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Full-Text Articles in Education

Barrington Bunny: Case Of The Curious Clouds A Narrative Picture Book For Symbolic Play And Stem Curriculum, Claudia Chung Apr 2020

Barrington Bunny: Case Of The Curious Clouds A Narrative Picture Book For Symbolic Play And Stem Curriculum, Claudia Chung

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Adults constantly use their imagination to help them visualize, problem-solve, enjoy a book, empathize, and think creatively. Therefore, using one's imagination is a critical cognitive skill that can be used throughout life. And it is crucial for educators to encourage imagination, creativity and original ideas in childhood through pretend play, story, picture books, and narrative make-believe if we want our students to be mindful and functioning adults in society. Pretend play is also known as "symbolic play" because it involves the use of symbols. This type of symbolic thought is also needed for language and reading, as our words are …


How To : An Original Picture Book For Children, Morgan Wright Mar 2019

How To : An Original Picture Book For Children, Morgan Wright

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study was focused on the creation of an original, social-emotionally oriented “how to” picture and poetry book for children ages five through seven. A wide variety of books for children, from old classics to recent publications, deal with themes relevant to children’s social-emotional lives. However, many of these books are written in narrative fiction form, or are framed using a logical, adult-centered lens. The goal of this book project was to create poetry and illustrations which authentically conveyed the unique emotional textures and roundabout logic of childhood associated with everyday experiences. Child development research included cognitive and emotional …


Indigo Was Our Class Pet: An Exploration Of Death In Children’S Literature, Nella Williams May 2018

Indigo Was Our Class Pet: An Exploration Of Death In Children’S Literature, Nella Williams

Graduate Student Independent Studies

Death is a complicated and emotionally weighty subject. Therefore, discussing it can be taboo in early childhood classrooms. Although this is meant to protect children, the lack of discussion limits their mental and emotional processing of bereavement and ultimately undermines their understanding of death. After teaching in a Pre-K classroom with a terminally ill reptile, the author was inspired to write a children’s book about the death of a class pet. The text reviews typical developmental milestones for five-year-olds, the target age of the book. Fives are at an age where their frameworks for understanding the world are shifting; therefore, …


Lessons Learned From Authors Of Picture Book Biographies Of Activists And The Original Biographies They Inspired, Jay Saper Dec 2017

Lessons Learned From Authors Of Picture Book Biographies Of Activists And The Original Biographies They Inspired, Jay Saper

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This thesis examines the significance of picture book biographies of activists as accessible entry points to teach social movement history and embolden readers to lead courageous lives that confront injustice. The first section is grounded in lessons learned from 19 authors doing outstanding work in the field today: Andrea Davis Pinkney, Carole Boston Weatherford, Cynthia Chin-Lee, David Adler, Debbie Levy, Donna Jo Napoli, Doreen Rappaport, Duncan Tonatiuh, Emily Arnold McCully, Icy Smith, Jabari Asim, Jen Cullerton Johnson, John Hendrix, Kate Schatz, Matt Tavares, Michelle Markel, Richard Michelson, Sarah Warren, and Tanya Lee Stone. I identify and explore ten themes across …


If I Had An F: A Feminist Picture Book For Boys, Kelly Tieger May 2015

If I Had An F: A Feminist Picture Book For Boys, Kelly Tieger

Graduate Student Independent Studies

This independent study uncovers and meets a need in contemporary children's literature: a book explicitly expressing Feminism as a critical democratic value for everyone. The study includes a comprehensive review of available children's picture books on the topics of gender identity, roles, and expressions after finding a notable absence of books dealing with, or even mentioning the word Feminism. Specifically, this picture book serves the previously unaddressed population of cis-gendered gender conforming boys aged eight to eleven by engaging them specifically in the topic of Feminism. The study posits that picture books can act as catalysts for positive change within …