“Hey! Where's the Loys?”: Play and Literacy in 1st Grade

Grade 1 Students’ Out-of-School Play and Its Relationship to School-Based Academic, Behavior, and Creativity Outcomes

“…Whereas preschool and kindergarten programs are often centered around play-based learning, play activities are limited in typical Grade 1 classrooms (Hartmann & Rollett, 1994;Patton & Mercer, 1996;Quance, Lehrer, & Stathopoulos, 2008;Yeom, 1998). Some studies have identified relationships between play and cognitive development (Garvey, 1990;Huffman & Speer, 2000;Landazabal, 2005), social skills (Elias & Berk, 2002;Gagnon & Nagle, 2004;Kontos et al, 2002), and creativity (Runco, 2007;Russ, 1998;Sefer, 1995), but very little research on children's play has focused on children older than age 5 (Fisher, 1992).…”

Engaging Primary Students: Learning Resource Centers

“…The more classroom time that teachers can devote to centers, however, the better that children will be able to take advantage of centers' unique learning environments (Patton & Mercer, 1996). How, then, does a teacher set up a center-based classroom that is developmentally appropriate, and that guarantees the children will learn what is expected for their grade level?…”

“…How, then, does a teacher set up a center-based classroom that is developmentally appropriate, and that guarantees the children will learn what is expected for their grade level? Once she has collected and organized materials (see Patton & Mercer, 1996, for more information on center design), how does the teacher structure the children's time so that they are getting the most out of the available resources? The key to children's effective use of learning resource centers lies in the following three areas: assessment, planning, and documentation.…”

Parent and Child Perceptions of Grade One Children's Out of School Play

“…Preschool and kindergarten programs are often based on the premise of learning through play, but once children begin Grade 1, the amount of time spent playing in school declines dramatically (Broström, 2005;Hartmann & Rollett, 1994;Patton & Mercer, 1996;Yeom, 1998). Current international research on school transition supports the position that successful transition activities may include play opportunities for children to facilitate active learning and/or to support social and cognitive adaption to a potentially stressful experience (e.g., Broström, 2000;Corsaro & Molinari, 2000;Fabian & Dunlop, 2007).…”