The Development of Children's Imaginative Writing (1984)


Book Description

Published in 1984. The more we know about young writers, the more we observe them as they write, discuss the composing process with them, talk to them about the sources of their ideas and the difficulties which they encounter as they try to captures thoughts and feelings in words, the greater will be our understanding of imaginative activity and the part it plays in children’s personal and social development. This is the essential theme of the book and the contributors stress the importance of sympathetic and sensitive guidance by teachers and parents in encouraging the imaginative process in young children. The personal diaries, stories and conversations with young writers which appear in this book illustrate how children can use imaginative writing as a means of coming to terms with social and emotional issues in their lives. The book presents first a theoretical analysis of the imaginative writing process and then goes on to explore children’s growing awareness of themselves and others through their perception of sex-roles, their way of dealing symbolically with illness and death, fear and separation, religious and spiritual experiences, and their understanding of social relationships with family and friends. The writing process itself is examined in detail and parallels drawn between the adult and child writer. The final part of the book presents children’s own reflections on writing, shows one classroom community in action and discusses the extent to which children themselves can gain control of their own writing process.







Why I Write


Book Description

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times




Children and the Arts


Book Description




Stimulating Story Writing!


Book Description

Stimulating Story Writing! Inspiring Children aged 7-11 offers innovative and exciting ways to inspire children to want to create stories and develop their story writing skills. This practical guide offers comprehensive and informed support for professionals to effectively engage ‘child authors’ in stimulating story writing activity. Packed full of story ideas, resource suggestions and practical activities, the book explores various ways professionals can help children to develop the six key elements of story, these being character, setting, plot, conflict, resolution and ending. All of the ideas in the book are designed to complement and enrich existing writing provision in classrooms with strategies such as role play, the use of different technologies, and using simple open ended resources as story stimuli. Separated into two sections and with reference to the Key Stage 2 curricula, this timely new text provides professionals with tried and tested strategies and ideas that can be used with immediate effect. Chapters include: • Creating Characters • The Plot Thickens • Inspired Ideas • Resourcing the Story Stimulation This timely new text is the perfect guide for inspiring children aged 7-11 in the classroom and will be an essential resource for teachers and students on teacher training courses.




Creativity and the Arts with Young Children


Book Description

Creativity and the Arts with Young Children, 2e is written specifically for early childhood educators as well as professionals who work with children birth through age eight. The focus of this book, now in it's second edition, is on making the vital connection to music, movement, drama, and the visual arts in all areas of the classroom, as well as, developing creative teachers and professionals who will be able to foster an artistic environment. The book includes observations and pictures of teachers and children that demonstrate practical ways the arts can be used to help children reach their potential. There are expanded sections on multi-intelligences, Reggio Emilia, divergent questioning, and art recipes, and the book also includes literacy connections, and activities for adults at the end of each chapter. There are many ideas in the book for open-ended activities that are important for the development of young children and will encourage them to think in new ways. The standards and recommendations from professional organizations are addressed so that the reader can recognize what goals these organizations believe are important in the early years. Thorough in its coverage, the text speaks to children with special needs and cultural diversity, leaving the reader with the most complete information regarding arts in the young child's learning environment.




Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8


Book Description

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.




Young Children


Book Description







Cataloguing


Book Description

This is the third edition of this comprehensive exposition of cataloguing and indexing which has been a standard international text for the past decade. The work has been revised, updated and expanded to take account of the many significant developments in this rapidly evolving field of librarianship over recent years: the 1988 revision of AACR2; the publication of new ISBDs such as that for computer files; the changed format of Library of Congress subject headings; and progress in computer applications (networks and distributed systems, OPACs, integration and the advent of CD-ROM).