using the arts- in particular, drama and visual art.

The reasons for incorporating the arts into the daily kindergarten curriculum are many, and include: encouraging joyful, active learning, developing higher level thinking skills, building community, and fostering collaborative work skills. We kindergarten teachers need to find ways to make learning motivating and meaningful, if we (and our students) are to be successful. Including the arts in our daily lessons, as a vehicle to master the Common Core Standards, will help to do just that.

Reading, writing, and problem solving can be very taxing work for small children! To ready the children for all these rigorous academic pursuits, I would like to focus primarily on speaking and listening standards with this unit, especially early in the school year. In order to be able to write, they need to be able to speak! Research supports the idea that learning is enhanced through verbal interaction and cooperative learning. Participating in drama and visual art activities will be highly engaging for students and will give them clear reasons to want and need to cooperate.

Background Knowledge

Social-Emotional Growth of the Kindergarten Child

Most kindergarten students enjoy interacting with adults and other children. However, now that they are in “big school”, children may be meeting others that are not very much like them for the first time. They are beginning to expand their circle of trusted adults, although they may feel closest to a few special people (relatives and classroom teacher). In early childhood, children are learning to understand personal feelings but may have difficulty managing the feelings and needs of others. They are still somewhat egocentric and may not always able to be empathetic in their interactions. They are gaining confidence in managing social situations independently, especially if they have had preschool experience. Through many opportunities for interacting and relating to others, most children will grow their social management skills. Activities that increase social awareness include discussing situations that occur in the child’s daily world, role playing, and playing charades. In charades, the child can observe facial expressions and body language in order to determine feelings. Through experience, young children can begin to understand how their actions can affect the feelings of others.1 In kindergarten, children are starting to be interested in what their classmates think of them.

Although the typical kindergarten child is managing feelings and social situations with increasing independence, nearly ten to fifteen percent of students in early childhood experience social-emotional problems that will negatively affect school functioning and development. The discrepancies in social-emotional development in children can be attributed to many different causes, including: disabilities, genetics, behaviors modeled by adults, the child’s sense of security, and opportunities for social interaction.2

However, there is much a classroom teacher can do to assist the child with social-emotional issues, including becoming familiar with child development and behavioral concerns, providing opportunities for positive social interaction (with modeling), and setting the environment. A classroom with a predictable routine is comforting to children. Knowing what to expect will calm anxiety, which is often a trigger for negative behaviors. Areas for both quiet and more active play/work will address different needs of students. A “chill out” zone, for calming down, as well as comfort materials (like stuffed animals), is helpful when children need to regroup. In addition, many behavior problems can be improved by providing creative opportunities in the classroom setting.

The Value of Play

In today’s educational climate of data, testing, and rigor (becoming college or career ready, beginning in kindergarten), the value of play is ignored. Frequently viewed as having little purpose other than enjoyment, play is disappearing from early childhood and elementary classrooms. L.S. Vygotsky, one of the 20th century’s important writers on language and thinking, believed that play is the leading source of development in the early childhood years. Play is the child’s work. Play in and of itself is engaging. During self-directed play, the young child will create, problem solve, and build an attention span. According to Jean Piaget, a psychologist who studied learning in children, the most learning occurs when children are active, rather than passive. Teachers should create inquiry-based, collaborative, as well as individual, learning activities in which children can problem solve. Piaget and John Dewey, educational theorists, believed that the most meaningful learning follows a three part cycle: first a goal for learning or sense of purpose is necessary, followed by a period of exploration, in which teacher directed instruction is limited. Last is a period of reflection, and an opportunity to revise goals, based on what was discovered. Unfortunately, as districts around the country push for more academic achievement, direct instruction is taking up more of the school day, with little time devoted to exploration. Children are being taught how to take tests, even in our early childhood programs, and staples of the kindergarten classroom are disappearing- wooden blocks, housekeeping corners with dress up clothes and dolls, and toys. Young children need to do more than memorize facts for recall!

The kindergarten student has a widening repertoire of social skills, including suggesting play activities and joining an existing group. The cooperative play of the kindergarten student is longer lasting and more complex, compared to that of the preschool child. They establish and maintain friendships with peers, and enjoy the acceptance of others, but also sometimes exclude other children in their play .Children of this age are beginning to have a broader array of strategies for compromise and negotiation, although sometimes do still see an adult for solving problems with peers.3

Constructivist Theory

In seminar, we learned about constructivist theory, which is when students construct their own understanding through experiences and prior knowledge. A constructivist teacher strives to promote cooperation among the students in his/her classroom. This is fostered by the teacher’s respect for the students, as well as his/her knowledge of child development. Children cannot learn respect for others unless they are respected. In this way, the teacher creates a sociomoral atmosphere through modeling for children what cooperation and respect look like. Through daily experiences with conflict, sympathy, and community, children gradually begin to develop respect for self and others. In a constructivist classroom, children are heard and understood. Children do not think and understand in the same way as adults. The idea is for children to build emotional stability, coping mechanisms, interpersonal relationships, and social and moral values. These goals are realized through work in peer interactions. For instance, the young child may not be able to recognize the difference between action and intention. In my classroom, a child will often complain that someone hit him/her, when, in actuality, they were bumped accidentally. Children are very indignant when others use materials that they were planning to utilize. As small children are emotionally labile, conflicts often arise. The constructivist teacher encourages self-knowledge by assisting children to understand their own feelings and reactions. Only then, will they be able to consider the needs and feelings of others.4

Cooperative Play and Learning

Research clearly confirms the value of working with others. Through cooperative learning, the deepest, longest lasting learning is realized. In particular, the opportunity to create together enhances community in a classroom and the retention of ideas, knowledge and skills. Working collaboratively, either in partners or small groups, enhances students’ sense of belonging.5 Collaborative groups can be safer places in which for individuals to try new things, make mistakes, and share ideas. Group work assists teachers in differentiating learning, as well.

It is important for teachers to model key skills early in the cooperative learning process, starting small and gradually building to allow students more independence. In order for cooperative learning success, an inclusive classroom culture must be established. It is only natural for young children (and older ones, too) to socialize with certain children, and not others. Students need to be specifically taught the social skills needed for success in working with others. As a teacher, purposely observing students to gain an understanding of their peer relationships will show: Which children gravitate towards each other? Which students lead and who are the followers? Which students are good listeners? Speakers? Organizers? How do teachers structure groups and projects? At times, due to a lesson’s content or the needs of the class, a teacher will determine who works together. To give students the opportunity to work with many different classmates,

the teacher may want to do random pairings on a regular basis. This gives the students an opportunity to strengthen social skills by interacting with diverse classmates.

When the time comes for students to choose their own partners, the teacher will want to ensure an inclusive classroom culture exists, so that feelings are not hurt. Children will naturally gravitate towards friends. This can be both positive and negative. Motivation can be high when children are offered choices. However, the potential to be distracted by working with a best friend is very real. Therefore, teachers will need to discuss how to choose a partner that will foster productivity. A number of structured learning activities are described in The Joyful Classroom, which promote positive social interactions with classmates. In Four Corners, a question is posed to the class. Each corner of the room is designated as a possible response, and each student moves to the corner of his/her choice. Children discuss in pairs their opinion or response. In Info Exchange, index cards with facts, quotes, or pictures are distributed to each student. Students circulate to find a partner. Partners read and discuss the information on their cards. In Museum Walk, children display and view finished projects. Students walk around the room to view the completed work of their peers. In closing, the class gathers together to share ideas or reflect.6

These structured, teacher-led activities allow students to build on their skills for later cooperative work, and give the teacher many opportunities to model appropriate social interactions. Plus, they are fun ways to practice academic skills, as well.

Children are engaged when they are talking, sharing, thinking and moving. In order to manage cooperative learning opportunities, the teacher serves as the coach. He/she observes and responds, as needed, teaching students how to ask for help.

Language Skills of the Kindergarten Student

Kindergarten students love to communicate and to be heard. They come to school with ideas to share, regardless of their literacy development. Our challenge as kindergarten teachers is to develop fine motor skills and language skills during the first half of the school year, in order to prepare children to be writers that will meet the goals of the Common Core Writing Standards. In addition, it is imperative that children feel successful and view themselves as writers with something of importance to communicate.

For early fives, the child’s world is the focus of literacy development. Children share their ideas orally and through drawings. Telling personal stories- verbally and through drawing- helps children to develop language skills and an understanding of how stories work. Drawing detailed pictures, and explaining them, are the foundation for learning to read and write. During the early months of school, kindergarten teachers are hard at work, teaching their young ones phonics skills that will help them become successful

readers and writers. The first half of the year in kindergarten is all about the big ideas reading and writing.7

Communication, whether through talking, writing, or drawing, is important to the elementary aged child. Rigorous academic standards demand that children demonstrate understanding of content. Children can demonstrate mastery in a variety of ways- verbal, drawing, writing, creating, etc.

The following language skills are essential for purposeful, positive partner and group work: listening and speaking skills, asking/answering questions, agreeing/disagreeing, and crafting an argument. To collaborate effectively, begin with listening skills- the students must be able hear and understand what a classmate is saying, in order to collaborate in any way.8

The Arts

Once upon a time (and not so very long ago), the arts were an integral part of the kindergarten day. Many programs were half-day, and children spent much of their time playing dramatically, creating at the art table, singing and dancing. They also learned reading and math readiness skills, in a fun and non-pressured way. For many generations, in countries throughout the world, children have participated in arts experiences as an integral part of their educational process. These artistic experiences are thought to help prepare the child for life as an adult. The student develops aesthetic understanding and learns to know him or herself on a different level. Through artistic experiences, children gain confidence, enhance language and fine motor skills, as well as artistic skills. Time spent in artistic creativity enhances the imagination and practices skills that enhance the understanding of academic subjects. Children learn to communicate their emotions through artwork and learn how to interpret the feelings of others.9 According to David M. Donahue and Jennifer Stuart in Artful Teaching: Integrating the Arts for Understanding Across the Curriculum, K-8:

“The arts are human languages, essential for envisioning solutions and perceiving and communicating meaning, beauty, fear, and desire, as well as tools for planning and decision making in a nuanced, ever-changing world. We owe it to our children, and to our collective future, to extend the creative opportunities to develop students’ minds, to teach them to think, to imagine, and to discover solutions through the arts.”10

There are many strong reasons for integrating the arts into the daily academic curriculum. The arts appeal to the child’s natural need for fun. Children enjoy painting, dancing, talking, and creating. They are wired to move! The arts can make academic content more engaging, and encourage a love of learning. Children can demonstrate understanding of content through the arts. Kinesthetic learners can act out a story to show

understanding of character development or story sequence. For visual learners, drawing is a way to organize thoughts before writing. As teachers, we can help our students establish a relationship with a subject matter by integrating art, drama, movement, or music. Just because children are having fun does not mean learning has ended. Participation in the arts stimulates higher level thinking skills and helps build classroom community, as well as cooperative work skills. The three types of thinking we want to develop in children- attending, discerning, and inventing- are enhanced by integrating the arts into the typical school day.11

Creating an Environment for Arts Integration

In order for the creative classroom of active learners to function productively, clear rules and expectations for behavior must be established. Children must know how to manage themselves and their classroom materials. The physical classroom environment must be prepared, with adequate work spaces for children and storage for materials that are accessible to the young workers. Equipment that is open-ended (sand/water table, wooden blocks, housekeeping corner, etc.) nurtures creative work. The sand table and block area can become settings for stories retold using puppets. Flexible art supplies- like pencils, markers, paint- are a must. A structure for cooperative work must be modeled and practiced. A classroom teacher should be sensitive to how he/she responds to the creative work of students, as well.

Drama in the Kindergarten Classroom

Beginning in toddlerhood, pretending is the mainstay of children’s play. Drama begins with child pretend play and progresses to structured play, games, and singing games, to performing a play for an audience. Participation in drama develops the skills of listening, observing, speaking, reading, writing, moving, inventing, and interpreting. Opportunities to dramatize, either inventive plots or stories read in class, should be regular learning activities in the kindergarten classroom. Drama based on stories and songs is perfectly suited to the early childhood classroom. Language is central to drama and many of the Common Core Standards in kindergarten are language based. Children will experience using descriptive language, comparing and contrasting, making predictions, asking questions, drawing conclusions, assessing cause and effect, and understanding motives and consequences when exposed to drama in the classroom.

When working in drama, children will need to negotiate with each other. In dramatic playing, which has a high level of spontaneity, students and teachers create a pretend world where they try on roles and explore issues of interest to them. During a play sequence, the transformations of role, context, and content are accomplished by children collaborating together. Before, during, and after play, the children must talk about their play and the story as it develops. Working cooperatively is fundamental to dramatic playing. In dramatic playing, children must be self-motivated, willing to cooperate,

willing to assume various roles, able to help construct and follow the rules that govern the pretend world that they created. Attributes to promote in the drama classroom include learning to accept others’ ideas, knowing how a group functions, enhancing interpersonal skills, sharing, initiating responsibility, and identifying with the concerns of others.12 The common theme in dramatic playing is social cooperation!

Creating a supportive and inclusive classroom environment through drama exercises increases student engagement and reduces conflict among even the youngest of learners. Time spent on team building/community building in the classroom will never be wasted time. By facilitating interactive drama exercises in the classroom, teachers are providing opportunities for students, who may not be proficient on paper, to thrive.

Puppetry

In seminar, we learned that there are several different types of puppets, including solid puppets, sock puppets, stick puppets, and paper bag puppets. Many different materials can be used in the construction of puppets, including cloth, paper, felt, pipe cleaners, buttons, markers, paint, crayons, etc. Once the puppets are constructed, the children will need to practice moving the puppets. For instance, a puppet should jiggle a little bit while talking and maybe sway while walking. Children will need to practice, so that they are careful not to hide behind another puppet. With puppetry, children will have many opportunities to practice speaking and listening skills, as they will need to speak clearly, loudly, and with expression. In addition to the puppets, a puppet theater will need to be used as the setting to the story. In the past, many early childhood classrooms had a puppet stage as part of their dramatic play area. Although I am lucky enough to have such a puppet stage (very old and falling apart), many classrooms do not. However, there are many options from which to create a makeshift puppet stage: blanket theatre, table theatre, box theatre, or doorway theatre. Puppetry can be combined with storytelling. 13Common Core Standards require kindergarten students to demonstrate understanding of stories, including characters. Creating puppets to use to retell or create stories will enhance students’ understanding of characterization.

Classroom Activities

Activity 1- Dramatic Playing with Fairy Tales

Objective: After reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears as a class, children will retell the story in the class dramatic play area. The main Common Core Standards that will be

addressed are K.RL.2- I can retell familiar stories, including key details and K.SL.1a and b- I can follow agreed upon rues for discussions and I can continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. The main National Core Arts Standard addressed is TH:Cn.1.2K.b- With prompting and support, tell a short story in dramatic play or a guided drama experience.

Materials: Any copy of Goldilocks and the Three Bears; housekeeping area with dishes in small, medium, and large sizes; chairs in small, medium and large sizes; doll beds in small, medium, and large sizes; stuffed bears in small, medium, and large; little girl doll for Goldilocks

Procedure: Prior to executing this lesson, the children will have had multiple exposures to playing in the dramatic play area in an open-ended way. The “Housekeeping” area is a mainstay in my kindergarten classroom. After reading several versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the children will be able to name the setting and characters in the story. They will be familiar with the story sequence. The students will be ready to retell the story using the dramatic play area! Remove all extra dishes and housekeeping materials, so that just the needed props remain: small, medium, and large bowls, bears, chairs, and beds. This will facilitate the children actually remaining on task in retelling the story. Allow small groups of students (three or four) to reenact the story.

Assessment: Through teacher observation, I will be able to determine if the students are cooperating and talking with each other, retelling the story, and using appropriate voice volume to express thoughts and ideas. As a follow up, the class will come together and I will facilitate a discussion about what went well in the dramatic play area, focusing on sharing, cooperating, turn taking, etc.

Activity 2: Whole Class Folk Tale Dramatization

Objective: After reading the folk tale Caps For Sale, the students will participate in a guided drama experience by acting out the story as a class. Common Core Standard K.RL.2- I can retell familiar stories, including key details, will be strengthened. The main National Core Arts Standard addressed is TH:Cn.1.2K.b- With prompting and support, tell a short story in dramatic play or a guided drama experience.

Materials: Copy of Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina; colored felt, cloth, or foam circles in grey, blue, red, and tan to represent hats; a chair, bean bag or other solid prop to represent the tree.

Procedure: Prior to acting out an entire folk tale, my class will have acted out numerous nursery rhymes as a group (Jack Be Nimble, Wee Willie Winkie, Jack and Jill, etc.). We will read and discuss the story several times, so that the children understand setting, characters, and story sequence. In seminar, we learned that it is important to practice movements prior to performing, so we will practice being the main character (the peddler) and calling out “Caps! Caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap!” and we will practice being monkeys, as well. To act out the story, one person will be the peddler and everyone else is a monkey. This story works particularly well, as far as acting out, because everyone has a part! The monkeys sit in a big circle around the “tree” prop and the peddler puts the “hats” on his/her head and walks around, calling out “Caps! Caps for sale……”. He finally arrives at the “tree” and sits down to take a nap. When he is sleeping, the monkeys take his caps. The rest of the story is acted out according to the book, with teacher being the narrator.

There are other folk tales that lend themselves to acting out, such as The Three Billy Goats Gruff or Stone Soup. The Three Billy Goats Gruff would be easy to retell using puppets, as well.

Assessment: Through teacher observation, I will determine if the children are participating, following directions, and understanding story sequence.

Activity 3: Cooperation Puppet Show

Objective: The children will perform a puppet show to teach others about cooperation. The main Common Core Standard addressed will be K.SL.6- I can speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. The main National Core Arts Standard addressed is TH:Cr2.a- With prompting and support, interact with peers and contribute to dramatic play or a guided drama experience.

Materials: tongue depressors or straws for stick puppets; small plates or cardboard circles for puppet faces; various materials to create the puppets: crayons, markers, felt, construction paper, yarn; puppet stage or table//box stage; paper and pencils for recording ideas.

Procedure: Prior to beginning work on the puppets and cooperation story, we will have had many class discussions about working together and cooperating. Since one of our early established class rules is to “take care of others’, they are already aware of what that looks like and feels like in our classroom. After activities one and two, I plan to facilitate a discussion on what helped to make these activities work: taking turns, listening to others, participating and staying on task, etc. During our morning meeting, we discuss what cooperation is and what it looks like in our classroom. I will ask the students to

think of what they may want to teach others about cooperating. We may do a pair-share of why cooperating is so important.

The children will work in groups of two or three and begin by brainstorming on paper some ideas to share about cooperation. A student teacher, parent helper or floating teacher to assist is ideal.

Our next work session will be creating the characters-puppets- to tell our story/share our cooperation ideas. This will be the really fun part for the children! Once the puppets are dry, the children will practice moving them: walking, talking, laughing, playing, showing anger, etc.

The small groups will require several sessions to practice their plays. They can practice performing for each other on several occasions before inviting another kindergarten group to watch the presentations!

Assessment: Through teacher observation, I will be able to determine if the students are working together, creating puppets to use as characters in their stories, and using speaking and listening skills. I will also look for how they use their puppets to share their ideas on cooperation.

Standards

Throughout this unit, the Common Core Standards, in particular speaking and listening standards, will be addressed. K.SL.1a- I can follow agreed upon rules for discussion and 1b- I can continue a conversation through multiple exchanges- will be addressed through dramatic playing in the first activity and again in Activity 3, when the children will be charged with creating a dialogue to teach others about cooperation. In both Activities 1 and 3, the children will be strengthening K.SL.6-I can speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly. In all three activities, my students will be demonstrating understanding of K.RL.2- I can retell familiar stories, including key details. It will be interesting to see the children working on retelling in different ways (teacher guided and child-driven dramatic playing).

In addition to the Common Core Standards, this unit will also address the National Core Arts Standards, which is a bonus to integrating the arts with the regular academic curriculum. In all three unit activities, the students will be working on TH:Cn.1.2K.b- With prompting and support, tell a short story in dramatic play or a guided drama experience; TH:Cr2.a- With prompting and support, interact with peers and contribute to dramatic play or a guided drama experience; and TH:Re7.1.K.a- With prompting and support, express an emotional response to characters in dramatic play or a guided drama experience. While constructing puppets for the puppet show on cooperation, the students

will be using non-representational materials to create props, puppets, and costume pieces for dramatic play or a guided drama experience (TH:Cr1.1.K.b).

Bibliography

Baldwin, Patrice, and Kate Fleming. Teaching Literacy through Drama: Creative Approaches. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2003.

Bloomfield, Anne, and John Childs. Teaching Integrated Arts in the Primary School: Dance, Drama, Music, and the Visual Arts. London: David Fulton, 2000.

Crawford, Linda. Lively Learning: Using the Arts to Teach the K-8 Curriculum. Greenfield, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children, 2004.

This book provides justification for integrating the arts into the classroom on a regular basis. It also clearly demonstrates how to create an environment that supports arts integration.

Devries, Rheta, and Betty S. Zan. Moral Classrooms, Moral Children: Creating a Constructivist Atmosphere in Early Education. Teachers College Press, 1994.

Donahue, David M., and Jennifer Stuart. Artful Teaching: Integrating the Arts for Understanding across the Curriculum, K-8. New York: Teachers College Press, 2010.

Fosarelli, Patricia D. ASAP: Ages, Stages, and Phases: From Infancy to Adolescence: Integrating Physical, Social, Moral, Emotional, Intellectual, and Spiritual Development. Liguori, MO: Liguori, 2006.

Hanley, Mary Stone, George W. Noblit, Gilda L. Sheppard, Tom Barone, and Lee Anne Bell. Culturally Relevant Arts Education for Social Justice: A Way out of No Way. New York: Routledge, 2013.

@ParentingWeb. "Know What To Expect! The 8 Stages Of Social Development In Children." Child Development Institute. 2011. Accessed August 19, 2016.

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/erickson/.

McLeod, Saul. "Saul McLeod." Cognitive Theory | Simply Psychology. 1970. Accessed August 19, 2016. http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html.

Milestones, Early. PBS. Accessed November 5, 2016. http://nunu.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/.

Phillips, Eva C., and Amy Scrinzi. Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Kindergartners. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2013.

Snow, Kyle, Ph.D. "Research News You Can Use: Debunking the Play vs. Learning Dichotomy | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC." Research News You Can Use: Debunking the Play vs. Learning Dichotomy | National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. Accessed November 3, 2016. http://www.naeyc.org/content/research-news-you-can-use-play-vs-learning.

The Joyful Classroom: Practical Ways to Engage & Challenge Students K-6. Turners Falls, MA: Center for Responsive Schools, 2016.

This book has many examples of Interactive Learning Structures, which practice thinking, listening and speaking skills.

Verriour, Patrick. In Role: Teaching and Learning Dramatically. Markham, Ont.: Pippin Pub., 1994.

Wassermann, Selma. Serious Players in the Primary Classroom: Empowering Children through Active Learning Experiences. New York: Teachers College Press, 1990.

Endnotes