Go to after June 1, 2003€¦ · · 2015-09-14agency or a special needs program. ... -Virginia--West Virginia-EDITORIAL BOARD Loraine Dunn ... Howard Gardner’s (1983) theory of

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Inside this issue:Responding to Emergencies

Signing With Children

Integrated Curriculum

Constructivist Kindergartens

Effects of TV Violence

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Dimensions

Menu for Successful Parent & Family Involvement

written by Paul J. Wirtz and Bev Schumacher

Getting parents involved in an early childhood program takes creativity, great ideas, and strategies that make it easy for parents to become involved.

This newest SECA publication explores successful experiences in working with families and helps you develop a "menu" ofactivities and strategies that will promote parental involvement.The book includes ideas for all early childhood programs,including group settings and family day homes.$5.50 SECA Members, $6.50 Non-Members. ISBN #0-942388-28-3

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Powerful, Positive and Practical Practices: Behavior Guidance Strategieswritten by Jeanette C. Nunnelley, Ed.D.

When asked about the most commonproblem in the early childhoodeducational setting or in the home,most adults say, “Getting the children to behave!” Obtaining the behaviors we want in ourclassrooms and our homesrequires knowledge of children,planning for changes inbehavior, and resources to

help guidance techniques.

This booklet is intended for anyone who nurtures and caresfor pre-school children. Although it is primarily directed toteachers in a structured setting, the family is the firstteacher; therefore many of the ideas apply to either the class-room or the home.

$5.50 SECA Members$6.50 Non-membersISBN-0942388-27-5

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A Little Literacy Goes a Long Way:SECA and August House proudly present a collection of diverse folktale picture books, eachwith its own teacher's guide. The teacher's guides contain a variety of meaningfuland FUN literature experiences for young children.

Each teacher's guide contains:• A summary of the storybook and the awards that it's won.• Background on the story subject and author.• Ideas for "setting the stage" before reading the story.• Suggestions on how to use vocabulary.• Tips on how to read the story.• Activities, including:

– critics chair.– questions to jumpstart discussions.– integration activities for social studies, math, science, field trips, snack time.

• Extended literacy activities such as letter recognition and family involvement activities.• A list of additional teacher resources for literacy.

Take a few minutes to share a story with a child today and prove.... A Little Literacy Goes a Long Way!

PO Box 3223 • Little Rock, AR 72203 • 501-372-5450 • 1-800-284-8784

Other titles with Teacher's Guides:

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Editor - Janet Brown McCrackenCover photo by Kingwood Day School

Montessori

Dimensions ofEarly Childhood

Copyright ©2003, Southern Early ChildhoodAssociation (SECA). Permission is not required toexcerpt or make copies of articles in Dimensions ofEarly Childhood if they are distributed at no cost.Contact the Copyright Clearance Center at (978)750-8400 or www.copyright.com for permissionfor academic photocopying (coursepackets, studyguides, etc.). Indexes for Dimensions of Early Child-hood are posted on the SECA website atwww.SouthernEarlyChildhood.org. Additionalcopies of Dimensions of Early Childhood may bepurchased at $2.00 per copy through the SECAoffice by calling (800) 305-SECA. Dimensions ofEarly Childhood (ISSN 1068-6177) is SECA’s quar-terly journal. Third Class postage is paid at LittleRock,Arkansas. SECA does not accept responsibil-ity for statements of facts or opinion which appearin Dimensions of Early Childhood.

Authors are encouraged to ask for a copy ofSECA’s manuscript guidelines. Submit manuscriptsthat are typed and double spaced with referencesin APA style. E-mail manuscripts for review to theeditor at [email protected]..

SECA serves the interests of early childhoodeducators concerned with child development,including university researchers and teacher edu-cators; early childhood, kindergarten, and primary-grade teachers; and early childhood programadministrators and proprietors.The association hasaffiliates in 13 Southern states. Non-affiliate mem-berships are available to anyone living outside the13 affiliate states. For information about joiningSECA, contact the executive offices at P.O. Box55930, Little Rock, AR 72215-5930, (501) 221-1648. Members receive a one-year subscription toDimensions of Early Childhood and discounts onSECA publications and conference registration fees.

Southern Early Childhood Association8500 W. Markham St., Suite 105P.O. Box 55930Little Rock, AR 72215-5930(501) 221-1648 • fax (501) 227-5297e-mail: [email protected]: www.southernearlychildhood.org

—Refereed Articles—

3Language, Math, Social Studies, and...Worms?Integrating the Early Childhood Curriculum

Mary K. McCoy

9Say It—Sign It—Do It!

Using Sign Language With Young ChildrenSharon A. Lynch

15Responding to the Events of September 11, 2001:

One Program’s StoryRena A. Hallam, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, and Charlotte Manno

22Effects of Television Violence on Young Children:

Viewed From Vygotsky’s Sociocultural PerspectiveCallum B. Johnston

33Aligning Professional Preparation and Practice:

Bringing Constructivist Learning to KindergartenDenise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Debra Danyi, and Jacquelyn Aurilio

—Departments—

2President’s Message

Phil Acord

31Strategies to Support Children—

Early Childhood Educators in EmergenciesNancy P. Alexander

39Book Reviews—Books for Early Childhood Educators

E. Anne Eddowes, Editor

SouthernEarly ChildhoodAssociation Dimensions

Volume 31, Number 2 Spring/Summer 2003

of Early Childhood

MEMBERS AT LARGE

PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE

I just returned from Tampa, Florida, where Iworked on the Child Welfare League of Ameri-ca’s Standards of Excellence for Child Care, Development and Educationprograms. It is an amazing process, which I believe will produce an excellentproduct.

The League invites about 25 professionals from various regions of thenation and with different expertise and perspectives to come together toproduce the Standards of Excellence. The standards were about 10 years oldand really out of date. These standards are used by organizations and gov-ernments that are trying to upgrade their standards or establish new stan-dards.

The most interesting part of this exercise is deciding what excellence is.Is 50 square feet per child the standard of excellence or is 35 square feetenough? Are three infants per teacher the standard of excellence, or can youachieve excellence of care with a 1 to 4 ratio? Is an Associate Degree in EarlyChildhood Education the standard of excellence for lead teachers, or dothey need a Bachelor’s Degree or Masters?

What is really interesting is the variance from state to state in the licens-ing standards as well as the level of monitoring. Some states require anyonecaring for an unrelated child for pay to be regulated, while other states allowindividuals to care for as many as six unrelated children for pay withoutbeing regulated. There are states where the licensing counselor visits the reg-ulated program seven times a year with six of those visits being unan-nounced, and there are states where the licensing counselor only visits theprogram when they do the annual license review.

As we worked through the different sections of the standards, we refer-enced the NAEYC Accreditation Standards and CWLA’S Council onAccreditation Standards, and as you might expect they each have differentstandard of excellence. The final dynamic that factored into deciding whatis a standard of excellence is the individual/professional perspective. It wasamazing to see how an issue was assessed based on if you were a licensingcounselor, a director, a consultant, or an administrator of a multi-serviceagency or a special needs program. One of the participants pointed out thatdeveloping standards of excellence for child care, development, and educa-tion programs is not a science but an art.

The reason I am sharing this experience with you is that it points

Phil Acord

BOARD OF DIRECTORSPhil AcordPresident

Children’s Home – Chambliss315 Gillespie Road

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Beverly OglesbyPresident-Elect

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AFFILIATE REPRESENTATIVES

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Pineville, LA 71360

Melissa LewisMBCI Early Childhood Division

PO Box 6010Choctaw, MS 39350

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2501 N. BlackwaterOklahoma City, OK 73106

Judy Whitesell309 Moss Creek Dr.Cayce, SC 29033

Kathy Ennis207 Saint Andrews Dr.Franklin, TN 37069

Laverne Warner610 Hickory

Huntsville, TX 77340

Carole Whitener2801 Ashwood Drive

Chesapeake, VA 23231

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Bridgeport, WV 26330

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EDITORIAL BOARD

Loraine DunnUniversity of Oklahoma

Gloria Foreman McGeeTennessee Technological University

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Tampa, FL 33647-3088

STAFFGlenda Bean

Executive Director

Sarah MoseleyMembership Services Coordinator

Jenny RyanProgram Services Coordinator continued on page 14

2 SPRING/SUMMER 2003 DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD DIMENSIONS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD SPRING/SUMMER 2003 39

Book Reviews

Books for Early Childhood Educatorsby E. Anne Eddowes, Editor

Understanding Waldorf Educa-tion: Teaching From the Inside Outby Jack Petrash. Beltsville, MD:Gryphon House, 2002, 160 pp.,$19.95.

Teachers and parents who longfor a more meaningful education forall children will find stimulation inPetrash’s easy-to-read book. Thejourney into the concepts andnuances of Waldorf educationbegins on the cover, which featuresthe guiding principle of Understand-ing Waldorf Education, TeachingFrom the Inside Out. There is aphoto of flawless, green apples, oneshown whole, the other cut acrossits circumference, strikingly differ-ent from the usual stem down wayapples are cut. The book describesSteiner’s belief that true educationcomes through a process of drawingout the innate capacities and capa-bilities of children, rather thanattempting to add on mere informa-tion. Creative thinking “outside thebox” is valued.

Early in the 20th century, Austri-an philosopher Rudolph Steinerbased Waldorf education on thepremise that human possibility isinfinite. Waldorf education address-es development of the whole child,the inner, more qualitative aspects aswell as the more quantitative physi-cal and cognitive aspects. Similar toHoward Gardner’s (1983) theory ofmultiple intelligences, Waldorf edu-cators consider all children gifted inat least one area. Growth instrengths and weaknesses is evaluat-

ed through teacher observations,anecdotal reports, and children’sproducts that are defined and dis-tilled throughout the year to create aportfolio for each child. Althoughpreparation for standardized testingis not emphasized, Waldorf childrenobtain favorable results on the oblig-atory standardized tests.

Several unique features of Wal-dorf education are noteworthy.First, the same teacher moves for-ward with a class from first througheighth grade. This allows for deepknowledge and understanding ofstudents and teachers, and increasesteaching efficiency. It also providesteachers with opportunities forongoing reflection on their teachingstrategies and effectiveness as eachchild matures.

Second, Waldorf educationadheres to a thematic approach inwhich basic skills are taught andpracticed in the context of topicsderived from the children’s naturalcuriosity, interests, and develop-mental status. For example, youngchildren are active and learnthrough play. Waldorf classroomsare designed to be both stimulatingand protective so that childrenengage with and explore materials innumerous ways that assist develop-ment emotionally, mentally, andphysically.

Third, the Waldorf preschoolcurriculum, like developmentallyappropriate practice, avoids directteaching of academics. Nor are aca-demics taught via traditional meth-

ods in early grade school classrooms.Instead, teachers introduce new top-ics in context and immerse the class-room in targeted concepts. Forexample, letters are taught usingobjects that relate to them, such asusing the image of a snake (or thereal thing, if available) to teach theletter S.

Each chapter of UnderstandingWaldorf Education begins with aquote appropriate to its contents.For example, Chapter 2, titled Head,Heart, and Hands begins with aquote from William Butler Yeats:“Education is not the filling of a pail,but the lighting of a fire” (p. 23).

Chapters 1 and 2 are an overview,including a rationale for and a struc-tural outline of, Waldorf education.Chapters 3 through 5 discuss andillustrate the Waldorf Preschool,Grade School, and High School cur-ricula. Chapters 6 and 7 identifyattributes of good Waldorf parentsand teachers. The final chapter reca-pitulates the book, tying Waldorfeducation to the fullness of human-ity, spiritual connections and well-being, unspoken and spokenlessons, and moral education. Eachchapter is followed by references,and an alphabetical list of referencesis also found at the end of the text.There is a reasonably comprehensiveindex.

Petrash was trained in Waldorfeducation and has seen three classesof students from first througheighth grade at the WashingtonWaldorf School. He has created an


classroom practice. Teacher educatorsactively are seeking classroom teach-ers who best exemplify developmen-tally appropriate practices! Telladministrators, school board mem-bers, and others how valuable theseclassroom teachers contributions areto the school and community.

Find ways to help early child-hood educators grow. Start a localprofessional network of monthly gettogethers to share ideas and visithigh-quality classrooms. Some top-ics addressed in one network includ-ed tips for writing grants, overviewof a school district’s literacy pro-gram, and creative ideas for learningcenters.

Nominate teachers for awards sothat others become familiar withtheir work. Recommend teacherswhen university adjunct teachingopportunities become available.

These and similar efforts bolstersupport for teachers who often feelisolated. A mutual support systemcan connect growth-minded preser-vice teachers with beginning andveteran teachers who use profession-al practices. Together, early child-hood educators can make an enor-mous difference in the professionaldevelopment of teachers who arenew to the field.

Authors’ notes: Carrie is currentlya kindergarten teacher in the sameschool as Gail. Both enjoy the supportof their principal, superintendent,and families of children enrolled intheir classrooms. They continue toadvocate and model developmentallyappropriate practices. Sarah is cur-rently teaching first graders. She con-

tinues to find ways to incorporatedevelopmentally appropriate practiceswith the school district’s early literacyprogram. Amanda is a kinder-garteacher in Girard, Ohio.

Special thanks to Mrs. Goist forher careful and thoughtful editing.

ReferencesBredekamp, S., & Rosegrant, T. (Eds.).

(1992). Reaching potentials: Appropriatecurriculum and assessment for youngchildren (Vol. 1). Washington, DC:National Association for the Educa-tion of Young Children.

Burts, D.C., Hart, C.H., Charlesworth,R., DeWolf, D.M., Ray, J., Manual,K., & Fleege, P.O. (1993). Develop-mental appropriateness of kindergartenprograms and academic outcomes infirst grade. Journal of Research in Child-hood Education, 8(1), 23-31.

Carter, G.J. (1992). How can the teachingintern deal with the disparity betweenhow she is taught to teach and how sheis expected to teach in real-world pri-mary grades? Young Children 47(6), 68-72.

Chase, B. (1999). Don’t get mad, getready! NEA Today 17(6), 2.

Chenfield, M.B. (1993). Teaching in thekey of life. Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Gestwicki, C. (1999). Developmentallyappropriate practice: Curriculum anddevelopment in early education (2nded.). Albany, NY: Delmar.

Graue, E. (2001). What’s going on in thechildren’s garden? Kindergarten today.Young Children, 56(3), 67-73.

Haladyna, T., Hass, N., & Allison, J.(1998). Continuing tensions in stan-dardized testing. Childhood Education74(5), 262-275.

Hart, C.H., Burts, D.C., & Charlesworth,R. (1997). (Eds.). Integrated curriculumand developmentally appropriate prac-tices: Birth to age eight. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press.

Hart, C.H., Charlesworth, R., Burts,D.C., & DeWolf, M. (1993, March).The relationship of attendance in devel-opmentally appropriate or inappropriatekindergarten classrooms to first and sec-ond grade behavior. Paper presented atthe biennial meeting of the Society forResearch in Child Development. NewOrleans, LA.

Haupt, J.H., & Ostlund, M. (1997).Informing parents, administrators, andteachers about developmentally appro-priate practices. In C. Hart., D. Burts,& R. Charlesworth (Eds.), Integratedcurriculum and developmentally appro-priate practices: Birth to age eight (pp.417-447). Albany: State University ofNew York Press.

Katz, L. (1993). Helping others with theirteaching. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearing-house on Elementary and Early Child-hood Education. (ERIC Catalog no.213)

Katz, L.G. (1995). Talks with teachers ofyoung children: A collection. Norwood,NJ: Ablex.

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (2000). Engag-ing children’s minds: The ProjectApproach (2nd ed.). Norwood, NJ:Ablex.

Larsen, J.M., & Robinson, C. (1989).Later effects of preschool on low-riskchildren. Early Childhood ResearchQuarterly, 4, 133-144.

Moyer, J. (2001). The child-centeredkindergarten: A position paper. Child-hood Education, 77(3), 161-166.

Rusher, A.S., McGrevin, C.Z., & Lam-biotte, J.G. (1992). Belief systems ofearly childhood teachers and their prin-cipals regarding early childhood educa-tion. Early Childhood Research Quarter-ly, 7, 277-296.

Southern Early Childhood Association.(2002). Early literacy and beginning toread: A position statement of the South-ern Early Childhood Association. LittleRock, AR: Author.

Stork, S., & Engel, S. (1999). So, what isconstructivist teaching? A rubric forteacher evaluation. Dimensions of EarlyChildhood, 27(1), 20-27.

Two first-grade girls areshoveling dirt in a large plas-tic worm bin, feedingbananas and orange peels tothe creatures. “Look, babyworms!” Kerry exclaims asthe discovery is made.Tadewi notices the largestworms, the nightcrawlers,have made their home at thebottom of the container.Students continue to inves-tigate the habitat and behav-iors of the worms.

Nearby, two other chil-dren, clipboards in hand,record field notes and labelpersonal drawings of theirworm observations. In strate-gic locations around the room, books about worms offerchildren the necessary information and vocabulary towrite independently.

A small group of children congregates around a photo-graph of a 12-foot-long African worm. They participatein a lively discussion in which they compare the wormsfound in their school garden to some worms in Africa.

Other children measure and chart the lengths of sev-eral worms, and write their findings in their journals.One child creates a painting at the easel depicting hisrecent observation.

The atmosphere in this classroom is busy and active.Children are engaged in a variety of activities. They areinteracting with each other and physically engaged withtheir environment. Students are learning science con-

cepts and so much more!The worm-bin project hasintegrated writing, reading,social studies, and mathe-matics. Multiple learningopportunities are initiatedby the children and guidedby the teacher. Theseclassroom experiences alsoprovide for children’s devel-opmental growth—social,emotional, physical, andintellectual.

Why Integrate the Curriculum?

Early childhood theorists, both past and present, con-tinue to view young children as thinkers and investiga-tors who strive to relate their personal experiences tonew encounters, including their school experiences(DeVries & Kohlberg, 1987; Dewey, 1916; Piaget,1973). “When a single subject is related to the everydayworld, a marvelous thing happens—other subject fieldsare brought into the picture” (Tanner, 1997, p. 82).

Language, Math, Social Studies, and ...Worms?Integrating the Early Childhood Curriculum

Mary K. McCoy

Mary K. McCoy, M.Ed., is an Early Childhood Educationdoctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma, Norman.She is an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma City CommunityCollege and the University of Central Oklahoma. McCoyhas 20 years of teaching experience with children from briththrough third grade.

At first glance, a study of worms appears to be a science activity isolated fromother subject areas, such as reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.However, upon closer examination of this first-grade project, a variety ofacademic content areas are addressed.

Photos courtesy of the author

An introductory lesson on the handling of wormsinvolved all students. Working in pairs, childrensecured a worm from the bin and placed it on a flatsurface to observe.

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Notice to SECA Members


have learned how to incorporatemeaningful and relevant learningexperiences within the confines ofcurriculum demands. Amanda hadnot yet learned to be “bilingual”(Chenfield, 1993).

When teachers feel pressure toconform to teaching practices oragendas different from theirown, they may need to become“bilingual,” to speak the educa-tional lingo of the day when nec-essary, while continuing in theirown classroom to speak the “lan-guage of the spirit.” (p. 27)

Again, Amanda’s former profes-sor wondered if the teacher educa-tion program had unknowinglycontributed to Amanda’s difficulties.Wasn’t there a like-minded support-ive teacher in the school who couldhave allayed her isolation?

Amanda’s first-year difficultiesare now behind her. According tothe end-of-year evaluations, herkindergarten children achieved orexceeded district expectations. Hercredibility was established. Conse-quently, Amanda’s principal is morecomfortable with the developmen-tally appropriate learning experi-ences she provides in her classroom.No longer feeling as torn betweenacting upon her educational beliefsand pleasing her principal, Amandadecided to remain and completed asecond year as a kindergartenteacher.

Options for DealingWith ConflictingPhilosophies

Teachers’ experiences andresponses reflect the options avail-able to them when their profession-al preparation and educationalphilosophies conflict with thoseheld by school administrators or

supervisors. Gail, Amanda, andother excellent teachers can quietlydisregard the direction of adminis-tration while at the same time con-tinue to model and teach in waysthat are congruent with their beliefsystems. Teachers often refer to thisstrategy as “shutting the door anddoing what is best for children.” Ofcourse, this option is easier to exer-cise when the teacher has the securi-ty of tenure.

Another option is for teachers toteach in ways that conflict with theirown education and belief systems.Carrie and Sarah, to their great dis-comfort, chose this course of actionduring their first quarter of studentteaching. Amanda’s teaching situa-tion was similarly difficult. All ofthese young teachers experiencedthe stress of surreptitiously acting ontheir beliefs while at the same timeattempting to meet the expectationsof the principal.

When such a philosophical mis-match exists between how a teacherbelieves children should be taughtand administrative expectations, it is

no wonder that leaving the profes-sion appears to be an appealing solu-tion (Haupt & Ostland, 1997; Rush-er, McGrevin, & Lambiotte, 1992).

Ways to Support Professional Practices

Teachers who work hard to pro-vide developmentally appropriateclassrooms often feel isolated. Asone retired teacher stated, “It’stough out there” (F. Kerpsack, per-sonal communication, April 6,1999). These teachers deserve sup-port and recognition for theirefforts! What can early childhoodeducators do?

Become a vocal supporter. Artic-ulate that early childhood educatorsmake important contributions tochildren, families, and universitystudents.

Provide preservice teachers withopportunities to observe and par-ticipate in professional-practiceclassrooms. In so doing, college stu-dents can see how developmentaland learning theories are linked to

Nancy P. Alexander

College students continue to encounter disparities between what they havelearned and what their cooperating teacher expects.

The advantages of an integratedcurriculum are numerous for chil-dren’s holistic development. Socialskills, perspective taking, criticalthinking, and problem-solving tech-niques are among the skills thatmany teachers and administratorstoday hope to foster in young chil-dren. These skills fit comfortablyinto an integrated curriculum. Cer-tainly a firm knowledge base,emerging through multiple activitiesand constructed through everydayexperiences, is a plus for the inte-grated curriculum.

The integration of subject areasis not a new concept, yet applica-tion of this process continues to bea difficult skill for many teachers.Many teachers still wonder: “Itmakes sense, but how do I do it?”Young children’s inquiring mindsare a good place to begin to under-stand the way in which a number ofacademic areas can be approachedsimultaneously.

Children’s Inquiring MindsChildren are naturally inquisitive.

They continually question and seekanswers, a process that reflects chil-dren’s growing understanding of theworld around them. According toVygotsky’s theory of cognitive devel-opment, children construct theirown knowledge through shared cul-tural activity and language (Berk &Winsler, 1995). Piaget (1973) con-sidered children’s interactions withtheir physical and social environ-ment as necessary components in theconstruction of knowledge.

The early childhood curriculumemerges naturally when teachersbecome attentive to children’scuriosities. In response to theseexpressed interests, curriculum plansare made and shaped that attractchildren (Jones & Nimmo, 1994).The Southern Early ChildhoodAssociation and the National Asso-ciation for the Education of YoungChildren (NAEYC), among many

professional organizations, empha-size that teachers are responsible toknow and understand how childrenacquire knowledge and skills. Thebest teachers actively support chil-dren’s development (Bredekamp &Copple, 1997).

Ways to Integrate the Curriculum

Katz and Chard (2000) devel-oped the Project Approach as a wayof teaching and learning. Projectsare different from themes andunits. Themes and units are oftenprepackaged or planned beforeintroducing a topic to students.Learning experiences are designedto teach concepts the teacher deemsimportant. They are prepared inadvance and students are invited,sometimes required, to work on theactivities.

In contrast, project work usesstudents’ interests as a foundation todevelop explorations on a topic.Together, teachers and studentsshare areas of interest until a topicthat intrigues everyone surfaces.This is how the worm project origi-nated. Although projects tend to bedrawn from children’s everydayexperiences, both themes and pro-ject work can offer integrated sub-ject matter.

Projects also involve research. “Aproject is a piece of research about atopic...in which children’s ideas,questions, theories, predictions, andinterests are major determinants ofthe experiences provided and workaccomplished” (Katz & Chard,2000, p. 5).

The Topic Idea EmergesTeachers are often guided by

state- and district-mandated curric-

The worm project integrated writing, reading, social studies, and mathematics,all initiated by the children and guided by the teacher. These classroom experi-ences also provide for children’s developmental growth—social, emotional,physical, and intellectual.


cooperating teacher readilyacknowledged that this teacher’seducational philosophy was differ-ent from other teachers in the build-ing—except for a Head Start teacherwho often visited her room—andher principal. Gail related that shewas getting tired ofbeing “viewed as afreak” (H. Sebest,personal communi-cation, March 16,1999) because ofher early childhoodphilosophy, active parent involve-ment, and hands-on approach tolearning.

At one point, Gail expressed mildfrustration due to her principal’slack of support following a play puton by the children for their families.Gail had carefully incorporatedmany skills in the production of theplay, such as numerous literacyevents, math tasks, music, problemsolving, and interpersonal processes.Her response to the principal’s indif-ference to the play was, “My princi-pal thinks it is fluff, but I can pointto several areas in the course ofstudy that specifically state the chil-dren should be involved in theseactivities. Anyway, that’s okay, I getmy thanks from the parents” (H.Sebest, personal communication,March 16, 1999).

Although Gail lacks support fromher principal, the children’s familiesoverwhelming endorse her teachingapproach and are powerful allies andadvocates. Possibly due to their sup-port, Gail enjoys a certain degree ofautonomy and freedom to experi-ment and improve her developmen-tally appropriate kindergarten. She isconstantly looking for new ideas toenhance her classroom environmentand improve her curricula.

Gail’s reach extends beyond chil-dren and their families and nowincludes preservice teachers from alocal university. This collaborationfurther legitimizes her classroompractices. Seeking out kindergartenteachers like Gail who strive to pro-

vide develop-mentally appro-priate programsand placing stu-dents in theirclassrooms hasat least these

three benefits:• Their professionalism is enhanced.• Their selection as mentors gives

credence to and shows supportfor their professional classroompractices.

• Building administrators findout how much college studentsand their university professorsappreciate the guidance theirteachers provide the futureteachers.

First-Year Teaching Difficulties

Another former student’s first-yearexperiences in a kindergarten class-room also demonstrate difficultiesthat new graduates encounter whenthey begin to teach. While Amandawas in college, her instructor’s appre-ciation of Amanda’s potential andteaching ability was slow to develop.Amanda was a quiet student who satin the back of the room. It wasn’tuntil the instructor saw Amandaorchestrate The Paper Bag Princessinto a play with first graders that hertalent for teaching was revealed.Amanda’s obvious organizationalskills, sensitive support for children’screativity, and grasp of developmentalissues coalesced in a successful morn-ing of meaningful activities.

Amanda’s kindergarten studentteaching experience was less thanoptimal, leaving her discouraged.Chance encounters with her and thecampus supervisor provided a pic-ture of a classroom where tradition-al seat work was the norm. Never-theless, Amanda maintained hercommitment to a constructivistlearning approach.

After graduating from college,Amanda was hired by a school dis-trict that had recently secured fundsto provide all-day kindergarten, sogoals for children were being recon-sidered. There seemed to be a work-able match between the principal’sexpectations and Amanda’s teachingphilosophy.

However, halfway through herfirst year of teaching, Amandainformed her former professor thatshe was seriously considering notteaching kindergarten in that schoolnext year. The increasing pressure tocomplete workbooks at the expenseof more hands-on activities was dis-heartening. She resorted to hidingpretend-play props, bringing themout only when she felt confident thechildren would not be observedusing them.

Feeling dishonest and tornbetween what she knew childrenneeded and the principal’s mandates,she was unsure of her future as aneducator. Being a first-year teacherwith tenure, she was obviously muchmore vulnerable than teachers whohad learned to close their classroomdoors and teach in ways they knewwere best for children.

Amanda was in the survival stageof her teaching career (Katz, 1995).She needed “support, understand-ing, encouragement, reassurance,comfort, and guidance” (p. 206).Some more experienced teachers

Connect growth-mindedpreservice teacherswith beginning and veteran teachers.

ula when develop-ing lesson plans.When using theProject Approachto plan curriculum,start by becoming familiar with thethemes and competency goalsrequired for a particular grade levelor age group. Next, gather a varietyof books, videos, songs, and postersto enable children to gain anoverview of an overarching curricu-lum theme. The idea is to providechildren with a look at multipleaspects of the theme.

For example, a study of trans-portation might be required at thefirst-grade level. To introduce thetopic, a teacher could read aloudstories about airplanes, trains, andships. Display helicopters, rockets,passenger planes, submarines, andcargo ships on posters. Show a videodepicting journeys by train or otherunfamiliar vehicles. Play games withtransportation themes. Offer unitblocks and pretend play props thatencourage children to explore vari-ous modes of transportation. Lookat and draw maps of the local areawith children.

The time frame of this introduc-tory overview will depend on indi-vidual schedules and the ages of stu-dents. Whole-class group discus-sions, some recorded as experiencestories, children’s journal entries,and creative art explorations are vitalduring these activities.

As children engage in these intro-ductory activities, listen attentivelyto children’s voices. Encourage themto ask questions and make com-ments on their observations andexperiences. Teachers often askthemselves these questions: What dochildren wonder about? What partsof the theme spark keen interest?

How can thistheme be investi-gated with first-hand experiences?This reflective pro-

cess is where the topic idea surfaces.The best projects are those in whichthe both teacher and the studentsare curious. Remember, a teacher’senthusiasm is contagious!

Plan Experiences That Integrate Content

After a topic has been identifiedand children have brainstormed alist of their “wonderings” about thetopic, the teacher examines curricu-lum goals and designs relevant, sup-portive, age-appropriate learningexperiences. Ideally, teachers planlearning explorations, field trips,and guest speakers in collaborationwith a teaching team that mightinclude media, art, music, or otherspecialists in the school. Family andcommunity volunteers can also be atremendous source of help to orga-nize a project and gather expertiseon the topic.

All learning experiences duringthe project should reflect academicgoals from a variety of subject areas.For example, if measuring is a math-ematical skill the teacher wishes toinclude, incorporate an explorationin which children use measurement.For example, they might measure,and then record on paper, the widthand length of a train car before mak-ing replicas with craft sticks, milkcartons, and/or modeling dough.Children will learn to measure, per-haps discover proportion, and be

able to construct a class train that isto scale, too. Rulers, tape measures,yard sticks, or small cubes makegood measuring tools depending onthe items to be measured, the age ofthe children, and the grade-levelmath requirements. This task willalso provide opportunities to prob-lem-solve as students choose thebest-size train for the space andmaterials available.

The Worm ProjectThe first-grade teacher used this

curriculum-planning process for theworm project described at thebeginning of this article. This is howthe project came about.

One sunny morning, a group offirst graders and their teacher weredigging a small garden outside theentrance to their school. Severalworms were revealed during theprocess, inspiring an inquisitivechild to ask, “Why are there wormson the sidewalk after it rains?”

The teacher honestly replied, “Idon’t know. I wonder how we couldfind out.”

Both the teacher and students are curious.

Steps to Integrate the Cur-riculum Through Projects

• Become familiar with local,state, and national standards

• Observe children’s interests

• Offer introductory learningexperiences that pique chil-dren’s curiosity

• Note children’s responses andquestions

• Identify a specific topic withchildren

• Brainstorm what children won-der about this topic

• Plan explorations that promotehands-on learning tied to acad-emic goals

All learning experiencesreflect academic goals.


instructional techniques thatdid not foster intrinsic motiva-tion. The teaching they encoun-tered in elementary schoolsfocused mainly on segmenteddrill and skill activities thatlacked subject integration.Because the techniques did notmeet the individual needs ofmany of the children, instruc-tion was effective for only a seg-ment of the children.

• Carrie and Sarah had learnedhow to use higher-level ques-tioning techniques to supportchildren’s problem solving skills.In practice, however, they wererequired to provide drill andskill activities which includedonly convergent questions.

Opportunities to PutProfessional PreparationInto Practice

The questionable classroomteaching strategies described herewere primarily observed during Car-rie and Sarah’s first quarter of stu-dent teaching. Both students weresimultaneously enrolled in a confer-ence course with their instructor,who selected a second studentteaching site where the kindergartenteachers used developmentallyappropriate practices. Carrie andSarah were impressed by how theseteachers provided a comfortable,welcoming environment that fos-tered trust between families andschool. They saw how parentinvolvement was “key to creating apartnership between the communityand school” (J. Aurilio & D. Danyi,personal communication, February24, 1999).

These two student teachers werefirm in their belief that all childrencan learn and that this powerfulbelief becomes a shared vision by

the teacher and child (a self-fulfill-ing prophecy). They wrote, “self-concept and self-esteem are impor-tant components of a child’s emo-tional development. High expecta-tions contribute to the positive emo-tional development of children” (J.Aurilio & D. Danyi, personal com-munication, February 24, 1999).

In their second semester of stu-dent teaching, Sarah and Carriewere included in the process ofteacher reflection at weekly plan-ning meetings. At that time, theyand their cooperating teachers con-sidered the best instructional meth-ods and learning experiences for thechildren. These two preserviceteachers learned to become moreflexible as they tried to meet theneeds of the children. And like theircooperating teachers, they were ableto plan rich experiences and then letchildren pursue their own learning.

Sarah and Carrie learned to devel-op and use cooperative learning cen-ters that resulted in children’s posi-tive social development. They sawhow learning centers provided theopportunity for children to experi-ence and learn concepts in a con-crete, hands-on manner. They cameto view centers as an alternative tousing textbooks and worksheets.

Despite some initial uneasiness,the teacher education students suc-cessfully implemented an in-depthproject that was a fruitful learningexperience for them, the children,and their cooperating teachers. Theproject wsas based on the ProjectApproach (Katz & Chard, 2000).The children’s curiosity and interestin trees guided the project. Theteacher education students providedhands-on, meaningful, and real-world experiences for children basedon their initial questions and com-

ments on the topic of trees. Chil-dren used process skills to explorethe topic.

As the project progressed, theteacher education students observedthe children making connections,feeding their curiosity, and findinganswers to their initial questions.The uneasiness originally felt by thepre-service teachers stemmed fromtheir lack of experience using thistype of teaching method. They werealso concerned about the reactionsand support they would receivefrom their cooperative teachers.However, the result of implement-ing this type of learning opportuni-ties was truly a collaborativeapproach and a learning experiencefor everyone involved. They enthu-siastically shared their culminatingactivity with appreciative parentsand explained the process to theschool superintendent.

These supportive student teach-ing experiences were summarized bythis comment: “Although we werediscouraged by the inappropriatepractices observed during our [first]field experiences, we never compro-mised our belief in developmentallyappropriate practices taking place inclassrooms. We were encouragedwhen we witnessed theories andmethods being practiced in the realworld of teaching” (J. Aurilio & D.Danyi, personal communication,February 24, 1999).

A Growth-MindedTeacher

The final course in Carrie andSarah’s baccalaureate program was akindergarten practicum. Both stu-dents were placed with Gail, akindergarten teacher who was com-pleting her seventh year. This

Other children joined in andtheir questions began to pour forth.“What do worms do all day in thedirt?” “How can you tell a boyworm from a girl worm?” The chil-dren’s questions were clearly basedon observations they recalled fromtheir personal experiences.

Upon returning to the classroom,the teacher initiated a class meeting.Clearly, the topic of worms was ofinterest to a large number of groupmembers, including the teacher.During the group discussion, thechildren generated two lists:

1) What we know about worms.2) What first graders wonder

about worms.This technique is commonly

called developing a K-W-L chart, onwhich children list what they know,what they want to know, and (lateras the project evolves) what theyhave learned about a topic. The longlist is recorded for all to see on chartpaper. A brief sample of a K-W-Lchart, with just a few of the ideasgenerated about worms, is found inFigure 1.

To further develop an integratedcurriculum, the teacher followed theProject Approach guidelines (Katz& Chard, 2000). During the plan-ning, she selected reading, writing,

mathematics, social studies, and sci-ence skills and concepts as compo-nents of the various project tasks.

Early in the process, family mem-bers were asked to record theirmemories about worms, modeling awriting-from-recall experience fortheir children. Families then helpedchildren record their personal expe-riences with worms. Everyone illus-trated their work. The descriptions

and pictures made it possible for theteacher to identify the knowledge ormyths previously constructed byboth children and adults. Thisshared learning experience also gaverise to a host of new questions aboutworms.

At the same time, major planningwas taking place. The teacher con-tacted the coordinator of a local uni-versity horticultural garden, homeof a large worm habitat, and madearrangements for children to tourthe facility. Armed with clipboardsand pencils, children were encour-aged to dig for a worm to examine,and then to illustrate and label theirdrawings (this is called making fieldnotes). Several answers to “what firstgraders wonder about worms” wereuncovered and excitedly shared.

The teacher also requested andobtained worms from a science sup-ply laboratory so they could beraised in the classroom. After trips

The early childhood curriculum naturally emerges when teachers becomeattentive to children’s curiosities.

Figure 1. K-W-L Chart for Worms

What We What We Want What WeKnow About... to Find Out About... Learned About...

Worms are dead on Do worms have legs? Worms have stiff hairs,the sidewalk after it setae, under their bodies rains. to help them grip the

earth when they move.

Worms live in holes Why do worms stay Worms are nocturnal.in the dirt. in the dirt most of

the time?

Worms’ bodies can What do worms eat? Worms eat leaves orgrow back if broken. small pieces of fruits

and vegetables. They eat teabags.


Today’s kinder-garten classroomsare at the center of atug-of-war betweenthose who promotechild-centered edu-cation and thosewho want kinder-garten programs toreflect the academicdemands of elemen-tary school (Graue,2001). Moyer (2001)contends that thetension betweenthese competingphilosophies wasbrought about by these factors:

• societal pressures• misunderstanding about how

children learn• aggressive marketing of commer-

cial materials largely inappropri-ate for kindergarten children

• a shortage of teachers specificallyprepared to work with children.(p. 161)

Within the context of standard-ized-testing pressures, early child-hood educators struggle to createchild-centered classrooms that nur-ture students’ physical, social-emo-tional, and intellectual growth anddevelopment.

Discrepancies BetweenProfessional Preparationand Teaching Practices

Clinical experiences ideallyenable teacher education students inbaccalaureate programs to translateknowledge of child developmentand curricula into educational prac-tice (Katz, 1993). Carter’s (1992)first-hand account of the disconti-nuity of experiences between whatwas she was taught to teach andwhat she was expected to teach is a

familiar one. A decade later, collegestudents continue to encounter dis-parities between what they havelearned and what their cooperatingteacher expects. Observing andlearning from teachers who providechildren with developmentallyappropriate experiences is an essen-tial part of every preservice teacher’seducation.

Two students, Carrie and Sarah,shared the sources of their frustra-tions as they confronted the chal-lenge of reconciling their profession-al training and their observations ofkindergartens during the first quar-ter of student teaching. While read-ing and pondering their thoughtful-ly worded reflections, the first authorof this article, a teacher educator,wondered how much the teachereducation program contributed totheir frustrations. Higher educationhad provided, in the students’ ownwords, “professional training [that]emphasized developmentally appro-priate practices. These practicesincluded hands-on learning, recall-ing prior knowledge, activating stu-dent interest, and applying the con-cept of the students’ real world expe-

riences” (J. Aurilio& D. Danyi, per-sonal communica-tion, February 24,1999).

After completingtwo quarters of stu-dent teaching, Car-rie and Sarah hadmany opportunitiesto see and reflecton both develop-mentally appropri-ate and inappropri-ate practices. Theseare some of theincongruities be-

tween what they were taught andwhat they observed.

• They were taught that “oralcommunication is an importantskill that children will usethroughout their lives” (J.Aurilio & D. Danyi, personalcommunication, February 24,1999). Yet, they observed, “two-way communication among theteachers and children was limit-ed” (J. Aurilio & D. Danyi, per-sonal communication, February24, 1999).

• Carrie and Sarah were taughtthe multiple benefits of cooper-ative learning so students coulddevelop the necessary skills tobe a productive member in soci-ety. Instead, they observed chil-dren being “instructed to workindependently and quietly attraditionally arranged desks, anarrangement that prohibitedopportunities for cooperativelearning” (J. Aurilio & D.Danyi, personal communica-tion, February 24, 1999).

• In their college classes, theywere taught that when childrendevelop a positive dispositiontoward learning, intrinsic moti-vation is fostered. What Carrieand Sarah observed were

Nancy P. Alexander

Developmentally appropriate practice means to make thoughtful,informed decisions about early childhood classroom practices based onthe professional knowledge base about how children develop and learn.

to the school library and doing someInternet research, the first-grade stu-dents were soon caring for their newpets, who lived in a classroom wormbin prepared by the group.

An introductory lesson on thehandling of worms involved all stu-dents. Working in pairs, childrensecured a worm from the bin andplaced it on a flat surface to observe.Once again, field notes were writtenand drawn to report any interestingfindings. Some children noticedthat large night crawlers crawledover a pencil, while smaller redwig-glers moved around a pencil. Thisobservation led to the use of magni-fying glasses and closer examination,during which children discoveredthe night crawlers’ segmented bod-ies. Rather than giving a teacher-directed lecture on the way in whichworms move and the segmentationof worms’ bodies, these childrenwere provided with an environmentthat encouraged their own, far morerelevant discovery.

Every day, two children wereresponsible for feeding the worms, atask that became an importantopportunity to learn social andobservation skills. Banana peels wereby far the most popular worm food,according to the children. To provethis point, a few students createdcharts to record how many days ittook a teabag, banana peel, andgrapefruit rind to disappear. Scienceconcepts are so much more mean-ingful and exciting when childrenare the explorers!

Throughout the course of the year,these young children were encour-aged to learn all they could aboutworms. They frequently lifted wormsfrom the bin to examine and, guidedby their inquisitiveness, discoveredhow worms live in a natural habitat.

Assessment was continuousthroughout the study of worms.Children made individual portfo-lios by folding a 22” x 28” sheet ofposterboard in half and securing theedges with masking tape. They wereencouraged to design the outsidecover of their portfolio, making itpersonal and unique. Portfolioscontained their charts, drawings,field notes, and a variety of writtenwork, such as journals and student-made fiction and factual booksabout worms.

The teacher conducted weeklystudent/teacher conferences, atwhich time the contents of each stu-dent’s portfolio were discussed.Assessment pertained not only tofacts about worms, but also evaluat-ed students’ writing, reading, lan-guage, and mathematical skills.Each student’s level of proficiencywas recorded on a checklist of stateand district curriculum competen-cies. In this way, the teacher was ableto evaluate the progress of everychild and monitor when specific

competency goals were achieved. Inorder to schedule a weekly stu-dent/teacher conference with everychild, a few conferences were heldeach day and scattered throughoutthe morning and afternoon.

As a culminating activity, chil-dren consolidated their artifacts in adisplay for the entire school body toexplore. Paintings, murals, charts,models, and student-made booksmapped the progress of this project.Children stood by the display asworm experts. They shared theirproducts with the audience andeagerly talked about the process oftheir work and the information theylearned.

Ready to Integrate?When children are provided with

an intriguing learning environmentthat enhances their cognitive devel-opment through active, content-rich involvement, teachers meettheir responsibility to support chil-dren’s learning. An integrated cur-riculum embraces academic require-

More Resources on Integrated Curriculum Projects

Chard, S. (1998). The Project Approach, book one: Making curriculumcome alive. New York: Scholastic.

Harris, T.T., & Fuqua, J.D. (1996). To build a house: Designing curriculumfor primary-grade children. Young Children, 52(1), 77-83.

Helm, J.H., & Katz, L.G. (2001). Young investigators: The Project Approachin the early years. New York: Teachers College Press

Jones, E., & Nimmo, J. (1999). Collaboration, conflict, and change:Thoughts on education as provocation. Young Children, 54(1), 5-10.

Katz, L.G. (1994). The Project Approach. Urbana, IL: Clearinghouse onElementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduc-tion Service No. EDO-PS-94-6)

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (1998). Issues in selecting topics for projects.Urbana, IL: Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Educa-tion. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EDO-PS-98-8)

Katz, L.G., & Rothberg, D. (2002). Early childhood research & practice: AnInternet journal on the development, care, and education of young chil-dren, Spring 2002. Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementaryand Early Childhood Education.

Early childhood educators have struggled with thestandardized testing movement since it began about 20years ago. Few would argue with the president of theNational Educational Association, who stated that“high standards and high-stakes tests are here to stay”(Chase, 1999, p. 2).

Although this article does notaddress the problems of standardizedtesting (see Haladyna, Hass, & Alli-son, 1998), the ripple effects of thispolicy continue to be felt for bothchildren and educators. Curriculaoptions have narrowed, and the pressure continues toincrease to implement a “push-down curriculum” (Bre-dekamp & Rosegrant, 1992) in order to achieve hightest scores. As a result, it has become more difficult toplace student teachers in classrooms that are congruentwith the content and focus of their professional-prepa-ration experiences.

Kindergartens that support the growth and wellbeing of children are often referred to as developmen-tally appropriate, child-centered, constructivist,child-sensitive, or professional-practice classrooms.Although the terminology may differ, the goal is thesame—to make thoughtful, informed decisions aboutearly childhood classroom practices based on the pro-fessional knowledge base about how children developand learn.

Research findings (Burts et al., 1993; Hart,Charlesworth, Burts, & DeWorth, 1993; Larsen &Robinson, 1989; Moyer, 2001) confirm the efficacy ofa curriculum that addresses children’s abilities andpotential. The Association for Childhood Education

International recently revised its position paper onchild-centered kindergarten (Moyer, 2001). The South-ern Early Childhood Association has published a posi-tion statement on Early Literacy and Beginning to Read(2002) that addresses literacy development.

Developmental theorists such asDewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky areamong the theorists whose work pro-vides the theoretical underpinningsfrom which child-centered practicesare derived. Developmentally appro-priate practice “is a framework, a phi-

losophy, or an approach to working with young chil-dren” (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992, p. 4). Conse-quently, much-needed publications have translatedideas based on research and theory into relevant curric-ula recommendations (Gestwicki, 1999; Hart, Burts, &Charlesworth, 1997).

The common threads that bind theory, philosophy,and practice remain the same: Young children need sup-portive environments and numerous, meaningful,directed learning experiences. To achieve this goal,teachers create explorations, situations, and challengesthat enable children to actively construct knowledge(Stork & Engel, 1999).

Aligning Professional Preparation and Practice: Bringing Constructivist Learning to Kindergarten

Denise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Debra Danyi, and Jacquelyn Aurilio

Denise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor,Department of Curriculum & Instruction, NortheasternState University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Debra Danyi, B.S., is a Kindergarten Teacher in Lyon PlatElementary, Struthers School District, Struthers, Ohio.

Jacquelyn Aurilio, B.S., is a First Grade Teacher in EmersonElementary, Warren City School District, Warren, Ohio.

Partnerships between teacher education programs and classroomteachers reap many benefits—for professional preparation institutions, college students, classroom teachers, young children,and their families!

Experienced teachersincorporate meaningfullearning experiences in

the curriculum.


ments, and integrates all aspects ofchildren’s development—social,emotional, physical, and cognitive.

As for an answer to the question“How can you tell a boy worm froma girl worm?” start a worm projectto find out! Happy digging!

ReferencesBerk, L.E., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffold-

ing children’s learning: Vygotsky and earlychildhood education. Washington, DC:

National Association for the Educationof Young Children.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.)(1997). Developmentally appropriatepractice in early childhood programs(Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

DeVries, R., & Kohlberg, L. (1987). Con-structivist early education: Overview andcomparison of programs. Washington,DC: National Association for the Edu-cation of Young Children.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and educa-

tion. New York: Macmillan.Jones, E., & Nimmo, J. (1994). Emergent

curriculum. Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (2000). Engag-ing children’s minds: The ProjectApproach. Stamford, CT: Ablex.

Piaget, J. (1973). To understand is toinvent: The future of education. NewYork: Penguin.

Tanner, L. (1997). Dewey’s laboratoryschool: Lessons for today. New York:Teachers College Press.

Thank You,ReviewersSECA expresses its

appreciation to thesepeople who reviewedthe articles that appearin this issue:

Nancy P.Alexander

Florie Babcock

Anne Bomba

Susan Culpepper

E.Anne Eddowes

Aaron Fink, M.D.

Janet Foster

Stephen Graves

Peggy O. Jessee

Carolyn Mitchell

Margaret B. Puckett

Jean Shaw

Dolores Stegelin

CALL FOR PROPOSALSThe Fall 2004 issue of Dimensions of Early Childhood will be a theme

issue.The topic is:

The Changing Role of the Early Childhood Practitioner

Members and friends of the Southern Early Childhood Associationare encouraged to submit proposals for manuscripts to be published inthis issue. Proposals must include:

• 2-page detailed outline• 200- to 400-word summary• a list of pertinent sample references• indication of the author’s expertise

Teaching young children is challenging in an ever-changing world.TheGuest Editors are seeking manuscripts that address the changing role ofthe early childhood practitioner with regard to these topics:

• teaching in standards-based classrooms• working in inclusive classrooms• dealing with health and safety issues• working collaboratively with families, medical professionals, and

community agencies• interacting with diverse families and communities• understanding multiple legal issues in early education• nurturing children in a post-9/11 culture

Guest Editors for this issue are Laverne Warner and Sharon Lynch.Submit questions and proposals by e-mail to them at:

[email protected][email protected]

All proposals must be submitted by October 15, 2003. If acceptedfor the theme issue, final manuscripts will be due by February 1, 2004.

To review author guidelines for publication in Dimensions, please goto www.SouthernEarlyChildhood.org


Three girls worked on a paperchain together, making it first aslong as the table, then long enoughto reach the wall, then as long as thelength of the hall. When onereturned the stapler, she proudlyannounced that the chain was 846lengths long! Even in such a difficultsituation, math skills were used in arelevant way.

What is the early childhood pro-fession’s role in times of crisis? It isto use our knowledge to make deal-ing with crisis more manageable forfamilies and children. What madethis impromptu event successful wasthe ability to structure activities in away that required minimal supervi-sion and to interact with the chil-dren to keep them interested, calm,and happily occupied.

Hopefully, none of us will ever berequired to cope with events such asthose in New York or OklahomaCity. But we will likely be in com-munities that face evacuation,weather trouble, and other crisesthat put families and children instressful situations. What skills canyou contribute when that happensin your community?

Note: Permission is granted toreproduce this article to distribute toparents or coworkers provided credit isgiven to SECA and to Nancy P.Alexander.

Nancy P. Alexander is Director ofNorthwestern State University Childand Family Network, in Shreveport,Louisiana. She is the author of EarlyChildhood Workshops That Work: TheEssential Guide to Successful Trainingand Workshops published by GryphonHouse. She conducts workshops andother training for the early childhoodfield and frequently contributes articlesand photographs to professional publi-cations.

Language development is a primary focus in mostclassrooms for young children. The typical preschoolclassroom provides numerous opportunities for languageand beginning literacy through stories, centers, grouptimes, music, and art activities. As children develop,most of them learn language naturally within the con-text of developmentally appropriate activities (Bre-dekamp & Copple, 1997).

Some children with language-learning difficultiesmay need additional instruction in order to becomeeffective communicators (Cook, Tessier, & Klein, 2000).For these children, sign language often is helpful in pro-moting language understanding and use (Howard,Williams, Port, & Lepper, 2001).Traditionally, sign language has beenused with children with hearing loss.However, some current research sup-ports the use of sign language withtypical learners and learners withother academic and developmental problems (Bird,Gaskell, Babineau, & MacDonald, 2000).

Sign language now is used successfully to promoteboth oral language and reading skills, as revealed by sev-eral researchers. Children with hearing loss acquired theliteracy skill of sight word recognition with greater accu-racy when speech and sign were combined, rather thanpresented with speech alone (Wauters, Knoors,Vervloed, & Aarnouste, 2001). Brennan and Miller(2000) used a game involving sign language to teachsight words to children with learning disabilities.

English language learners in kindergarten throughsecond grade acquired receptive vocabulary with signifi-cantly greater gains when sign language was paired withspoken words, as opposed to spoken words alone(Schunk, 1999). Daniels (1993) and Crawford (2001)

both reported improvements in receptive vocabulary oftypical preschoolers when sign language was used in thepreschool classroom. Additionally, Crawford noted thatthe use of sign language improved children's self confi-dence in language use.

This author has had positive experience with the useof sign language to improve vocabulary acquisition withchildren with disabilities such as Down Syndrome, cere-bral palsy, mental retardation, and autism. With thegrowing emphasis on inclusion of learners with disabili-ties in regular classrooms, teachers are looking for tech-niques to assist them in meeting the diverse needs oflearners. Sign language can assist learners with disabili-

ties, with the added value of provid-ing an avenue of learning for all stu-dents in the classroom.

Many times young children areunable to express themselves verbal-ly. However, when they can learn to

express themselves through signs, they learn that theycan be communicators. Research substantiates the factthat sign language promotes verbal communication anddoes not cause the child to rely on nonverbal means ofcommunication as a "crutch" (Bird et al., 2000).

It is extremely important for young children to expe-rience the power of being a communicator. Without theability to communicate, children can easily become frus-trated or they may eventually experience "learned help-lessness" (Seligman, 1975). Thus, sign language foryoung children with disabilities can provide a bridge tooral language and effective communication.

Looking for techniques to help meet the diverse needs of young children?Sign language can assist learners with disabilities, with the added valueof providing an avenue of learning for all students.

Say It—Sign It—Do It!Using Sign Language With Young Children

Sharon A. Lynch

Sharon A. Lynch, Ed.D., is Associate Professor of SpecialEducation, Department of Language, Literacy, and SpecialPopulations, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville,Texas.

Sign language should bepresented in combination

with spoken words.

Share your Strategies to Support Children withstate and local leaders!

Submit practical articles, or requests for topics tobe addressed in this column, to SECA.


Strategies to Support Children


What is the role of early childhood educators in atime of crisis? We are all very much aware of the impor-tant and heroic role that early childhood personnelplayed in the World Trade Center disaster in New York.We all remember the emotional images of children fol-lowing the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Okla-homa City. Following both of these tragedies, manymore early childhood personnel comforted and reas-sured children, provided a stable environment duringdifficult times, ministered to families directly or indi-rectly affected by the crises, and consoled children whowere emotionally affected by the televised reports.

We all hope that we will never have to cope withsuch horrible disasters again. But there are other disas-ters that cannot be prevented and which we are farmore likely to experience. Many Southern states aresubject to tornadoes and other destructive weather con-ditions. States that border the Gulf of Mexico andAtlantic Ocean fall victim to hurricanes. Low areas aresubject to flooding. Weather conditions that causethese problems can fortunately often be predicted, butnot typically prevented.

What happens when areas affected by weather mustbe evacuated? Many families go to the homes of rela-tives or friends. Others travel away from endangeredsites to hotels or motels. Still others take shelter in pub-lic evacuation shelters established and staffed by volun-teer organizations such as the Red Cross.

As Hurricane Lili approached land last winter, ameeting scheduled in the southern part of Louisianawas canceled, leaving a rare day free of appointments orother commitments. The morning news included videoof families in a crowded Shreveport gymnasium thathad been set up for hurricane evacuees. Parents, grand-parents, and children left their homes not knowing ifthere would be homes to which they would return.Children milled around with little to do.

Situations in which parents are under stress, chil-dren have nothing to do, and families are crowded

together in an emergency shelter do not foster pleasantrelationships. What might be helpful to these families?

Knowing that parents in the haste of evacuationprobably would not think about toys, games, or activi-ties for their children, several colleagues and I decidedto see what we could do to provide interesting, sooth-ing experiences. Realizing that children under stressfulconditions benefit from sensory, open-ended activities,ideas were put together quickly. We called the RedCross to offer our services. They accepted.

Soon, collage materials and construction paper werebeing set out, and interested children gathered around.Another table was set up with strips of paper, tape, andstaples. Children began to decorate paper chains. Along sheet of butcher paper was rolled out on the floorto help disperse the growing groups of eager-to-partic-ipate children. Crayons, markers, and collage materialswere set out nearby, and children immediately began agroup mural. Curious parents joined the groups andwatched or helped.

After most of the children had spread out, smallgroups began making modeling dough. They mixed,kneaded, pounded, rolled, and squeezed—all great ten-sion relievers. Parents began to help and some asked forthe recipe. Another popular activity was large sheets ofbubble wrap. Their popping sounded almost like dis-tant fireworks, with parents and children alike makingsure that every bubble was popped!

As children needed more choices, a Discovery Bottleactivity was set up to mix salad oil, water, and largepieces of glitter. The supply of empty plastic bottlessoon disappeared. Volunteers serving food began savingwater bottles. Toward the end of the day, children weretold that if they drank a bottle of water, they couldthen make a Discovery Bottle. Children who otherwisemight have chosen a soft drink selected water instead.Parents made notes about how to make Discovery Bot-tles. Many expressed appreciation for the volunteerswho kept their children happily occupied.

How Can Sign Language Be UsedWith Preschoolers?Increase Vocabulary

Every child is unique and has hisor her own learning style. Whenchildren see and hear a word beingspoken, it may help them rememberthe word more easily. Gardner's the-ory of multiple intelligences (1999)supports the use of multiple avenuesof learning through the use of ver-bal, visual, and tactile-kinestheticmodalities. Sign language shouldnot be used by itself, but should bepresented in combination with spo-ken words, using a multi-sensoryapproach. Some children can recalla needed word more easily whenthey make the motor movementrepresented by it. Others attend tolanguage more easily when they seeit and hear it simultaneouslythrough this multi-sensory method.

When preschoolers are unable tospeak well due to maturational orneurological problems, the teachercan assist them in forming the signfor the word by shaping their handsto form the pattern of the sign. Thisis something that teachers cannot dowith oral language. Oral languagerequires a much more complexprocess of coordinating breathing,phonation, palatal, jaw, and tonguemovement. Try as someone elsemight, they areunable to help achild shape theword she is tryingto say orally!

Scaffold LanguageMany stories, songs, games, and

poems in the preschool classroomuse repeated phrases to reinforcesentence structures. Examples

include, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear,what do you see? I see a _______looking at me" and "Going on aBear Hunt." When these stories,songs, poems, and games initiallyare used in the classroom, sign lan-guage can be combined with therepetitive phrases. As childrenbecome more familiar with the storyor game, the signs can be used lessfrequently and more unobtrusively.Thus, children gain independenceusing their oral language in the songor game.

By using this technique, thosechildren who are less mature in theirlanguage expression, or those whoare reluctant, are able to participatein a risk-free language-learningexperience. This author has used themethod with children as young as18 months. At first they were notable to participate in the activityverbally, but they were able to imi-tate the signs and be active partici-pants that way. As they matured,they were able to say the words andphrases along with their teacher andclassmates.

Follow DirectionsPreschool teachers spend much of

their time giving directions to chil-dren. When teachers give groupdirections, some learners are not ableto attend as well to the instructionsas others. If the directions are signed

as well as stated,these children arebetter able to tunein to the teachermore effectively.Additionally, the

teacher can provide correction tochildren discreetly when needed.When the teacher sees a child misbe-having, she can make eye contactand sign "stop." When the teacher

wants a child to walk instead of run,he signs "walk" before the childleaves the classroom to go to theplayground. When a child needs toremember to use a spoon to eatlunch, the teacher makes eye contactand signs "spoon." For some chil-dren these subtle cues avoid embar-rassment. For others who misbehaveto gain attention, the use of signsprovides an unobtrusive correctionwithout giving the child groupattention for inappropriate behavior.

Improve Imitation AbilityPeople learn much of what they

know by observing others and imi-tating their actions. Much of the useof spoken language is acquiredthrough imitation of what childrenhave heard and observed in use. Forsome children, particularly thosewith significant disabilities, imita-tion does not come naturally andthey must be specifically taught toimitate. When children are unableto imitate verbally, imitation of ges-tures and signs is a starting point inteaching imitation. Later, as thechild is able to imitate signs andactions, vocalizations and wordscome more easily.

All too often young children aredescribed as lazy or stubborn whenthey are not able to repeat words orphrases. It is rare for a child to refuseto speak because of laziness or stub-bornness. However, children andadults may become involved in apower struggle over speaking if toomuch pressure is placed on a childto perform verbally. When childrenexperience a risk-free opportunity toimitate signs and gestures, oftenthey develop the confidence to imi-tate sounds, vocalizations, words,and phrases.

Sign language promotes verbal communication.


What Can Be Done?What can educators and parents

do to employ television as a usefultool for learning and a fun tool forentertainment without overexposingchildren to violent television pro-gramming? These are a few recom-mendations that professionals areencouraged to share with parents ofchildren and youth.

• Write to companies that sup-port the more violent programsto voice concerns, and boycottthe companies.

• Screen the programs childrenwatch. Use tools such as TVlistings, the rating system, andthe V Chip.

• Set time periods for watchingtelevision and establish timelimits.

• Watch television with children.Discuss what is real and what isnot. Find shows that offer thesame attributes that the familyvalues.

• Read and discuss newspaperarticles that report events whichportray the positive side ofhumanity in the community.

• Turn off the tube and open abook. Read to children instead ofletting the TV do the entertain-ing. Play games together. Engagein recreation together. Makeyour own music. Volunteer.

• If all else fails, turn off the cable,take down the antennas, and

put the TV in the attic. After afew days of independence fromtelevision’s controlling influ-ence, families begin to interacton a much more personal leveland parents become more sig-nificant to their children.

ReferencesBedrova, E., & Leong, D. (1996). Tools of

the mind: The Vygotskian approach toearly childhood education. EngelwoodCliffs, NJ: Merrill.

Chen, M. (1994). The smart parent’s guideto kids’ TV. San Francisco: KQEDBooks.

Devore, C.D. (1994). Kids & media influ-ence. Edina, MN: Abdo & Daughters.

Eron, L.D., & Slaby, R.G. (1995). Intro-duction. In L.D. Eron, J.H. Gentry, &P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to hope: A psy-chosocial perspective on violence andyouth. Washington, DC: American Psy-chological Association.

Gunter, B., Charlton, T., & Coles, D.(2000). The impact of television onchildren’s antisocial behavior in anovice television community. ChildStudy Journal, 30(2): 65-90.

Heintz-Knowles, K. (1996). Reflections onthe screen. Unpublished paper. Univer-sity of Washington.

Huston, A., & Wright, J. (1992). Televi-sion and socialization of young chil-dren. In T. MacBeth (Ed), Tuning in toyoung viewers: Social science perspectiveson television. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.

Kostelnik, M., Stein, L., Whiren, A., &Soderman, A. (1998). Guiding chil-dren’s social development (3rd ed.).Albany, NY: Delmar.

Mediascope National Television ViolenceStudy, (1996). (Online). Availablehttp://cii2.cochran.com/mnet/eng/med/home/resource/ntvs.htm (1997,March 26).

Murray, J.P. (1973). Television and vio-lence: Implications of the SurgeonGeneral’s research program. AmericanPsychologist, 28(6), 472-478.

Murray, J. (1995). Children and televisionviolence. Kansas Journal of Law andPublic Policy, 4(3), 7-14.

National Institute of Mental Health.(1982). Television and behavior: Tenyears of scientific progress and implica-tions for the eighties (vol. 1), Summaryreport. Washington, DC: United StatesGovernment Printing Office.

Page, R., Hammermeister, J., & Scanlan,A. (1996). Psychosocial and health-related characteristics of adolescenttelevision viewers. Child Study Journal,26(4), 319-334.

Robinson, M. (1997). Children readingprint and television. London: Falmer.

Surgeon General’s Scientific AdvisoryCommittee on Television and SocialBehavior. (1972). Television and grow-ing up: The impact of televised violence.Washington DC: U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office.

Sweet, D., & Singh, R. (1994). TV viewingand parental guidance. Education Con-sumer Guide. (Online). Available:http://inet.ed.gov/pubs/OR/Consumer/tv.html (1997, April 2).

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: Thedevelopment of higher psychologicalprocesses. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.

Yamamoto, K. (1972). The child and hisimage: Self-concept in the early years.Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Increase Positive Self-ConceptMost preschoolers are curious,

exuberant learners. When sign lan-guage is used, they learn it naturallyin the context of their day. They areproud of their accomplishments andreadily demonstrate them to others.As they show their signs for theirfamilies and friends, their acquain-tances are rightly impressed and typ-ically express their approval. As chil-dren demonstrate their unique skillsand are praised by others, their con-cepts of themselves as competentlearners are reinforced and built.

How to Get StartedAdopt Learnability Research

Research about the learnability ofsign, particularly for children withdisabilities, is most helpful to teach-ers of young children who wish toemploy sign techniques. Reichle,Williams, & Ryan (1981) developedcriteria for selection of initial signs.Signs are more easily learned if theyare iconic. An iconic sign resemblesthe concept it represents. For exam-ple, the sign for "ball" is made byforming the shape of a circle withthe thumbs and forefingers. Becausethis sign looks like a ball, it is easilyremembered by the learner.

Signs are more easily learned ifthey are useful for the learner. Whenchildren can use the signs frequentlywith others in many places, theylearn the signs more easily. Also,signs that require contact withanother part of the body are easierto learn than those made in the air.It is easier to learn one-handed signsthan two-handed signs. Finally, two-handed signs that are symmetrical(both hands performing the sameaction) are learned faster than signsin which the hands are performing

different actions. Although the

motor componentsof the signs are afactor to consider inhow quickly thechild learns them, teachers are urgedto be more concerned about the use-fulness of the sign for expressingneeds and participating in the activ-ities of the classroom.

Select Relevant Vocabulary When selecting useful vocabulary

for signing, first examine the class-room activities to identify wordsthat are most meaningful for chil-dren. For example, if there are ritu-als that are repeated during circletime such as the weather report orthe lunch menu, these are logicalchoices. Favorite songs that arerepeated often provide good oppor-tunities for the use of sign. Songsthat signal transitions such as thebeginning and ending of activities,(e.g., the clean-up song) also pro-vide useful sign vocabulary.

Direction words such as come,walk, stop, wait, and close (the door)all are excellent signs to use inthe classroom. Colors, animals, com-

mon foods, posi-tions (up, down,in, out) actionwords (verbs), anddescriptive words(adjectives), all are

useful in the preschool classroom.Teaching with themes is useful inpromoting the language and devel-opment of young children andfrequently is used in preschool class-room curriculums. When conceptsare introduced, the core vocabularycan be presented verbally and withsign.

The signs for the names of class-mates are also important inpreschool classrooms. Typicallyname signs are formed by placingthe first letter of the alphabet at aspecific location on the body. Forexample, Sharon may be signed byplacing the sign for the letter S onthe left side of the chest.

Involve FamiliesIt is important for family mem-

bers to be aware of the signs thattheir children are learning. At parentmeetings and in newsletters, theplan to use signs can be explained.As signs are introduced in the class-

Signs are learned morequickly if they are...

• Useful to the child

• Used with other persons inother places

• Iconic: they look like the con-cept that they represent

• Formed with one hand ratherthan two

• Formed with body contactrather than in the air

• Formed symmetrically if twohands are required

Signs are more easilylearned if they are

useful for the learner.

Suggested Vocabulary

• Children's names

• Classroom songs

• Transition routines

• Colors

• Weather report

• Direction words

• Position words

• Animals

• Foods

• Action words (verbs)

• Descriptive words (adjectives)

• Unit vocabulary

SECA is currently looking for creative photogra-phers to submit high-quality, multicultural prints ofyoung children at play. Selected photos may be pub-lished in SECA’s journal, Dimensions of Early Child-hood, for which photographers will be paid.

For more information on this as well as our photoguidelines, please contact SECA directly at (501)221-1648 or (800) 305-7322. Photos may be sent to

SECA at the following address:

Southern Early Childhood Association8500 W. Markham, Ste. 105Little Rock,AR 72205Office: (501) 221-1648Toll Free: (800) 305-7322Fax: (501) [email protected]

Photographers Needed


many other messages. Huston andWright (1999) state that prosocialtelevision had at least as much effectif not more than violent television.Nevertheless, the predominant con-tent in the United States may rein-force notions that women are help-less and incompetent, men areaggressive, most people in the coun-try are white and affluent, and theprinciple minority is African Ameri-cans who reside in sit-com situa-tions. In television programming,women are becoming much morephysically aggressive, and both menand women are becoming extremelyverbally aggressive.

Many advertising campaignshave taken an in-your-face positionto get their point across, for exam-ple, ads for candy (“Two for me,none for you”), commercials forvideo games, and pizza (“Can youhandle it?”). One commercial is par-ticularly offensive in its messageabout youth. A middle-aged CEO issitting in a plush leather chair andturns on a television depicting highschool band members marching.Suddenly a pack of rav-enous wolves viciouslyattacks them. He chuck-les, “Now that’s goodstuff.”

What makes many ofthese commercials mostdisturbing is that theyare purposefully aimedat a younger audience.They essentially tell chil-dren that it is acceptableto be rude, violent, self-ish, and arrogant, andthat children who actlike this are in some wayfashionable. As one uni-versity student so aptlyand succinctly said,

“People learn to do what other peo-ple say is okay to do.”

As the TV industry supplies morechannels and options for program-ming, people spend more timewatching. Families play a major rolein deciding what and how muchtelevision children should watch(Huston & Wright, 1996). Often,children are present in rooms inwhich parents are watching televi-sion and get secondary exposure tothe program. Thus the amount andkind of programming that childrenview is similar to their parents’choices.

For young children especially,exposure to adult programmingoccurs more with parents presentthan without them, according toHuston & Wright. While parents inNorth America imposed little regu-lation on the amount of time thatchildren spent watching television,they did try to prohibit exposure tographic violence, sexuality, frighten-ing content, and bad language. Par-ents also tried to encourage theirchildren to watch educational pro-

grams, but apparently did not useco-viewing experiences to discusswhat their children saw on televi-sion as much as they could have.

There is no doubt that childrenidentify with TV characters thatthey see as significant, whether theyare superheroes, kindly hosts of chil-dren’s programs, talk-show hosts,professional wrestlers, or any otherindividuals. Vygotsky’s theory onsociocultural development (Bedrova& Leong, 1996;Vygotsky, 1998)states that

1. Children’s behavior and self-worth are influenced by signifi-cant others and the models theypresent for social interaction,

2. Formation of cognitive con-structs are heavily dependentupon socially mediated experi-ences, and

3. Children’s experiences with toolsbecome internalized and used infuture social and cultural situa-tions.

Consequently, professionals mustalso concur that the culture of tele-vision will influence children, tosome degree, in the choices they

make, in the behav-iors they exhibit,and in the mannerin which they willhandle conflict. Thisis not to imply thatthere should be for-mal censorship, but,just as major tobac-co companies areheld responsible forthe images they pro-ject at children, soshould television-broadcasting com-panies be heldresponsible for thecontent that theybeam at children.

Nancy P. Alexander

After a few days of independence from television’s controlling influ-ence, families begin to interact on a much more personal level andparents become more significant to their children.

room, a photocopy of thesigns can be sent home. Mostfamilies are supportive of theirchildren learning to use signs,and many of them learn thesigns along with their chil-dren. As parents praise chil-dren for the use of signs, itreinforces their self-conceptsas competent learners.

Choose a Sign SystemA number of sign systems

are used by various groups.American Sign Language(ASL), the language of thedeaf community, is probablythe most common sign sys-tem. It is signed quickly and usesdifferent syntax from English.Signed English and Signing ExactEnglish use traditional English syn-tax and word endings. Some states,

such as Texas, have a standard signsystem for instruction in publicschools in the state.

Although it is important to beaware of these distinctions, the signs

used in the preschool classroom aretypically basic core vocabulary andphrases rather than sentences usingthe syntax of ASL. Young childrenare not typically expected to use signlanguage as their primary means ofcommunication. Therefore, con-cerns about syntax and sign systemsare not at the forefront when usingsigns to augment the languageacquisition of developing preschool-ers. However, it is always a goodidea to teach the sign languagevocabulary used in public schools inthe state.

Where to Learn to SignMost community colleges have

basic and advanced courses in signlanguage. Often these courses teachASL. Some community agencies inlarger metropolitan areas offercourses in sign language. Largerschool systems, particularly thosewith deaf education programs, offercourses for teachers, family mem-bers, and other interested parties.Many times these classes are free orare reasonably priced. Some providechild care as well.

Photo courtesy of the author

Most families are supportive of their children learning to use signs, and many of themlearn the signs along with their children. As teachers see how enthusiastic children arein using their signs and how much it helps some children to express themselves verbal-ly, they typically want to learn more.

Internet Resources

• Handspeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Onlinehttp://www.handspeak.com/ Animated versions of basic sign vocabulary.

• Animated American Sign Language Dictionaryhttp://www.bconnex.net/~randys/

Animated versions of sign vocabulary.

• American Sign Language Browser: University of Michigan Web site forASL resources

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/

• A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html

• International Bibliography of Sign Language http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/bibweb/

• American Sign Language Handshapes Dictionary http://handshapes.com/

• SLanT: Fingerspelling and Typinghttp://shareware.lycos.com/tukids/win95nt/5-8/sign58.shtml

• National Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resourceshttp://www.bu.edu/asllrp/cslgr/

• Are You Sign Smart? http://bonus.lycos.com/bonus/card/quiz_signlang.html

• Funbrain: Sign the Alphabethttp://funbrain.lycos.com/cgi-bin/shtml.cgi?A1=../signs/index.html


behaviors are more likely to beshown as ineffective. Unfortunately,the majority of child characters oncommercial broadcast networkswere shown to be acting in anti-social ways. Certain significant anti-social behaviors, including physicalaggression and deceitful behavior,were frequently shown to be effec-tive in meeting children’s goals,sending a potentially negative mes-sage to children.

Impact of TV on Social Development

Given that U.S. television beamsviolence at its audience day andnight, and that children spend agreat deal of time watching televi-sion, what evidence is there thattelevision violence influences thesocial development of children? In1972, the Surgeon General of theUnited States advised that there isevidence that TV violence can beharmful to young viewers (Murray,1973; Surgeon General’s ScientificAdvisory Committee on Televisionand Social Behavior, 1972).

A 10-year follow-up to the Sur-geon General’s report found that,with 10 years of more research, vio-lence on television continued toaffect the aggressive behavior of chil-dren (National Institute of MentalHealth, 1982). The American Psy-chological Association Task Force onTelevision and Social Behavior (Hus-ton, & Wright, 1992) concludedthat 30 years of research confirmedthe harmful effects of TV violence.

The long-term Eron Study (Eron& Slaby, 1995) is most revealing. In

1963, 8-year-olds, their teachers,and their parents were initially inter-viewed. The interviewers noted thataggression and TV viewing appearedto be related, and that teachers andpeers identified those childrenwhose viewing habits included moreviolent programs than others asbeing more aggressive.

In 1973, when these childrenwere 18 years old, a strong relation-ship between their early TV viewingwhen they were 8 years old andaggressive behavior at 18 years wasidentified.

By1985, when these subjectswere 30 years old, a relationshipbetween early TV viewing and arrestand conviction for interpersonalcrimes was discovered. These inter-personal crimes included spouseabuse, child abuse, murder, andaggravated assault. Could it be thatthe internalization of mediatedexperiences provided by significantcharacters engaged in social conflicton television had anything to dowith this relationship? Did televi-sion teach these individuals how tobehave?

In light of the research and vari-ous studies on television violenceand its impact on the social behaviorof young children, three specificbehavioral phenomena have beenidentified. These are Direct Effects,Desensitization, and the MeanWorld Syndrome.

• Direct Effects suggests thatchildren and adults who watcha lot of violence on televisionmay become more aggressiveand/or may develop favorableattitudes and values about the

use of aggression to resolve con-flicts (Murray, 1995).

• Desensitization suggests thatchildren who watch a lot oftelevision become less sensitiveto real violence in their world,less sensitive to pain and suffer-ing of others, and more tolerantof violent behavior (Murray,1995).

• Mean World Syndrome de-scribes children and adults whowatch a lot of television thatdepicts the world as being amean and dangerous placebecause of the violence depict-ed. These people come tobelieve that the world is a meanand dangerous place (Murray,1995).

Simply put, television impartsthe message that it is acceptable toresolve conflict with violence. Tele-vision’s message is that the violencein the world is to be expected, that itoccurs all the time, and so it is real-ly no big deal. Television conveysthat, because of the violence in theworld, the world is not a safe andcaring place to find oneself. Peoplemust constantly be on the defensive.

While there is much to be saidabout television that is good, andthere are terrific programs availablefor children, professionals who workwith children must be aware of thenegative impact that violent televi-sion has in children’s lives. The evi-dence is clear and abundant thattelevision violence impacts youth innegative ways.

In addition to violence, TV pro-grams and advertising promote

Thirty years of researchconfirmed the harmfuleffects of TV violence.

Television imparts themessage that it is

acceptable to resolveconflict with violence.

Television violenceimpacts youth in

negative ways.

Action Signs

Walk

Stop

Symetrical Signs

Shoe

Book

Color Signs

Red Blue

Yellow Green

Books with photographs depict-ing the basic signs and movementscan be found at local book-stores and libraries. Additionally,the Internet provides excellentresources for sign language (seebox). Internet resources that pro-vide animation, such as Handspeak:A Sign Language Dictionary Onlineand the Animated American SignLanguage Dictionary, are helpful forbeginners.

One advantage of working withyoung children is that the teachercan build a sign language vocabularyas the preschoolers build theirs.The teacher does not need to be aproficient signer before beginninginstruction using signs. When plan-ning to focus on a topic, the teachercan target the signs that accompanythe content and post them in theclassroom (DiCarlo, Banajee, &Stricklin, 2000). This will help theadults in the room learn the signs asthey demonstrate them.

Teachers can also prepare signs togive basic instructions during theday (come, look). As teachers see howenthusiastic children are in using

their signs and how much it helpssome children to express themselvesverbally, they typically want to learnmore. Many teachers who try thisapproach in the classroom continueto use it and find it successful inmeeting the diverse needs of youngchildren.

ReferencesBird, E.K., Gaskell, A., Babineau, M.D.,

& MacDonald, S. (2000). Novel wordacquisition in children with DownSyndrome: Does modality make a dif-ference? Journal of Communication Dis-orders, 33(3), 241-266.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.).(1997). Developmentally appropriatepractice in early childhood programs(2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Brennan, K.B., & Miller, A.D. (2000).How many words can your studentsread? Using a sign language game toincrease sight word recognition. Inter-vention in School and Clinic, 35(3),147-150.

Cook, R.E., Tessier, A., & Klein, M.D.(2000). Adapting early childhood curric-ula for children in inclusive settings (5thed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.

Crawford, W. (2001). Say it with sign lan-guage. Principal, 17(1), 30-32.

Daniels, M. (1993). ASL and Englishacquisition. Silver Spring, MD: Lin-stock Press.

DiCarlo, C., Banajee, M., & Stricklin,S.B. (2000). Embedding augmentativecommunication within early childhoodclassrooms. Young Exceptional Children,3(3), 18-26.

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed:Multiple intelligences for the twenty-firstcentury. New York: Basic Books.

Howard, V.F., Williams, B.F., Port, P.D.,& Lepper, C. (2001). Very young chil-dren with special needs: A formativeapproach for the twenty-first century(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Merrill Prentice-Hall.

Reichle, J., Williams, W., & Ryan, S.(1981). Selecting signs for the formula-tion of an augmentative communica-tion modality. The Journal of the Associ-ation for Persons With Severe Handicaps,6(1), 48-56.

Seligman, M. (1975). Helplessness: Ondeath, depression, and development. SanFrancisco: W.H. Freeman.

Schunk, H.E. (1999). The effect of sign-ing paired with singing of receptivevocabulary skills of elementary ESLstudents. Journal of Music Therapy,26(2), 110-124.

Wauters, L.N., Knoors, H.E., Vervloed,M.P.J., & Aarnouste, C.A.J. (2001).Sign facilitation in word recognition.Journal of Special Education, 35(1),31-40.


out once again how much work wehave to do in order to establish earlychildhood education as a legitimateprofession. As teachers, directors,and advocates for young children wemust be persistent and diligent inadvocating for standards of excel-lence in our respective states andprograms.

I remember when I recommend-

ed to my Board of Directors that welower our teacher-to-child ratiobelow that which the state required.They asked how much it would costus in revenue and I told them about$60,000 annually. They then askedthe logical questions: Why shouldwe and can we afford to do it? Iresponded by saying that we could-n’t afford not to do so because the

very quality of life for our childrenwas at stake! Please understand thatyou can’t always convince the stateto do the right thing for childrenbut as an early childhood educationprofessional you can and shouldstrive for excellence in the serviceyou provide to the children in yourprogram.

President’s Messagecontinued

Southeasterners, and all points andall peoples in between. This coun-try’s society is as aggressive and vio-lent as any society in the world. It isalso as passive and peaceful as anysociety in the world. U.S. society isat its best in its charity and compas-sion. It is at its worst in its violence.

Television ViolenceThe violence on U.S. television,

and its impact on children withregard to Vygotsky’s socioculturaltheory, gives many people cause forconcern. According to the Media-scope National Television ViolenceStudy (1996), violence is “Any overtdepiction of physical force—or thecredible threat of such force—intended to harm an animate being

or group of beings.” U.S. television is the most violent

in the world (Chen, 1994). Chil-dren’s television on Saturday morn-ings presents from 20 to 25 violentacts per hour, while prime time tele-vision presents an average of fiveviolent acts per hour (Sweet &Singh, 1994). See Table 1 for a listof some of the television viewinghabits of U.S. children.

Television in the United Statesportrays violence as effective andacceptable for conflict resolution.The messages are often one or moreof these:

• Violence is justified.• Good guys win, bad guys lose.• Problems are often solved fast

and violently.• Violence and other anti-social

behaviors often go unpunished.

Analysis of Child TV CharactersHeintz-Knowles (1996) did a

comprehensive analysis of regularlyscheduled entertainment programsfeaturing child characters on broad-cast and cable television. The studysurveyed early morning, afternoon,prime time, and Saturday morningbroadcasts on ABC, CBS, NBC,FOX, and PBS, and the USA, Nick-elodeon, and Disney cable channels.Only programs featuring regularchild characters (up to the age of 18)were selected for analysis. Entertain-ment programs covered by thisstudy included dramas, sitcoms,variety programs, cartoons, andaction-adventure shows. Daytimesoap operas, news, talk, movies andreality programs were not included.

Three episodes of each programselected were videotaped and sub-jected to systematic coding analysis.The study revealed that while manychildren on television were shownengaging in both prosocial and anti-social ways, the majority of behav-iors shown, across all forms of tele-vision, were prosocial. These posi-tive acts are shown to be most effec-tive in helping the charactersachieve their goals. Heintz-Knowlesfound that 70% of child characterson fictional shows engaged in proso-cial acts, while 40% engaged in anti-social acts (multiple behaviors wererecorded for each character).

Prosocial behaviors are most like-ly to be seen as effective in meetingthe child’s goals, while anti-social

Table 1. TV Viewing Habits of U.S. Children

• Children are fervent viewers by 2 or 3 years old.

• Children watch an average of 4 hours of television per day. This trans-lates to about 1,400 hours of television per year, or 18,000 hours by highschool graduation (Chen, 1994).

• Children between the ages of 6 and 7 years watch more than 23 hours oftelevision per week (Page, Hammermeister, & Scanlan, 1996).

• In a study of the correlation between the viewing habits of children andantisocial behavior on St. Helens, a British colony island in the SouthAtlantic Ocean, children watched an average of 3 hours, 10 minutes perday. However, this was over a 3-day period, based on diary entries thatthe children themselves kept. This information tends to indicate that chil-dren in relatively technologically advanced societies are still watchingmore than 3 hours per day (Gunter, Charlton, & Coles, 2000).

• Children in lower-income environments average as much as 22,000hours of TV viewing by graduation (Sweet & Singh, 1994). In comparison,from kindergarten through 12th grade, children spend 13,000 hours inschool (Chen, 1994).

• By age 6, the average U.S. child will have spent more time watching tele-vision than she will talk with her father in her lifetime (Devore, 1994, p.16).

• Children watch television not designed for them 90% of the time. Only14% of television is designed for children. The U.S. child witnesses about12,000 violent acts per year on television (Sweet & Singh, 1994).

• In 1986, there were about 43 hours of war cartoons on television perweek, with an average of 48 violent acts per hour. This equates to 2064violent acts per week by war cartoons alone. Murder or attempted murderoccurs almost once per minute (Devore, 1994).

U.S. television is the most violent

in the world.


“Well, I thought...I thought anairplane got stuck up in a sky, and justfell right into a house.”

“Yep, then there was a fire andthere was a hotel in it. I seen picturesof the fire...um...it looked like peoplewere in trouble.”

“I saw on the TV...I saw that peo-ple were jumping from the windowsin the building.”

The events of September 11,2001, traumatized the people of theUnited States and the world. Thisunfathomable terrorist attack forcedpeople in the United States to recon-sider their own personal safety andto come to terms with notions of“invulnerability.” Moreover, adultswere forced to develop coping strate-gies so that they could continue theirdaily lives while processing thisfrightening new reality.

The events of September 11 alsogreatly affected the lives of young children. Someyoung children lost parents and family members, whileothers lost parts of their neighborhood or city. Still oth-ers witnessed their parents’ sorrow as events unfoldedon the television. Early childhood teachers struggled toanswer questions and respond appropriately to theneeds, concerns, and questions from young childrenand their families.

Children’s exposure to violence,whether it is via the media or as awitness to a violent event, can bedetrimental to their well being(Sege & Dietz, 1994). Dependingon the context, media violence canlead to aggressive behavior (Dietz &Strasburger, 1991) as well as desen-sitization to aggressive acts (Drab-man & Thomas, 1974). Being awitness to a violent act can oftenaffect children’s emotional healthbecause they do not have the neces-sary resources to cope with suchevents (Famularo, Fenton, & Kin-scherff, 1993; Groves, 1997). Giventhese realities, the early childhoodeducator has an important role insupporting young children andfamilies during times of tragedy.

This article describes the Univer-sity of Kentucky (UK) Early Child-hood Laboratory’s (ECL) approach

Responding to the Events of September 11, 2001:One Program’s Story

Rena A. Hallam, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, and Charlotte Manno

Rena A. Hallam, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Departmentof Family Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Ed.D., is Assistant Professor andDirector of the UK Early Childhood Lab, Department ofFamily Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Charlotte Manno, M.A., is Associate Director of the UKEarly Childhood Lab, Department of Family Studies, Uni-versity of Kentucky, Lexington.

The events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath continue toshape the lives of teachers, children, and families. This articledescribes the sensitive, professional manner in which the staff of oneprogram responded. Their approach could well be adapted by otherprograms faced with stressful circumstances.

Subjects & Predicates

Being a witness to a violent act canoften affect children’s emotional healthbecause they do not have the necessaryresources to cope with such events.

son who had no qualms about usingdirty tactics to get what he wanted,often ruining the lives of other peo-ple, including his own wife, whowas driven to alcoholism. Hisyounger brother was the opposite:he believed in fair play and in treat-ing others with respect and dignity.It was this brother who always setout to thwart the subversive effortsof his older brother, and he general-ly always succeeded.

Young children often engage indramatic and sociodramatic play,assigning and assuming the roles ofinfluential characters as seen notonly in their sociocultural environ-ments but also on television. Thereis no doubt that TV has providedchildren with countless hours ofsociodramatic play routines basedupon television characters: cowboysand Indians, cops and robbers,superheroes, animated characters,professional wrestlers, televisionfamily roles, and others.

When children see actors andactresses on television that they likeor even dislike, they will oftenadapt the characteristics of thosepersonalities during sociodramaticplay. Vygotsky noted that whenchildren are playing any imaginarygame (or are involved in sociodra-matic play with at least one otherperson in which each player has aspecific role or identity) rules forplay apply. “The child imagines

himself to be themother and the dollto be the child, so hemust obey the rulesof maternal behavior”(Vygotsky, 1978, p.94).

In the case of twosisters playing a gameof sisters, “the fact thattwo sisters decided toplay sisters inducesthem both to acquirerules of behavior.Only actions that fitthese rules are accept-able to the play situa-tion: they dress alike,talk alike, in short,they enact whateveremphasizes their rela-tionship as sisters vis-

á-vis adults and strangers.... The rolethe child fulfills, and her relation tothe (role), will always stem from therules” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 95).

Children’s play incorporates therule of self-regulation, in which theyadapt mannerisms and characteris-tics of the character they are por-traying. Through self-regulation,children can play in character.When children are discovering theirenvironments by imitating adultswhom they admire and respect, theywill adapt the most obvious charac-

teristics and traits of those adults.“In their play, children projectthemselves into the adult activitiesof their culture and rehearse theirfuture roles and values. In this man-ner children begin to acquire themotivation, skills, and attitudes nec-essary for their social participation,which can be achieved only with theassistance of their peers and elders”(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 129).

If children see admired televisioncharacters as significant peopleengaging in prosocial behaviors,such as helping younger siblings,being truthful, and acting in social-ly responsible ways, then childrenwho take on the role of these char-acters in their sociodramatic playwill practice these same characteris-tics. If violence is the method mostpreferred by the television characterswhom children emulate in their playfor the resolution of conflict or forproblem solving, then this is themethod children will practice intheir play.

As children spend more timepracticing these methods, theybecome more capable of usingthem. Eventually, children maybegin to internalize them, to be usedfor future, real-life situations. Thismay be especially true if other sig-nificant adults do not provideguidelines as to what behaviors areand are not socially acceptable.

U.S. society is complex, everchanging, and never static. It is like abean soup, where the contributionsof hundreds of different types ofbeans combine to create one unique,blended flavor, while each type ofbean is unique in its own characteris-tics, with special traits and qualities.U.S. society is Northerners, South-erners, West Coast residents, EastCoast residents, Northwesterners,

Nancy P. Alexander

Television has provided children with countlesshours of sociodramatic play routines based upontelevision characters.


to addressing the September 11tragedy. The UK ECL serves chil-dren who are birth to 5 years of agefrom a wide range of cultural andsocioeconomic backgrounds. Theprogram has contracts with the pub-lic school preschool program as wellas Head Start to serve children withand without disabilities. It is alicensed child care facility accreditedby the National Association for theEducation of Young Children(NAEYC).

The children in this programwere not in close geographic prox-imity to the September 11 terroristevents and no immediate familymembers of the children lost theirlives in this tragedy. The followingdiscussion outlines the events thatunfolded on that day at the centerand the UK ECL’s response to theseevents in the 2 weeks following theterrorist attack. These experiencescan help other programs developthoughtful responses to other chal-lenging situations.

The Day of the TragedyAround 10 a.m. on September

11, the assistant director at the UKECL was alerted to events in NewYork City by the custodial staff inthe building, who were over-whelmed with the information. Asword spread to the teachers, disbe-lief and shock were common reac-tions. Teachers and college studentswere asked not to talk about themorning’s events, which eventuallyincluded sites in Virginia and Penn-sylvania, in front of the children.

Soon after the news broke, par-ents began calling the school to askwhether or not the center wouldclose. The program opted to followthe local public school’s decisionand remain open. The rationale for

this decision was to main-tain typical operating pro-cedures and minimize dis-ruption to children.

In an effort to supportfamilies during this diffi-cult time and open com-munication with themabout this issue, a letter wassent home with childrenthat afternoon. This letterprovided families with sug-gestions and guidance onhandling this situation withtheir young children bylimiting television viewing,answering children’s ques-tions, talking about feel-ings, and looking for anychanges in behavior.

Program Responses Afterthe Tragedy

On September 12, 2001,some of the childrenenrolled in the UK ECLbegan to ask questionsabout burning buildings, airplaneshitting buildings, and firefighters, aswell as sharing their various storiesabout what had happened the daybefore. Children asked questions ofteachers as well as acted out someevents in the dramatic play area. Forexample, some children asked teach-ers if they saw the “plane hit thebuilding on TV” and one childasked another to pretend that theywere crashing a plane into a blockstructure.

This interest from the children,coupled with the staff ’s desire toaddress this tragedy in the program,led to the development of a responseplan that involved children andfamilies. The plan included class-room supports, family surveys, adiscussion group with selected chil-dren, and a program-wide bake saleto raise funds for the relief effort.

Classroom Supports. On the dayof the terrorist attack, programadministration and staff determinedthat the program’s policy was toanswer or affirm children’s questionsor opinions, but not to give newinformation to children concerningthe disaster. This decision was madeto support parents’ decisions about

Children asked questions and acted out

some events in the dramatic play area.


The importance of having a trusting environ-ment, where children are not afraid to askquestions or role-play feelings and emotions,is a goal of all high-quality early childhoodprograms.

distinct sizes, that studentwill construct a differentconcept than the studentwhose teacher points out theblocks’ color. The teacher’sideas mediate or influencewhat and how the child willlearn” (Bedrova & Leong,1996, p. 8).

Human activities are bestunderstood when investigat-ed in their historical devel-opment, according to Vygot-sky (1978). As an example,in the United States today,the relatively new culture ofthe computer and its associ-ated technology has givenbirth to a new set of termsand symbols that people usein order to understand thetechnology and to use itmore capably. Words such asmouse, browser, software, and laptophave developed into everyday nounsassociated with the computer andare understood in context as easily aselectricity and antennas, radio andtelevision.

Only about 20 years ago, peoplewould have been appalled to hear atale about someone moving a mouseabout her laptop and using it topoint and click on different icons.Likewise, what would people havethought about a browser or soft-ware? Today, the inability to recog-nize these terms, internalize them,then use them to influence the socialand cultural environment places anindividual at risk of isolation on asocial and cultural front.

From the federal government tolocal school boards, heavy emphasisis being placed on children’s abilitiesto master computer technology andto use this technology to advancetheir own and society’s interests.

Thus, children are spending moreand more time experiencing the mar-vels of the computer, to the pointwhere many have become more pro-ficient at using the computer as a toolthan their less-practiced parents. Theequation is simple: More time with atool equals more experience with thattool equals more expertise in the useof that tool. The greater the expertisein use of a tool, the more likely peo-ple are to use that tool to influencetheir environment and regulate theirbehavior.

Television: A Mediatorfor Learning Social Skills

Given this understanding of howthe sociocultural development ofchildren is affected by significantpeople, institutions, and tools, thisarticle will now focus on televisionas a tool for entertainment and as amediator for learning social behav-ior. Typically, U.S. children spend

more time watching TVthan doing any singleactivity other than sleep-ing (Chen, 1994). Indi-viduals use familiar toolsto organize and carryout new activities. Forthe most part, televi-sion provides mediatedexamples of interperson-al skills for people,including young chil-dren, to use in socialinteractions.

Two boys are in thefront yard playingwith squirt guns. Theyare chasing each otheraround, and one boysquirts the other in thechest, soaking hisshirt. “You’re dead!”exclaims the shooter.

“No I’m not,”replies the second boy. “Yes you are. I shot you.” The second boy, unwilling to

be “dead,” suddenly claims,“No I’m not! I’m Batman,” andpunches the shooter in the face.“Take that, Joker!” he exclaims,seemingly oblivious to the factthat he has just hurt his friend.

How reflective is TV of Americansociety? This can be answered inpart by how long a specific TV pro-gram runs. Those programs thathave found favor with Americansociety generally tend to be the onesthat are most often watched. Inessence, these are the programs thatoften portray people in roles thatsociety finds acceptable.

Where roles may not be accept-able on popular programs, the “goodguys” generally succeed in eliminat-ing them. Take for example a popu-lar show in the late 1970s and early1980s. It concerned a wealthy oilfamily with a particularly devious


Television provides mediated examples of interpersonalskills for people, including young children, to use in socialinteractions.


what, if any, information they want-ed to share with their children.

While the staff respected theparental rights of those who wishedto protect their children from whathad happened, staff also knew it wasimportant to help the children whoknew about the disaster.

• Teachers closely observed chil-dren’s play, with particularattention to acts of violence,such as aggressive airplane play.

• Children who initiated conver-sations about the tragedy wereencouraged to talk to theirteachers about what they hadseen, or what they were feeling.

• If a child showed fear, teacherswere instructed to reassure chil-dren that they were safe inschool. “Our school is a safeplace” was repeated many times.

All high-quality early childhoodprograms know the importance ofhaving a trusting environment,where children are not afraid to askquestions or role-play their feelingsand emotions. This emotional con-text became the foundation for theECL’s reaction in this situation.

Family Surveys. In an effort toelicit family feedback and informa-tion about the terrorist attack, all

family members of preschoolers inthe ECL program received a surveyconcerning the terrorist events andasking how these events had beenaddressed in their family. Surveyswere sent to all parents of preschool-ers (n = 36). Of those, 21 responses(58%) were returned.

The survey asked families aboutthe types of information they hadgiven to their children and howtheir children had responded to theinformation. Within this smallnumber of families, there was greatvariability in parental perspectivesabout what information was appro-priate for young children. Manyparents attempted to completelyprotect their children from theinformation, while others providedan opportunity for some television

viewing of eventsand engaging inconversations aboutwhat those imagesmeant.

This range ofreactions and par-ental perspectiveshighlighted the im-portance of familyinvolvement in plan-ning support relat-ed to the tragedy.The method of ob-taining family in-put allowed pro-gram staff to receive

information from many parents veryquickly and enabled staff to beknowledgeable about parental atti-tudes regarding what was appropriatefor their children. Additionally, itprovided information to programstaff in the event that families neededfurther assistance or services to copewith the tragedy.

Child Discussion Group. As partof the family survey, parents wereasked if their children could partici-pate in a discussion group on thetopic of the terrorist attacks. Again,parents responded differently to thisrequest, with some parents optingnot to have their child participate.However, eight (38% of those whoreturned surveys) children partici-pated in a discussion group concern-ing the events of September 11.

The intent of the discussion groupwas to enable those children whohad knowledge of the events toshare their understandings and feel-ings about the events with programstaff. Based on the work of Clemens(2001), a brief list of questions wasdeveloped that provided the chil-dren with an opportunity todescribe their understanding of theevent as well as how these eventsconnected to their life. See Table 1for a list of discussion questions thatwere used with this group ofpreschool children.

This discussion, which took placewithin 2 weeks of the terrorist

Table 1. Discussion Group Questions

• Who can tell me about what happened in New York City a couple ofweeks ago?

• How can we help people who are hurt? How is our school helping peoplewho are hurt? Who are some people who help people who are hurt?

• Who are some of the people who keep us safe? How do they keep ussafe?

• Why are so many people flying flags right now? • How do you think people feel when something really bad happens?• What are ways we can be nice to our friends?


The range of reactions and parental perspectives high-lighted the importance of family involvement in plan-ning events related to the tragedy.

tion of the society in which theylive. At the immediate interactivelevel, children may simply meet anindividual without ever learning allthat much from that person. Orchildren may note something aboutthe other person that is of interest tothem, and adapt that interest forthemselves. The immediate interac-tive level can be personal or veryimpersonal. It includes experiencesthat are long lasting and others thatare simply fleeting moments.

Structural Level. In Vygotsky’ssociocultural theory, a second level,the structural level, is without doubthighly influential in the social devel-opment of young children, becausethis is the level in which they inter-act with significant adults and peo-ple in general. Significant adults“provide mirrors through whichchildren make assessments regardingtheir worth, competence, and con-trol” (Kostelnik et al., 1998, p. 75).

These adults shape either a facili-tating or inhibiting environment forchildren’s prosocial behavior. Chil-dren who observe significant adultswho cooperate, help, share, and giveare most likely to act in those waysthemselves (Kostelnik et al., p. 364).In addition to parents, significantadults often include teachers, otherfamily members (siblings, grandpar-ents, uncles, and aunts), religiousleaders, medical care providers, andany adults whom the child admiresand cares for, including TV or moviepersonalities. Other children mayalso serve as role models. As childrengain experience in practicing the

behaviors and roles of those signifi-cant others, they begin to internalizethose behaviors, building a resourceof tools for their future actions.

At the second level, Vygotskyconceptualized social developmentas the transformation of sociallyshared activities into internalizedprocesses (Bedrova & Leong, 1976).Initially, children see and begin tomimic the language, cultural prac-tices, behaviors, and mannerisms ofsignificant people. Children tend torepeat behaviors that are consideredsocially acceptable by significantadults. Behaviors that are consideredto be unacceptable in a society aregenerally squelched by more experi-enced elders before they can becomea part of children’s repertoires.

As children acquire familiarityand mastery of acceptable experi-ences, they begin to internalize themas part of their own psychologicalmake-up. Examples in this can befound in the varied accents of chil-dren living in different sections of theUnited States. Children’s early man-nerisms are often direct reflections oftheir parents’ habits. For example,children often laugh or act in thesame manner as their parents do.

One teacher noticed a student’srather striking posture. Whilestanding, he hooked one thumbinto the side of his jeans, placedone foot forward, and wasslightly crouched. She immedi-ately recognized the child’sfather at their first parent-teacher conference, because hestood exactly the same way.

As older peers become more sig-nificant, they often adopt eachother’s mannerisms. Their laughtermay become similar. After childrenhave observed and engaged inrepeated and varied practices, thebehaviors are internalized, and chil-

dren independently use these strate-gies and tools to influence the envi-ronment and the behavior of others.The more time children engage inthese experiences, the more quicklythey internalize them.

Social Level. Vygotsky’s generalcultural or social level includes fea-tures of society at large such as lan-guage, numerical systems, and theuse of technology. A child’s socialdevelopment is regulated by her orhis biological development, the sur-rounding cultural environment, andthe child’s degree of mastery in usingcultural systems. People develop anduse physical, material, and mentaltools, allowing them to adapt to andchange their environments.

Physical tools, such as hands andlegs, and material resources, such ashammers, cars, and technology,enable people to survive in andmaster changing environments.Mental tools allow people to masternot only their environments, butalso their behavior (Bedrova &Leong, 1996). Within all children’senvironments are the resources, ortools, that enable them to develop.These tools include physicalresources, material resources, men-tal resources, and speech.

The cognitive constructs thatpeople form regarding the environ-ment and materials and objects inthat environment are heavily depen-dent upon individual experienceswith social influences, and are givena foundation in the second andthird levels of social context. “Cog-nitive construction is always sociallymediated; it is influenced by presentand past social interactions. Thethings a teacher points out to herstudent will influence what the stu-dent ‘constructs.’ If one teacherpoints out that the blocks are

Children repeat behaviors by

significant adults.


events, yielded interesting and pre-dictable information about children’sperspectives. Children described thevisual aspects of the event that hadbeen replayed on the television(planes hitting buildings, peoplejumping from buildings, firefightersputting out fires and helping peo-ple) and mentioned “bad people”who were the perpetrators of thetragedy.

Children connected this infor-mation to their own understandingof the world, as demonstratedthrough such comments as “I have afire engine at my house” or “I sawsome people running down thestreet towards Nicholasville Road”(a main traffic artery near the uni-versity). After children describedtheir understanding of the events,they were then asked about howpeople can help others in unfortu-nate situations. Several childrenwere able to articulate why the pro-gram was having a bake sale andnoted that this was a helping act toaddress human suffering. Com-ments such as “We’re helping thepolice find the bad guys and we’regonna help the kids” and “Take careof the children because their mom-mies got blowed up” highlightedtheir understanding of the connec-tion between some program activi-ties and the terrorist events.

Program-Wide Bake Sale. Aspart of ECL’s response to thistragedy, families and staff wereasked to bring baked goods to raisefunds for relief efforts in New York

City. Some children partici-pated by baking with parentswhile others baked in theclassroom. Teachers presentedthe activity to children bytelling them that they weregoing to make cookies andmuffins to raise money forpeople who needed help.They did not specifically talkabout the events of September11 because some families hadasked that the tragedy not bediscussed. Families were veryresponsive and participationin the bake sale was high,with approximately $500being raised.

Teachers also asked childrento draw pictures to send to fire-fighters who help people whenthey are in trouble. Thesedrawings accompanied thedonation that was sent fromthe ECL.

SummaryAll of these efforts at the

UK ECL in some way easedthe tension of September 11,but in no way did they erasethe fear or feelings that emergedon that day. The program lead-ership’s hope was to bringtogether the children, families,staff, and faculty in an effort tosupport each other, particularlythe children, as well as to fulfilla common need to act.

Supporting young childrenand their families as well asstaff during stressful times canbe a challenging and frustrat-ing experience. It is essentialthat in times of crisis, com-munity early childhood pro-grams serve as sources of bothsupport and information about

Relevant Children’s Books

Carlson, N.L. (2002). There’s a big,beautiful world out there. New York:Viking.

Dunphy, J.S. (2002). The mouse fami-ly’s most terrible, terrifying day: Help-ing children cope with terrorismfears. Far Hills, NJ: New HorizonPress.

First Grade Students of H. Byron Mas-terson Elementary. (2002). Septem-ber 12th: We knew everything wouldbe all right. New York: Scholastic.

MacLean, C.K. (2002). Even firefightershug their moms. New York: Dutton.

Osborne, M.P. (2002). New York’sbravest. New York: Knopf.

Patel, A. (2002). On that day: A book ofhope for children. Berkeley, CA: Tri-cycle Press.

Additional Resources on Coping With Tragedy

Gross, T., & Clemens, S.G. (2002).Painting a tragedy: Young childrenprocess the events of September 11.Young Children, 57(3), 44-51.

Legg, C. (2001). When things gowrong: Managing critical incidents inchildren’s services. Watson, Aus-tralia: Australian Early ChildhoodAssociation.

National Association for the Educationof Young Children (NAEYC). Helpingchildren cope with disaster.Retrieved September 11, 2001, fromhttp:\\naeyc.org/coping_ with_disas-ter.htm

National Association of School Psy-chologists (NASP). Coping with anational tragedy. Retrieved March2002 from www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis_0911.html

Shapiro, L.E. (2001). Will they fly aplane into our house? How to talk tochildren about terrorism. Norwalk, CT:Play2Grow and Childwork/Childsplay.

Children connectedinformation to their own understanding

of the world.

of its cultural environment. Whatpeople do, how they do it, and whythey do it depend upon the socio-cultural environment within whichthey live and grow.

Initially, children imitate thespeech and actions of adults andother more knowledgeable people asthey adapt to their surroundingsand societal expectations. Then,with experience, they internalizethese behaviors as their own. Asthese behaviors are internalized,children become more capable ofbehaving in socially acceptable waysand in negotiating the problemsposed to them by the environment.

Yolanda (described in Figure 1)had no experience with the expectedclean-up time behaviors. Shewatched as other children put thingsinto containers, put the containerson the shelves, and then moved tothe door. Yolanda observed and thenimitated her peers’ behavior. Onlyafter Ms. Edwards took time todemonstrate the appropriate clean-up behaviors could Yolanda begin tounderstand what was expected of her.

As Yolanda gains more experiencewith clean-up time, her ability toput learning materials away proper-ly will improve. She will internalizethese behaviors as her own to thepoint that they are automatic andshe will not have to rely upon thehelp of others to successfully com-plete this task.

After children internalize behav-iors, they can use them as resourcesto make outward changes to theenvironment. Because of thisprocess, children’s social develop-ment is greatly influenced by theirsurroundings. People, includingchildren, are the embodiment ofevery experience in their lives. Theseexperiences include birth; the influ-

ences of significant adults; relation-ships with siblings, friends, andpeers; and every single interactionwith their environment. Televisionalso provides children, especiallythose in the United States, with avariety of environmental experi-ences. In a logical extension of toVygotsky’s theory, it is clear thattelevision contributes to children’ssocial development.

Influence of Culture: Three Levels

According to Vygotsky’s sociocul-tural theory, everything in a child’senvironment that has either beendirectly or indirectly influenced bythe culture is a part of that child’ssocial context (Bedrova & Leong,1996). The social context is evident

at three levels:1. The immediate interactive

level, that is, the individual(s)[with whom] the child is inter-acting at the moment;

2. The structural level, whichincludes the social structuresthat influence the child, such asthe family and school;

3. The general cultural or sociallevel, which includes features ofsociety at large such as lan-guage, numerical systems, andthe use of technology. (Bedrova& Leong, 1996, pp. 8-9)

Each of these social contextsinfluences the way people think andact.

Immediate, Interactive Level.Vygotsky’s view means that, throughpeople, children are exposed to themorals, beliefs, behaviors, and func-

Figure 1. Yolanda Encounters Clean-Up Time

Yolanda, aged 4 years 3 months, is playing in the manipulative center with an arrayof materials that include Legos®, unit blocks, and transportation vehicles. It is mid-October and this is her first day in the classroom. She suddenly hears bright musicplaying and the teacher, Ms. Edwards, calls out, “Clean-up time!”

At first Yolanda is confused by the sudden activity that she sees take place— childrenplacing materials into plastic containers and then onto shelves, and several childrenmoving toward the classroom door. As she observes more and more children movingtoward the door, Yolanda pushes the materials on the floor into a heap near the clos-est shelf, and then gets up and moves to where the others are gathering.

Ms. Edwards approaches her and informs her that she is not yet finished cleaningup. Yolanda claims she already did, and points to the heap of toys. Ms. Edwardstells her that the materials are not to be left on the floor and that Yolanda must finishcleaning up before she can join the others at the door. Yolanda, still uncertain as towhat it is she is expected to do, goes back to the center, pulls a plastic container offa shelf, and stuffs all of the Legos®, vehicles, and unit blocks into it. She hefts thecontainer back onto the shelf and rejoins the group at the door.

Yolanda has not noticed that each container on the shelf has a sign (picture ofmaterials) and label (written name of materials), and that there is a correspondingsign and label on the shelf where the container is kept. Ms. Edwards approachesYolanda and explains that she did not put away her materials properly, and that shemust go back and complete the clean- up like everyone else did.

Yolanda is upset now, because she did what she saw others doing, and does notunderstand what else she is to do. “Here, let me show you how to clean up yourmaterials,” Ms. Edwards tells Yolanda. Ms. Edwards takes Yolanda back to the cen-ter, and shows Yolanda how to place the transportation vehicles and Legos® in theappropriate containers, pointing out their pictures and labels. She shows Yolandahow each container is placed on the shelf with its matching picture and sign. ThenMs. Edwards demonstrates how the unit blocks are sorted on the shelves by shape,matching the block shapes taped to the shelves. When Yolanda is finished, Ms.Edwards commends her efforts and invites her to join the children at the door.

Thank You,Exhibitors and Sponsors

SECA expresses its appreciation to these businesses whoexhibited or sponsored events at the 2003 Southern EarlyChildhood Conference in Myrtle Beach.

All teachers and children functionwithin a culture. Robinson (1977)describes culture this way: “Culture isthe shared reality we constructthrough our social encounters andwhich then acts as a medium throughwhich we interpret these encounters. Our culture is notjust the art forms and expressive aspects in our lives; it isthe daily interaction with other members of our society,from the choices we make about what to wear and havefor breakfast, to the ways we behave with colleagues atwork and with family and friends” (pp. 39-40).

Given this definition, culture is virtually everything andeveryone with whom children come into contact on a dailybasis. Significant people, especially parents and teacherswho act as mediators and models of behaviors, transfer cul-

tural values, behaviors, and ideas tochildren (Yamamoto, 1972).

Growing Up in a Cultural Context

Cultural influences are expressed through the laws,economics, politics, media, and social institutions ofevery society. “How a society thinks about children, howchildren spend their time, what they see and hear, howthey are treated at home and in the community, and theexpectations people have for children’s behavior are allculturally based” (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soder-man, 1998, pp. 363-364).

Vygotsky also claimed that human activities takeplace in a cultural context. “From the very first days ofthe child’s development his activities acquire a meaningof their own in a system of social behavior and, beingdirected towards a definite purpose, are refractedthrough the prism of the child’s environment. The pathfrom object to child and from child to object passesthrough another person. This complex human structureis the product of a developmental process deeply rootedin the links between individual and social history”(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 30).

According to Vygotsky, people use tools to changetheir environment and in the process, they transformthemselves. These tools include the use of sign systems(language, writing, and number) that are created by soci-eties and used to change the form of society and the level

Effects of Television Violence on Young Children: Viewed From Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective

Callum B. Johnston

Callum B. Johnston, Ph. D., is Program Director and Assis-tant Professor of Early Childhood Education, LouisianaState University at Alexandria. Johnston taught childrenages 4 through 9 for 9 years in the Charleston (SC) PublicSchools. His interests include the social development ofyoung children, play, and appropriate curricular practices.

Children’s social development is influenced

by their surroundings.


Culture is virtually everything and everyone with whomchildren come into contact on a daily basis.


young children, their development,and appropriate ways to assist themas they learn more about the chal-lenges of their world.

ReferencesClemens, S. (2001). Discussing the news

with 3- to 7-year olds: What to do?Retrieved September 11, 2001, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/resources/

Dietz, W.H., & Strasburger, V.C. (1991).Children, adolescents, and television.Current Problems in Pediatrics, 17(1):8-31.

Drabman, R.S., & Thomas, M.H. (1974).Does media violence increase children’stolerance of real-life aggression? Devel-opmental Psychology, 10: 418-421.

Famularo, R., Fenton, T., & Kinscherff, R.(1993). Child maltreatment and thedevelopment of posttraumatic stress

disorder. American Journal of Diseases ofChildren, 147: 755-760.

Groves, B.M. (1997). Growing up in aviolent world: The impact of familyand community violence on youngchildren and their families. Topics inEarly Childhood Special Education,17(1): 74-102.

Sege, R., & Dietz, W. (1994). Televisionviewing and violence in children: Thepediatrician as agent for change. Pedi-atrics, 9: 600-607.

August House Publishers, Inc.

Bender-Burket

Bright Horizons

Carmel Wholesale

Cay Cays Trinket

Childcraft Education/ABC School Supply

Connections Today

Constructive Playthings

Creative Memories

Creative Outdoor Designs, Inc.

Diane's/TK's

Discount School Supply

Environments

Frog Street Press, Inc

Glowco, Inc.

Good Moo's Productions

Gospel Light

Graduation Place

Grounds for Play

Handwriting Without Tears

Happy Voices

Heritage Treasures

Kaplan Early Learning Company

KC Jewelry

Kids-Play Inc.

Lakeshore Learning Materials

Learning Shop

Learning Wonders

M.S. Creations

Melody House

Nancy Basket

National School Products

Pearson Early Learning

Play Systems, Inc

R.L. Bryan Company

Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Source

Safeplay Systems

Saxon Publishers, Inc.

SRA-McGraw-Hill

Teacher's Charm

Teaching Felts

The Juliana Group

The Letter People/ Abrams & Co.

The Wright Group

Thomas Moore Enterprises, Inc.

Time to Sign, Inc.

Usborne Books

Wood Designs

More than ever before......

We Need Each Other


Name _________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

City______________________ State _____ ZIP________________

Agency ________________________________________________(school, college, day care center, etc.)

Phone (w)_____________________ (h) _______________________

Fax ___________________________________________________

Email__________________________________________________

If you have any special needs, please notify the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322

June 25-27, 2003

Raising Responsible Americans: Public Policy, Early Childhood

Education and the SouthVanderbilt UniversityNashville, Tennessee

The South has become a force in nationalpolitics, and early childhood education (HeadStart and child care) is at the forefront of thepublic policy debate in 2003. Join your col-leagues from throughout the region to getthe latest on public policy developments atthe national and regional level, network withprofessionals and advocates for young chil-dren, and return to your work energized anddedicated to improving the lives of children.Visit www.nashvillecvb.com or www.vander-bilt.edu for more information.

July 10-12, 2003

Let's Dance, Draw, Sing, and Paint:Incorporating the Arts Into

Your CurriculumUniversity of North Carolina at Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

Nestled between the Blue Ridge and GreatSmoky Mountains, Asheville's mountainscenery and excellent quality of life make it agreat place to visit. The home of the famousBiltmore Estate, Asheville is recognizedthroughout the country as an entrepreneurialarts community. The University of North Car-olina at Asheville maintains the distinction ofbeing the designated "public liberal arts univer-sity" in the 16-campus University of North Car-olina system. This retreat will focus onenhancing your program through quality cur-riculum, using the arts as a basis for childdevelopment activities, and utilizing thatenhanced curriculum to market your programto parents. Go to www.ashevillechamber.orgor www.unca.edu for more information.

July 24-26, 2003

Diversity Among Us: Serving the Children and

Families of TodayTrinity University

San Antonio, Texas

The South is changing and our early child-hood programs don't serve the same familiesthey did 10 years ago. Join us to learn how toembrace change, celebrate the diversity of ourfamilies, and become a valued and successfulprogram in your community. Trinity's "skyline"campus is located 7 miles from the San Anto-nio airport and encompasses 117 acres. It isnoted for its red brick buildings accented bynative live oak trees, well-kept grounds, andsparkling fountains. Set atop a hill, the cam-pus offers a commanding view of historicdowntown San Antonio and welcomes visitorsto the historic and colorful city. For moreinformation go to www.trinity.edu orwww.sanantoniocvb.com.

Put Us On Your Calendar Now!

Beyond the BasicsBeyond the BasicsSummer 2003 SECA

Professional Development Opportunities

SECA presents three new professional development retreats to take you "Beyond the Basics." In a retreat environment, you'll have theopportunity to network, relax, and learn. Each retreat will have its own unique focus and the locations we've chosen will provide the ulti-mate in destination locales. Each retreat is designed to allow you to enjoy your destination, including visits to Nashville's famed musicvenues, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the River Walk in San Antonio.

Where and When?

These sessions are designed for intermediate and experienced professionals.

• Housing is located in a dorm facility on campus. Room configurationsdiffer, depending upon the university. Information on specific room configura-tions can be accessed by calling the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322. Allrooms will have linens (bedding & towels) and many rooms are suites thatshare a bath. Rooms are designed for two-person occupancy; however, somesingles are available.

• All meetings will be held in close proximity to the dorm facilities. Allfacilities are accessible and special arrangements can be made per request.

• Participants will have access to on-campus fitness facilities duringthe Retreat. Check with the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322 to determine whatis available at each university.

• Meals will be served in campus facilities, except for off-site activities.Any participant having special dietary requirements should notify the SECAoffice at least 30 days prior to the Retreat by calling 1-800-305-7322.

• Special events during the Retreat include:- Dinner on your own along Music Row in Nashville, TN- A visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC- Dinner on your own on the famed River Walk in San Antonio, TXTransportation will be provided for all special events.

• The $325 fee is inclusive of registration, housing and meals. If youprefer not to participate in on-campus housing, hotels are available nearby andwe will be happy to provide you with that information. Transportation to hotelswill not be provided and housing costs will be in addition to the $325 registra-tion fee.

• Manuals will be provided for each retreat participant.• Complete Retreat agendas are available on our website at

www.southernearlychildhood.org (click on Conference/Seminars) or by calling1-800-305-7322.

Some Special Facts About Our Summer Retreats

Registration Form


Professional Development Retreats

Please check the retreat/retreats thatyou will attend:

❏ Raising Responsible Americans: Pub-lic Policy, Early Childhood Education &the South _________Vanderbilt University at Nashville, TN June 25-27, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

❏ Let's Dance, Draw, Sing & Paint:Incorporating the Arts Into Your Cur-riculum _________University of North Carolina atAsheville, NC _________July 10-12, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

❏ Diversity Among Us: Serving the Chil-dren and Families of Today ________Trinity University at San Antonio, TX _July 24-26, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

Housing Information

❏ I will have a roommate.Name of roommate _____________________________________

❏ Please assign me a roommate.Any special requirements? ________________________________

❏ I wish to have a private room on campus. (Subject to availability. Roomsassigned by SECA on first-come, first-serve basis.)

❏ I will not utilize on-campus housing.

Payment Method (Payment or purchase order must accompany this form.)

❏ Check enclosed (payable to SECA)

❏ Purchase Order attached: PO #_____________________________

❏ Credit Card: ❍ MasterCard ❍ VISA ❍ Am Express ❍ Discover

Account No.___________________________ Exp. Date _______

Signature ____________________________________________(required for credit card payment)

Confirmation of your registration will befaxed or sent via e-mail until 2 weeks priorto the date of the Retreat. Confirmationsnot guaranteed after that date.

Refund of Fees: Refunds of 50% ofregistration fee will be made uponwritten request of the registrant. Norefunds are available after May 31,2003. SECA is not responsible fortravel expenses should any cancella-tion be necessary.


Name _________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

City______________________ State _____ ZIP________________

Agency ________________________________________________(school, college, day care center, etc.)

Phone (w)_____________________ (h) _______________________

Fax ___________________________________________________

Email__________________________________________________

If you have any special needs, please notify the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322

June 25-27, 2003

Raising Responsible Americans: Public Policy, Early Childhood

Education and the SouthVanderbilt UniversityNashville, Tennessee

The South has become a force in nationalpolitics, and early childhood education (HeadStart and child care) is at the forefront of thepublic policy debate in 2003. Join your col-leagues from throughout the region to getthe latest on public policy developments atthe national and regional level, network withprofessionals and advocates for young chil-dren, and return to your work energized anddedicated to improving the lives of children.Visit www.nashvillecvb.com or www.vander-bilt.edu for more information.

July 10-12, 2003

Let's Dance, Draw, Sing, and Paint:Incorporating the Arts Into

Your CurriculumUniversity of North Carolina at Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina

Nestled between the Blue Ridge and GreatSmoky Mountains, Asheville's mountainscenery and excellent quality of life make it agreat place to visit. The home of the famousBiltmore Estate, Asheville is recognizedthroughout the country as an entrepreneurialarts community. The University of North Car-olina at Asheville maintains the distinction ofbeing the designated "public liberal arts univer-sity" in the 16-campus University of North Car-olina system. This retreat will focus onenhancing your program through quality cur-riculum, using the arts as a basis for childdevelopment activities, and utilizing thatenhanced curriculum to market your programto parents. Go to www.ashevillechamber.orgor www.unca.edu for more information.

July 24-26, 2003

Diversity Among Us: Serving the Children and

Families of TodayTrinity University

San Antonio, Texas

The South is changing and our early child-hood programs don't serve the same familiesthey did 10 years ago. Join us to learn how toembrace change, celebrate the diversity of ourfamilies, and become a valued and successfulprogram in your community. Trinity's "skyline"campus is located 7 miles from the San Anto-nio airport and encompasses 117 acres. It isnoted for its red brick buildings accented bynative live oak trees, well-kept grounds, andsparkling fountains. Set atop a hill, the cam-pus offers a commanding view of historicdowntown San Antonio and welcomes visitorsto the historic and colorful city. For moreinformation go to www.trinity.edu orwww.sanantoniocvb.com.

Put Us On Your Calendar Now!


Professional Development Opportunities

SECA presents three new professional development retreats to take you "Beyond the Basics." In a retreat environment, you'll have theopportunity to network, relax, and learn. Each retreat will have its own unique focus and the locations we've chosen will provide the ulti-mate in destination locales. Each retreat is designed to allow you to enjoy your destination, including visits to Nashville's famed musicvenues, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville and the River Walk in San Antonio.

Where and When?

These sessions are designed for intermediate and experienced professionals.

• Housing is located in a dorm facility on campus. Room configurationsdiffer, depending upon the university. Information on specific room configura-tions can be accessed by calling the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322. Allrooms will have linens (bedding & towels) and many rooms are suites thatshare a bath. Rooms are designed for two-person occupancy; however, somesingles are available.

• All meetings will be held in close proximity to the dorm facilities. Allfacilities are accessible and special arrangements can be made per request.

• Participants will have access to on-campus fitness facilities duringthe Retreat. Check with the SECA office at 1-800-305-7322 to determine whatis available at each university.

• Meals will be served in campus facilities, except for off-site activities.Any participant having special dietary requirements should notify the SECAoffice at least 30 days prior to the Retreat by calling 1-800-305-7322.

• Special events during the Retreat include:- Dinner on your own along Music Row in Nashville, TN- A visit to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC- Dinner on your own on the famed River Walk in San Antonio, TXTransportation will be provided for all special events.

• The $325 fee is inclusive of registration, housing and meals. If youprefer not to participate in on-campus housing, hotels are available nearby andwe will be happy to provide you with that information. Transportation to hotelswill not be provided and housing costs will be in addition to the $325 registra-tion fee.

• Manuals will be provided for each retreat participant.• Complete Retreat agendas are available on our website at

www.southernearlychildhood.org (click on Conference/Seminars) or by calling1-800-305-7322.

Some Special Facts About Our Summer Retreats

Registration Form


Professional Development Retreats

Please check the retreat/retreats thatyou will attend:

❏ Raising Responsible Americans: Pub-lic Policy, Early Childhood Education &the South _________Vanderbilt University at Nashville, TN June 25-27, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

❏ Let's Dance, Draw, Sing & Paint:Incorporating the Arts Into Your Cur-riculum _________University of North Carolina atAsheville, NC _________July 10-12, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

❏ Diversity Among Us: Serving the Chil-dren and Families of Today ________Trinity University at San Antonio, TX _July 24-26, 2003 _________Cost: $325 _________

Housing Information

❏ I will have a roommate.Name of roommate _____________________________________

❏ Please assign me a roommate.Any special requirements? ________________________________

❏ I wish to have a private room on campus. (Subject to availability. Roomsassigned by SECA on first-come, first-serve basis.)

❏ I will not utilize on-campus housing.

Payment Method (Payment or purchase order must accompany this form.)

❏ Check enclosed (payable to SECA)

❏ Purchase Order attached: PO #_____________________________

❏ Credit Card: ❍ MasterCard ❍ VISA ❍ Am Express ❍ Discover

Account No.___________________________ Exp. Date _______

Signature ____________________________________________(required for credit card payment)

Confirmation of your registration will befaxed or sent via e-mail until 2 weeks priorto the date of the Retreat. Confirmationsnot guaranteed after that date.

Refund of Fees: Refunds of 50% ofregistration fee will be made uponwritten request of the registrant. Norefunds are available after May 31,2003. SECA is not responsible fortravel expenses should any cancella-tion be necessary.

Thank You,Exhibitors and Sponsors

SECA expresses its appreciation to these businesses whoexhibited or sponsored events at the 2003 Southern EarlyChildhood Conference in Myrtle Beach.

All teachers and children functionwithin a culture. Robinson (1977)describes culture this way: “Culture isthe shared reality we constructthrough our social encounters andwhich then acts as a medium throughwhich we interpret these encounters. Our culture is notjust the art forms and expressive aspects in our lives; it isthe daily interaction with other members of our society,from the choices we make about what to wear and havefor breakfast, to the ways we behave with colleagues atwork and with family and friends” (pp. 39-40).

Given this definition, culture is virtually everything andeveryone with whom children come into contact on a dailybasis. Significant people, especially parents and teacherswho act as mediators and models of behaviors, transfer cul-

tural values, behaviors, and ideas tochildren (Yamamoto, 1972).

Growing Up in a Cultural Context

Cultural influences are expressed through the laws,economics, politics, media, and social institutions ofevery society. “How a society thinks about children, howchildren spend their time, what they see and hear, howthey are treated at home and in the community, and theexpectations people have for children’s behavior are allculturally based” (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soder-man, 1998, pp. 363-364).

Vygotsky also claimed that human activities takeplace in a cultural context. “From the very first days ofthe child’s development his activities acquire a meaningof their own in a system of social behavior and, beingdirected towards a definite purpose, are refractedthrough the prism of the child’s environment. The pathfrom object to child and from child to object passesthrough another person. This complex human structureis the product of a developmental process deeply rootedin the links between individual and social history”(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 30).

According to Vygotsky, people use tools to changetheir environment and in the process, they transformthemselves. These tools include the use of sign systems(language, writing, and number) that are created by soci-eties and used to change the form of society and the level

Effects of Television Violence on Young Children: Viewed From Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Perspective

Callum B. Johnston

Callum B. Johnston, Ph. D., is Program Director and Assis-tant Professor of Early Childhood Education, LouisianaState University at Alexandria. Johnston taught childrenages 4 through 9 for 9 years in the Charleston (SC) PublicSchools. His interests include the social development ofyoung children, play, and appropriate curricular practices.

Children’s social development is influenced

by their surroundings.


Culture is virtually everything and everyone with whomchildren come into contact on a daily basis.


young children, their development,and appropriate ways to assist themas they learn more about the chal-lenges of their world.

ReferencesClemens, S. (2001). Discussing the news

with 3- to 7-year olds: What to do?Retrieved September 11, 2001, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/resources/

Dietz, W.H., & Strasburger, V.C. (1991).Children, adolescents, and television.Current Problems in Pediatrics, 17(1):8-31.

Drabman, R.S., & Thomas, M.H. (1974).Does media violence increase children’stolerance of real-life aggression? Devel-opmental Psychology, 10: 418-421.

Famularo, R., Fenton, T., & Kinscherff, R.(1993). Child maltreatment and thedevelopment of posttraumatic stress

disorder. American Journal of Diseases ofChildren, 147: 755-760.

Groves, B.M. (1997). Growing up in aviolent world: The impact of familyand community violence on youngchildren and their families. Topics inEarly Childhood Special Education,17(1): 74-102.

Sege, R., & Dietz, W. (1994). Televisionviewing and violence in children: Thepediatrician as agent for change. Pedi-atrics, 9: 600-607.

August House Publishers, Inc.

Bender-Burket

Bright Horizons

Carmel Wholesale

Cay Cays Trinket

Childcraft Education/ABC School Supply

Connections Today

Constructive Playthings

Creative Memories

Creative Outdoor Designs, Inc.

Diane's/TK's

Discount School Supply

Environments

Frog Street Press, Inc

Glowco, Inc.

Good Moo's Productions

Gospel Light

Graduation Place

Grounds for Play

Handwriting Without Tears

Happy Voices

Heritage Treasures

Kaplan Early Learning Company

KC Jewelry

Kids-Play Inc.

Lakeshore Learning Materials

Learning Shop

Learning Wonders

M.S. Creations

Melody House

Nancy Basket

National School Products

Pearson Early Learning

Play Systems, Inc

R.L. Bryan Company

Reading Is Fundamental

Reading Source

Safeplay Systems

Saxon Publishers, Inc.

SRA-McGraw-Hill

Teacher's Charm

Teaching Felts

The Juliana Group

The Letter People/ Abrams & Co.

The Wright Group

Thomas Moore Enterprises, Inc.

Time to Sign, Inc.

Usborne Books

Wood Designs

More than ever before......

We Need Each Other


events, yielded interesting and pre-dictable information about children’sperspectives. Children described thevisual aspects of the event that hadbeen replayed on the television(planes hitting buildings, peoplejumping from buildings, firefightersputting out fires and helping peo-ple) and mentioned “bad people”who were the perpetrators of thetragedy.

Children connected this infor-mation to their own understandingof the world, as demonstratedthrough such comments as “I have afire engine at my house” or “I sawsome people running down thestreet towards Nicholasville Road”(a main traffic artery near the uni-versity). After children describedtheir understanding of the events,they were then asked about howpeople can help others in unfortu-nate situations. Several childrenwere able to articulate why the pro-gram was having a bake sale andnoted that this was a helping act toaddress human suffering. Com-ments such as “We’re helping thepolice find the bad guys and we’regonna help the kids” and “Take careof the children because their mom-mies got blowed up” highlightedtheir understanding of the connec-tion between some program activi-ties and the terrorist events.

Program-Wide Bake Sale. Aspart of ECL’s response to thistragedy, families and staff wereasked to bring baked goods to raisefunds for relief efforts in New York

City. Some children partici-pated by baking with parentswhile others baked in theclassroom. Teachers presentedthe activity to children bytelling them that they weregoing to make cookies andmuffins to raise money forpeople who needed help.They did not specifically talkabout the events of September11 because some families hadasked that the tragedy not bediscussed. Families were veryresponsive and participationin the bake sale was high,with approximately $500being raised.

Teachers also asked childrento draw pictures to send to fire-fighters who help people whenthey are in trouble. Thesedrawings accompanied thedonation that was sent fromthe ECL.

SummaryAll of these efforts at the

UK ECL in some way easedthe tension of September 11,but in no way did they erasethe fear or feelings that emergedon that day. The program lead-ership’s hope was to bringtogether the children, families,staff, and faculty in an effort tosupport each other, particularlythe children, as well as to fulfilla common need to act.

Supporting young childrenand their families as well asstaff during stressful times canbe a challenging and frustrat-ing experience. It is essentialthat in times of crisis, com-munity early childhood pro-grams serve as sources of bothsupport and information about

Relevant Children’s Books

Carlson, N.L. (2002). There’s a big,beautiful world out there. New York:Viking.

Dunphy, J.S. (2002). The mouse fami-ly’s most terrible, terrifying day: Help-ing children cope with terrorismfears. Far Hills, NJ: New HorizonPress.

First Grade Students of H. Byron Mas-terson Elementary. (2002). Septem-ber 12th: We knew everything wouldbe all right. New York: Scholastic.

MacLean, C.K. (2002). Even firefightershug their moms. New York: Dutton.

Osborne, M.P. (2002). New York’sbravest. New York: Knopf.

Patel, A. (2002). On that day: A book ofhope for children. Berkeley, CA: Tri-cycle Press.

Additional Resources on Coping With Tragedy

Gross, T., & Clemens, S.G. (2002).Painting a tragedy: Young childrenprocess the events of September 11.Young Children, 57(3), 44-51.

Legg, C. (2001). When things gowrong: Managing critical incidents inchildren’s services. Watson, Aus-tralia: Australian Early ChildhoodAssociation.

National Association for the Educationof Young Children (NAEYC). Helpingchildren cope with disaster.Retrieved September 11, 2001, fromhttp:\\naeyc.org/coping_ with_disas-ter.htm

National Association of School Psy-chologists (NASP). Coping with anational tragedy. Retrieved March2002 from www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis_0911.html

Shapiro, L.E. (2001). Will they fly aplane into our house? How to talk tochildren about terrorism. Norwalk, CT:Play2Grow and Childwork/Childsplay.

Children connectedinformation to their own understanding

of the world.

of its cultural environment. Whatpeople do, how they do it, and whythey do it depend upon the socio-cultural environment within whichthey live and grow.

Initially, children imitate thespeech and actions of adults andother more knowledgeable people asthey adapt to their surroundingsand societal expectations. Then,with experience, they internalizethese behaviors as their own. Asthese behaviors are internalized,children become more capable ofbehaving in socially acceptable waysand in negotiating the problemsposed to them by the environment.

Yolanda (described in Figure 1)had no experience with the expectedclean-up time behaviors. Shewatched as other children put thingsinto containers, put the containerson the shelves, and then moved tothe door. Yolanda observed and thenimitated her peers’ behavior. Onlyafter Ms. Edwards took time todemonstrate the appropriate clean-up behaviors could Yolanda begin tounderstand what was expected of her.

As Yolanda gains more experiencewith clean-up time, her ability toput learning materials away proper-ly will improve. She will internalizethese behaviors as her own to thepoint that they are automatic andshe will not have to rely upon thehelp of others to successfully com-plete this task.

After children internalize behav-iors, they can use them as resourcesto make outward changes to theenvironment. Because of thisprocess, children’s social develop-ment is greatly influenced by theirsurroundings. People, includingchildren, are the embodiment ofevery experience in their lives. Theseexperiences include birth; the influ-

ences of significant adults; relation-ships with siblings, friends, andpeers; and every single interactionwith their environment. Televisionalso provides children, especiallythose in the United States, with avariety of environmental experi-ences. In a logical extension of toVygotsky’s theory, it is clear thattelevision contributes to children’ssocial development.

Influence of Culture: Three Levels

According to Vygotsky’s sociocul-tural theory, everything in a child’senvironment that has either beendirectly or indirectly influenced bythe culture is a part of that child’ssocial context (Bedrova & Leong,1996). The social context is evident

at three levels:1. The immediate interactive

level, that is, the individual(s)[with whom] the child is inter-acting at the moment;

2. The structural level, whichincludes the social structuresthat influence the child, such asthe family and school;

3. The general cultural or sociallevel, which includes features ofsociety at large such as lan-guage, numerical systems, andthe use of technology. (Bedrova& Leong, 1996, pp. 8-9)

Each of these social contextsinfluences the way people think andact.

Immediate, Interactive Level.Vygotsky’s view means that, throughpeople, children are exposed to themorals, beliefs, behaviors, and func-

Figure 1. Yolanda Encounters Clean-Up Time

Yolanda, aged 4 years 3 months, is playing in the manipulative center with an arrayof materials that include Legos®, unit blocks, and transportation vehicles. It is mid-October and this is her first day in the classroom. She suddenly hears bright musicplaying and the teacher, Ms. Edwards, calls out, “Clean-up time!”

At first Yolanda is confused by the sudden activity that she sees take place— childrenplacing materials into plastic containers and then onto shelves, and several childrenmoving toward the classroom door. As she observes more and more children movingtoward the door, Yolanda pushes the materials on the floor into a heap near the clos-est shelf, and then gets up and moves to where the others are gathering.

Ms. Edwards approaches her and informs her that she is not yet finished cleaningup. Yolanda claims she already did, and points to the heap of toys. Ms. Edwardstells her that the materials are not to be left on the floor and that Yolanda must finishcleaning up before she can join the others at the door. Yolanda, still uncertain as towhat it is she is expected to do, goes back to the center, pulls a plastic container offa shelf, and stuffs all of the Legos®, vehicles, and unit blocks into it. She hefts thecontainer back onto the shelf and rejoins the group at the door.

Yolanda has not noticed that each container on the shelf has a sign (picture ofmaterials) and label (written name of materials), and that there is a correspondingsign and label on the shelf where the container is kept. Ms. Edwards approachesYolanda and explains that she did not put away her materials properly, and that shemust go back and complete the clean- up like everyone else did.

Yolanda is upset now, because she did what she saw others doing, and does notunderstand what else she is to do. “Here, let me show you how to clean up yourmaterials,” Ms. Edwards tells Yolanda. Ms. Edwards takes Yolanda back to the cen-ter, and shows Yolanda how to place the transportation vehicles and Legos® in theappropriate containers, pointing out their pictures and labels. She shows Yolandahow each container is placed on the shelf with its matching picture and sign. ThenMs. Edwards demonstrates how the unit blocks are sorted on the shelves by shape,matching the block shapes taped to the shelves. When Yolanda is finished, Ms.Edwards commends her efforts and invites her to join the children at the door.


what, if any, information they want-ed to share with their children.

While the staff respected theparental rights of those who wishedto protect their children from whathad happened, staff also knew it wasimportant to help the children whoknew about the disaster.

• Teachers closely observed chil-dren’s play, with particularattention to acts of violence,such as aggressive airplane play.

• Children who initiated conver-sations about the tragedy wereencouraged to talk to theirteachers about what they hadseen, or what they were feeling.

• If a child showed fear, teacherswere instructed to reassure chil-dren that they were safe inschool. “Our school is a safeplace” was repeated many times.

All high-quality early childhoodprograms know the importance ofhaving a trusting environment,where children are not afraid to askquestions or role-play their feelingsand emotions. This emotional con-text became the foundation for theECL’s reaction in this situation.

Family Surveys. In an effort toelicit family feedback and informa-tion about the terrorist attack, all

family members of preschoolers inthe ECL program received a surveyconcerning the terrorist events andasking how these events had beenaddressed in their family. Surveyswere sent to all parents of preschool-ers (n = 36). Of those, 21 responses(58%) were returned.

The survey asked families aboutthe types of information they hadgiven to their children and howtheir children had responded to theinformation. Within this smallnumber of families, there was greatvariability in parental perspectivesabout what information was appro-priate for young children. Manyparents attempted to completelyprotect their children from theinformation, while others providedan opportunity for some television

viewing of eventsand engaging inconversations aboutwhat those imagesmeant.

This range ofreactions and par-ental perspectiveshighlighted the im-portance of familyinvolvement in plan-ning support relat-ed to the tragedy.The method of ob-taining family in-put allowed pro-gram staff to receive

information from many parents veryquickly and enabled staff to beknowledgeable about parental atti-tudes regarding what was appropriatefor their children. Additionally, itprovided information to programstaff in the event that families neededfurther assistance or services to copewith the tragedy.

Child Discussion Group. As partof the family survey, parents wereasked if their children could partici-pate in a discussion group on thetopic of the terrorist attacks. Again,parents responded differently to thisrequest, with some parents optingnot to have their child participate.However, eight (38% of those whoreturned surveys) children partici-pated in a discussion group concern-ing the events of September 11.

The intent of the discussion groupwas to enable those children whohad knowledge of the events toshare their understandings and feel-ings about the events with programstaff. Based on the work of Clemens(2001), a brief list of questions wasdeveloped that provided the chil-dren with an opportunity todescribe their understanding of theevent as well as how these eventsconnected to their life. See Table 1for a list of discussion questions thatwere used with this group ofpreschool children.

This discussion, which took placewithin 2 weeks of the terrorist

Table 1. Discussion Group Questions

• Who can tell me about what happened in New York City a couple ofweeks ago?

• How can we help people who are hurt? How is our school helping peoplewho are hurt? Who are some people who help people who are hurt?

• Who are some of the people who keep us safe? How do they keep ussafe?

• Why are so many people flying flags right now? • How do you think people feel when something really bad happens?• What are ways we can be nice to our friends?


The range of reactions and parental perspectives high-lighted the importance of family involvement in plan-ning events related to the tragedy.

tion of the society in which theylive. At the immediate interactivelevel, children may simply meet anindividual without ever learning allthat much from that person. Orchildren may note something aboutthe other person that is of interest tothem, and adapt that interest forthemselves. The immediate interac-tive level can be personal or veryimpersonal. It includes experiencesthat are long lasting and others thatare simply fleeting moments.

Structural Level. In Vygotsky’ssociocultural theory, a second level,the structural level, is without doubthighly influential in the social devel-opment of young children, becausethis is the level in which they inter-act with significant adults and peo-ple in general. Significant adults“provide mirrors through whichchildren make assessments regardingtheir worth, competence, and con-trol” (Kostelnik et al., 1998, p. 75).

These adults shape either a facili-tating or inhibiting environment forchildren’s prosocial behavior. Chil-dren who observe significant adultswho cooperate, help, share, and giveare most likely to act in those waysthemselves (Kostelnik et al., p. 364).In addition to parents, significantadults often include teachers, otherfamily members (siblings, grandpar-ents, uncles, and aunts), religiousleaders, medical care providers, andany adults whom the child admiresand cares for, including TV or moviepersonalities. Other children mayalso serve as role models. As childrengain experience in practicing the

behaviors and roles of those signifi-cant others, they begin to internalizethose behaviors, building a resourceof tools for their future actions.

At the second level, Vygotskyconceptualized social developmentas the transformation of sociallyshared activities into internalizedprocesses (Bedrova & Leong, 1976).Initially, children see and begin tomimic the language, cultural prac-tices, behaviors, and mannerisms ofsignificant people. Children tend torepeat behaviors that are consideredsocially acceptable by significantadults. Behaviors that are consideredto be unacceptable in a society aregenerally squelched by more experi-enced elders before they can becomea part of children’s repertoires.

As children acquire familiarityand mastery of acceptable experi-ences, they begin to internalize themas part of their own psychologicalmake-up. Examples in this can befound in the varied accents of chil-dren living in different sections of theUnited States. Children’s early man-nerisms are often direct reflections oftheir parents’ habits. For example,children often laugh or act in thesame manner as their parents do.

One teacher noticed a student’srather striking posture. Whilestanding, he hooked one thumbinto the side of his jeans, placedone foot forward, and wasslightly crouched. She immedi-ately recognized the child’sfather at their first parent-teacher conference, because hestood exactly the same way.

As older peers become more sig-nificant, they often adopt eachother’s mannerisms. Their laughtermay become similar. After childrenhave observed and engaged inrepeated and varied practices, thebehaviors are internalized, and chil-

dren independently use these strate-gies and tools to influence the envi-ronment and the behavior of others.The more time children engage inthese experiences, the more quicklythey internalize them.

Social Level. Vygotsky’s generalcultural or social level includes fea-tures of society at large such as lan-guage, numerical systems, and theuse of technology. A child’s socialdevelopment is regulated by her orhis biological development, the sur-rounding cultural environment, andthe child’s degree of mastery in usingcultural systems. People develop anduse physical, material, and mentaltools, allowing them to adapt to andchange their environments.

Physical tools, such as hands andlegs, and material resources, such ashammers, cars, and technology,enable people to survive in andmaster changing environments.Mental tools allow people to masternot only their environments, butalso their behavior (Bedrova &Leong, 1996). Within all children’senvironments are the resources, ortools, that enable them to develop.These tools include physicalresources, material resources, men-tal resources, and speech.

The cognitive constructs thatpeople form regarding the environ-ment and materials and objects inthat environment are heavily depen-dent upon individual experienceswith social influences, and are givena foundation in the second andthird levels of social context. “Cog-nitive construction is always sociallymediated; it is influenced by presentand past social interactions. Thethings a teacher points out to herstudent will influence what the stu-dent ‘constructs.’ If one teacherpoints out that the blocks are

Children repeat behaviors by

significant adults.


to addressing the September 11tragedy. The UK ECL serves chil-dren who are birth to 5 years of agefrom a wide range of cultural andsocioeconomic backgrounds. Theprogram has contracts with the pub-lic school preschool program as wellas Head Start to serve children withand without disabilities. It is alicensed child care facility accreditedby the National Association for theEducation of Young Children(NAEYC).

The children in this programwere not in close geographic prox-imity to the September 11 terroristevents and no immediate familymembers of the children lost theirlives in this tragedy. The followingdiscussion outlines the events thatunfolded on that day at the centerand the UK ECL’s response to theseevents in the 2 weeks following theterrorist attack. These experiencescan help other programs developthoughtful responses to other chal-lenging situations.

The Day of the TragedyAround 10 a.m. on September

11, the assistant director at the UKECL was alerted to events in NewYork City by the custodial staff inthe building, who were over-whelmed with the information. Asword spread to the teachers, disbe-lief and shock were common reac-tions. Teachers and college studentswere asked not to talk about themorning’s events, which eventuallyincluded sites in Virginia and Penn-sylvania, in front of the children.

Soon after the news broke, par-ents began calling the school to askwhether or not the center wouldclose. The program opted to followthe local public school’s decisionand remain open. The rationale for

this decision was to main-tain typical operating pro-cedures and minimize dis-ruption to children.

In an effort to supportfamilies during this diffi-cult time and open com-munication with themabout this issue, a letter wassent home with childrenthat afternoon. This letterprovided families with sug-gestions and guidance onhandling this situation withtheir young children bylimiting television viewing,answering children’s ques-tions, talking about feel-ings, and looking for anychanges in behavior.

Program Responses Afterthe Tragedy

On September 12, 2001,some of the childrenenrolled in the UK ECLbegan to ask questionsabout burning buildings, airplaneshitting buildings, and firefighters, aswell as sharing their various storiesabout what had happened the daybefore. Children asked questions ofteachers as well as acted out someevents in the dramatic play area. Forexample, some children asked teach-ers if they saw the “plane hit thebuilding on TV” and one childasked another to pretend that theywere crashing a plane into a blockstructure.

This interest from the children,coupled with the staff ’s desire toaddress this tragedy in the program,led to the development of a responseplan that involved children andfamilies. The plan included class-room supports, family surveys, adiscussion group with selected chil-dren, and a program-wide bake saleto raise funds for the relief effort.

Classroom Supports. On the dayof the terrorist attack, programadministration and staff determinedthat the program’s policy was toanswer or affirm children’s questionsor opinions, but not to give newinformation to children concerningthe disaster. This decision was madeto support parents’ decisions about

Children asked questions and acted out

some events in the dramatic play area.


The importance of having a trusting environ-ment, where children are not afraid to askquestions or role-play feelings and emotions,is a goal of all high-quality early childhoodprograms.

distinct sizes, that studentwill construct a differentconcept than the studentwhose teacher points out theblocks’ color. The teacher’sideas mediate or influencewhat and how the child willlearn” (Bedrova & Leong,1996, p. 8).

Human activities are bestunderstood when investigat-ed in their historical devel-opment, according to Vygot-sky (1978). As an example,in the United States today,the relatively new culture ofthe computer and its associ-ated technology has givenbirth to a new set of termsand symbols that people usein order to understand thetechnology and to use itmore capably. Words such asmouse, browser, software, and laptophave developed into everyday nounsassociated with the computer andare understood in context as easily aselectricity and antennas, radio andtelevision.

Only about 20 years ago, peoplewould have been appalled to hear atale about someone moving a mouseabout her laptop and using it topoint and click on different icons.Likewise, what would people havethought about a browser or soft-ware? Today, the inability to recog-nize these terms, internalize them,then use them to influence the socialand cultural environment places anindividual at risk of isolation on asocial and cultural front.

From the federal government tolocal school boards, heavy emphasisis being placed on children’s abilitiesto master computer technology andto use this technology to advancetheir own and society’s interests.

Thus, children are spending moreand more time experiencing the mar-vels of the computer, to the pointwhere many have become more pro-ficient at using the computer as a toolthan their less-practiced parents. Theequation is simple: More time with atool equals more experience with thattool equals more expertise in the useof that tool. The greater the expertisein use of a tool, the more likely peo-ple are to use that tool to influencetheir environment and regulate theirbehavior.

Television: A Mediatorfor Learning Social Skills

Given this understanding of howthe sociocultural development ofchildren is affected by significantpeople, institutions, and tools, thisarticle will now focus on televisionas a tool for entertainment and as amediator for learning social behav-ior. Typically, U.S. children spend

more time watching TVthan doing any singleactivity other than sleep-ing (Chen, 1994). Indi-viduals use familiar toolsto organize and carryout new activities. Forthe most part, televi-sion provides mediatedexamples of interperson-al skills for people,including young chil-dren, to use in socialinteractions.

Two boys are in thefront yard playingwith squirt guns. Theyare chasing each otheraround, and one boysquirts the other in thechest, soaking hisshirt. “You’re dead!”exclaims the shooter.

“No I’m not,”replies the second boy. “Yes you are. I shot you.” The second boy, unwilling to

be “dead,” suddenly claims,“No I’m not! I’m Batman,” andpunches the shooter in the face.“Take that, Joker!” he exclaims,seemingly oblivious to the factthat he has just hurt his friend.

How reflective is TV of Americansociety? This can be answered inpart by how long a specific TV pro-gram runs. Those programs thathave found favor with Americansociety generally tend to be the onesthat are most often watched. Inessence, these are the programs thatoften portray people in roles thatsociety finds acceptable.

Where roles may not be accept-able on popular programs, the “goodguys” generally succeed in eliminat-ing them. Take for example a popu-lar show in the late 1970s and early1980s. It concerned a wealthy oilfamily with a particularly devious


Television provides mediated examples of interpersonalskills for people, including young children, to use in socialinteractions.


“Well, I thought...I thought anairplane got stuck up in a sky, and justfell right into a house.”

“Yep, then there was a fire andthere was a hotel in it. I seen picturesof the fire...um...it looked like peoplewere in trouble.”

“I saw on the TV...I saw that peo-ple were jumping from the windowsin the building.”

The events of September 11,2001, traumatized the people of theUnited States and the world. Thisunfathomable terrorist attack forcedpeople in the United States to recon-sider their own personal safety andto come to terms with notions of“invulnerability.” Moreover, adultswere forced to develop coping strate-gies so that they could continue theirdaily lives while processing thisfrightening new reality.

The events of September 11 alsogreatly affected the lives of young children. Someyoung children lost parents and family members, whileothers lost parts of their neighborhood or city. Still oth-ers witnessed their parents’ sorrow as events unfoldedon the television. Early childhood teachers struggled toanswer questions and respond appropriately to theneeds, concerns, and questions from young childrenand their families.

Children’s exposure to violence,whether it is via the media or as awitness to a violent event, can bedetrimental to their well being(Sege & Dietz, 1994). Dependingon the context, media violence canlead to aggressive behavior (Dietz &Strasburger, 1991) as well as desen-sitization to aggressive acts (Drab-man & Thomas, 1974). Being awitness to a violent act can oftenaffect children’s emotional healthbecause they do not have the neces-sary resources to cope with suchevents (Famularo, Fenton, & Kin-scherff, 1993; Groves, 1997). Giventhese realities, the early childhoodeducator has an important role insupporting young children andfamilies during times of tragedy.

This article describes the Univer-sity of Kentucky (UK) Early Child-hood Laboratory’s (ECL) approach

Responding to the Events of September 11, 2001:One Program’s Story

Rena A. Hallam, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, and Charlotte Manno

Rena A. Hallam, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Departmentof Family Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Ed.D., is Assistant Professor andDirector of the UK Early Childhood Lab, Department ofFamily Studies, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

Charlotte Manno, M.A., is Associate Director of the UKEarly Childhood Lab, Department of Family Studies, Uni-versity of Kentucky, Lexington.

The events of September 11, 2001, and their aftermath continue toshape the lives of teachers, children, and families. This articledescribes the sensitive, professional manner in which the staff of oneprogram responded. Their approach could well be adapted by otherprograms faced with stressful circumstances.


Being a witness to a violent act canoften affect children’s emotional healthbecause they do not have the necessaryresources to cope with such events.

son who had no qualms about usingdirty tactics to get what he wanted,often ruining the lives of other peo-ple, including his own wife, whowas driven to alcoholism. Hisyounger brother was the opposite:he believed in fair play and in treat-ing others with respect and dignity.It was this brother who always setout to thwart the subversive effortsof his older brother, and he general-ly always succeeded.

Young children often engage indramatic and sociodramatic play,assigning and assuming the roles ofinfluential characters as seen notonly in their sociocultural environ-ments but also on television. Thereis no doubt that TV has providedchildren with countless hours ofsociodramatic play routines basedupon television characters: cowboysand Indians, cops and robbers,superheroes, animated characters,professional wrestlers, televisionfamily roles, and others.

When children see actors andactresses on television that they likeor even dislike, they will oftenadapt the characteristics of thosepersonalities during sociodramaticplay. Vygotsky noted that whenchildren are playing any imaginarygame (or are involved in sociodra-matic play with at least one otherperson in which each player has aspecific role or identity) rules forplay apply. “The child imagines

himself to be themother and the dollto be the child, so hemust obey the rulesof maternal behavior”(Vygotsky, 1978, p.94).

In the case of twosisters playing a gameof sisters, “the fact thattwo sisters decided toplay sisters inducesthem both to acquirerules of behavior.Only actions that fitthese rules are accept-able to the play situa-tion: they dress alike,talk alike, in short,they enact whateveremphasizes their rela-tionship as sisters vis-

á-vis adults and strangers.... The rolethe child fulfills, and her relation tothe (role), will always stem from therules” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 95).

Children’s play incorporates therule of self-regulation, in which theyadapt mannerisms and characteris-tics of the character they are por-traying. Through self-regulation,children can play in character.When children are discovering theirenvironments by imitating adultswhom they admire and respect, theywill adapt the most obvious charac-

teristics and traits of those adults.“In their play, children projectthemselves into the adult activitiesof their culture and rehearse theirfuture roles and values. In this man-ner children begin to acquire themotivation, skills, and attitudes nec-essary for their social participation,which can be achieved only with theassistance of their peers and elders”(Vygotsky, 1978, p. 129).

If children see admired televisioncharacters as significant peopleengaging in prosocial behaviors,such as helping younger siblings,being truthful, and acting in social-ly responsible ways, then childrenwho take on the role of these char-acters in their sociodramatic playwill practice these same characteris-tics. If violence is the method mostpreferred by the television characterswhom children emulate in their playfor the resolution of conflict or forproblem solving, then this is themethod children will practice intheir play.

As children spend more timepracticing these methods, theybecome more capable of usingthem. Eventually, children maybegin to internalize them, to be usedfor future, real-life situations. Thismay be especially true if other sig-nificant adults do not provideguidelines as to what behaviors areand are not socially acceptable.

U.S. society is complex, everchanging, and never static. It is like abean soup, where the contributionsof hundreds of different types ofbeans combine to create one unique,blended flavor, while each type ofbean is unique in its own characteris-tics, with special traits and qualities.U.S. society is Northerners, South-erners, West Coast residents, EastCoast residents, Northwesterners,

Nancy P. Alexander

Television has provided children with countlesshours of sociodramatic play routines based upontelevision characters.

Books with photographs depict-ing the basic signs and movementscan be found at local book-stores and libraries. Additionally,the Internet provides excellentresources for sign language (seebox). Internet resources that pro-vide animation, such as Handspeak:A Sign Language Dictionary Onlineand the Animated American SignLanguage Dictionary, are helpful forbeginners.

One advantage of working withyoung children is that the teachercan build a sign language vocabularyas the preschoolers build theirs.The teacher does not need to be aproficient signer before beginninginstruction using signs. When plan-ning to focus on a topic, the teachercan target the signs that accompanythe content and post them in theclassroom (DiCarlo, Banajee, &Stricklin, 2000). This will help theadults in the room learn the signs asthey demonstrate them.

Teachers can also prepare signs togive basic instructions during theday (come, look). As teachers see howenthusiastic children are in using

their signs and how much it helpssome children to express themselvesverbally, they typically want to learnmore. Many teachers who try thisapproach in the classroom continueto use it and find it successful inmeeting the diverse needs of youngchildren.

ReferencesBird, E.K., Gaskell, A., Babineau, M.D.,

& MacDonald, S. (2000). Novel wordacquisition in children with DownSyndrome: Does modality make a dif-ference? Journal of Communication Dis-orders, 33(3), 241-266.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.).(1997). Developmentally appropriatepractice in early childhood programs(2nd ed.). Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Brennan, K.B., & Miller, A.D. (2000).How many words can your studentsread? Using a sign language game toincrease sight word recognition. Inter-vention in School and Clinic, 35(3),147-150.

Cook, R.E., Tessier, A., & Klein, M.D.(2000). Adapting early childhood curric-ula for children in inclusive settings (5thed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Merrill.

Crawford, W. (2001). Say it with sign lan-guage. Principal, 17(1), 30-32.

Daniels, M. (1993). ASL and Englishacquisition. Silver Spring, MD: Lin-stock Press.

DiCarlo, C., Banajee, M., & Stricklin,S.B. (2000). Embedding augmentativecommunication within early childhoodclassrooms. Young Exceptional Children,3(3), 18-26.

Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed:Multiple intelligences for the twenty-firstcentury. New York: Basic Books.

Howard, V.F., Williams, B.F., Port, P.D.,& Lepper, C. (2001). Very young chil-dren with special needs: A formativeapproach for the twenty-first century(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:Merrill Prentice-Hall.

Reichle, J., Williams, W., & Ryan, S.(1981). Selecting signs for the formula-tion of an augmentative communica-tion modality. The Journal of the Associ-ation for Persons With Severe Handicaps,6(1), 48-56.

Seligman, M. (1975). Helplessness: Ondeath, depression, and development. SanFrancisco: W.H. Freeman.

Schunk, H.E. (1999). The effect of sign-ing paired with singing of receptivevocabulary skills of elementary ESLstudents. Journal of Music Therapy,26(2), 110-124.

Wauters, L.N., Knoors, H.E., Vervloed,M.P.J., & Aarnouste, C.A.J. (2001).Sign facilitation in word recognition.Journal of Special Education, 35(1),31-40.


out once again how much work wehave to do in order to establish earlychildhood education as a legitimateprofession. As teachers, directors,and advocates for young children wemust be persistent and diligent inadvocating for standards of excel-lence in our respective states andprograms.

I remember when I recommend-

ed to my Board of Directors that welower our teacher-to-child ratiobelow that which the state required.They asked how much it would costus in revenue and I told them about$60,000 annually. They then askedthe logical questions: Why shouldwe and can we afford to do it? Iresponded by saying that we could-n’t afford not to do so because the

very quality of life for our childrenwas at stake! Please understand thatyou can’t always convince the stateto do the right thing for childrenbut as an early childhood educationprofessional you can and shouldstrive for excellence in the serviceyou provide to the children in yourprogram.

President’s Messagecontinued

Southeasterners, and all points andall peoples in between. This coun-try’s society is as aggressive and vio-lent as any society in the world. It isalso as passive and peaceful as anysociety in the world. U.S. society isat its best in its charity and compas-sion. It is at its worst in its violence.

Television ViolenceThe violence on U.S. television,

and its impact on children withregard to Vygotsky’s socioculturaltheory, gives many people cause forconcern. According to the Media-scope National Television ViolenceStudy (1996), violence is “Any overtdepiction of physical force—or thecredible threat of such force—intended to harm an animate being

or group of beings.” U.S. television is the most violent

in the world (Chen, 1994). Chil-dren’s television on Saturday morn-ings presents from 20 to 25 violentacts per hour, while prime time tele-vision presents an average of fiveviolent acts per hour (Sweet &Singh, 1994). See Table 1 for a listof some of the television viewinghabits of U.S. children.

Television in the United Statesportrays violence as effective andacceptable for conflict resolution.The messages are often one or moreof these:

• Violence is justified.• Good guys win, bad guys lose.• Problems are often solved fast

and violently.• Violence and other anti-social

behaviors often go unpunished.

Analysis of Child TV CharactersHeintz-Knowles (1996) did a

comprehensive analysis of regularlyscheduled entertainment programsfeaturing child characters on broad-cast and cable television. The studysurveyed early morning, afternoon,prime time, and Saturday morningbroadcasts on ABC, CBS, NBC,FOX, and PBS, and the USA, Nick-elodeon, and Disney cable channels.Only programs featuring regularchild characters (up to the age of 18)were selected for analysis. Entertain-ment programs covered by thisstudy included dramas, sitcoms,variety programs, cartoons, andaction-adventure shows. Daytimesoap operas, news, talk, movies andreality programs were not included.

Three episodes of each programselected were videotaped and sub-jected to systematic coding analysis.The study revealed that while manychildren on television were shownengaging in both prosocial and anti-social ways, the majority of behav-iors shown, across all forms of tele-vision, were prosocial. These posi-tive acts are shown to be most effec-tive in helping the charactersachieve their goals. Heintz-Knowlesfound that 70% of child characterson fictional shows engaged in proso-cial acts, while 40% engaged in anti-social acts (multiple behaviors wererecorded for each character).

Prosocial behaviors are most like-ly to be seen as effective in meetingthe child’s goals, while anti-social

Table 1. TV Viewing Habits of U.S. Children

• Children are fervent viewers by 2 or 3 years old.

• Children watch an average of 4 hours of television per day. This trans-lates to about 1,400 hours of television per year, or 18,000 hours by highschool graduation (Chen, 1994).

• Children between the ages of 6 and 7 years watch more than 23 hours oftelevision per week (Page, Hammermeister, & Scanlan, 1996).

• In a study of the correlation between the viewing habits of children andantisocial behavior on St. Helens, a British colony island in the SouthAtlantic Ocean, children watched an average of 3 hours, 10 minutes perday. However, this was over a 3-day period, based on diary entries thatthe children themselves kept. This information tends to indicate that chil-dren in relatively technologically advanced societies are still watchingmore than 3 hours per day (Gunter, Charlton, & Coles, 2000).

• Children in lower-income environments average as much as 22,000hours of TV viewing by graduation (Sweet & Singh, 1994). In comparison,from kindergarten through 12th grade, children spend 13,000 hours inschool (Chen, 1994).

• By age 6, the average U.S. child will have spent more time watching tele-vision than she will talk with her father in her lifetime (Devore, 1994, p.16).

• Children watch television not designed for them 90% of the time. Only14% of television is designed for children. The U.S. child witnesses about12,000 violent acts per year on television (Sweet & Singh, 1994).

• In 1986, there were about 43 hours of war cartoons on television perweek, with an average of 48 violent acts per hour. This equates to 2064violent acts per week by war cartoons alone. Murder or attempted murderoccurs almost once per minute (Devore, 1994).

U.S. television is the most violent

in the world.


behaviors are more likely to beshown as ineffective. Unfortunately,the majority of child characters oncommercial broadcast networkswere shown to be acting in anti-social ways. Certain significant anti-social behaviors, including physicalaggression and deceitful behavior,were frequently shown to be effec-tive in meeting children’s goals,sending a potentially negative mes-sage to children.

Impact of TV on Social Development

Given that U.S. television beamsviolence at its audience day andnight, and that children spend agreat deal of time watching televi-sion, what evidence is there thattelevision violence influences thesocial development of children? In1972, the Surgeon General of theUnited States advised that there isevidence that TV violence can beharmful to young viewers (Murray,1973; Surgeon General’s ScientificAdvisory Committee on Televisionand Social Behavior, 1972).

A 10-year follow-up to the Sur-geon General’s report found that,with 10 years of more research, vio-lence on television continued toaffect the aggressive behavior of chil-dren (National Institute of MentalHealth, 1982). The American Psy-chological Association Task Force onTelevision and Social Behavior (Hus-ton, & Wright, 1992) concludedthat 30 years of research confirmedthe harmful effects of TV violence.

The long-term Eron Study (Eron& Slaby, 1995) is most revealing. In

1963, 8-year-olds, their teachers,and their parents were initially inter-viewed. The interviewers noted thataggression and TV viewing appearedto be related, and that teachers andpeers identified those childrenwhose viewing habits included moreviolent programs than others asbeing more aggressive.

In 1973, when these childrenwere 18 years old, a strong relation-ship between their early TV viewingwhen they were 8 years old andaggressive behavior at 18 years wasidentified.

By1985, when these subjectswere 30 years old, a relationshipbetween early TV viewing and arrestand conviction for interpersonalcrimes was discovered. These inter-personal crimes included spouseabuse, child abuse, murder, andaggravated assault. Could it be thatthe internalization of mediatedexperiences provided by significantcharacters engaged in social conflicton television had anything to dowith this relationship? Did televi-sion teach these individuals how tobehave?

In light of the research and vari-ous studies on television violenceand its impact on the social behaviorof young children, three specificbehavioral phenomena have beenidentified. These are Direct Effects,Desensitization, and the MeanWorld Syndrome.

• Direct Effects suggests thatchildren and adults who watcha lot of violence on televisionmay become more aggressiveand/or may develop favorableattitudes and values about the

use of aggression to resolve con-flicts (Murray, 1995).

• Desensitization suggests thatchildren who watch a lot oftelevision become less sensitiveto real violence in their world,less sensitive to pain and suffer-ing of others, and more tolerantof violent behavior (Murray,1995).

• Mean World Syndrome de-scribes children and adults whowatch a lot of television thatdepicts the world as being amean and dangerous placebecause of the violence depict-ed. These people come tobelieve that the world is a meanand dangerous place (Murray,1995).

Simply put, television impartsthe message that it is acceptable toresolve conflict with violence. Tele-vision’s message is that the violencein the world is to be expected, that itoccurs all the time, and so it is real-ly no big deal. Television conveysthat, because of the violence in theworld, the world is not a safe andcaring place to find oneself. Peoplemust constantly be on the defensive.

While there is much to be saidabout television that is good, andthere are terrific programs availablefor children, professionals who workwith children must be aware of thenegative impact that violent televi-sion has in children’s lives. The evi-dence is clear and abundant thattelevision violence impacts youth innegative ways.

In addition to violence, TV pro-grams and advertising promote

Thirty years of researchconfirmed the harmfuleffects of TV violence.

Television imparts themessage that it is

acceptable to resolveconflict with violence.

Television violenceimpacts youth in

negative ways.

Action Signs

Walk

Stop

Symetrical Signs

Shoe

Book

Color Signs

Red Blue

Yellow Green


many other messages. Huston andWright (1999) state that prosocialtelevision had at least as much effectif not more than violent television.Nevertheless, the predominant con-tent in the United States may rein-force notions that women are help-less and incompetent, men areaggressive, most people in the coun-try are white and affluent, and theprinciple minority is African Ameri-cans who reside in sit-com situa-tions. In television programming,women are becoming much morephysically aggressive, and both menand women are becoming extremelyverbally aggressive.

Many advertising campaignshave taken an in-your-face positionto get their point across, for exam-ple, ads for candy (“Two for me,none for you”), commercials forvideo games, and pizza (“Can youhandle it?”). One commercial is par-ticularly offensive in its messageabout youth. A middle-aged CEO issitting in a plush leather chair andturns on a television depicting highschool band members marching.Suddenly a pack of rav-enous wolves viciouslyattacks them. He chuck-les, “Now that’s goodstuff.”

What makes many ofthese commercials mostdisturbing is that theyare purposefully aimedat a younger audience.They essentially tell chil-dren that it is acceptableto be rude, violent, self-ish, and arrogant, andthat children who actlike this are in some wayfashionable. As one uni-versity student so aptlyand succinctly said,

“People learn to do what other peo-ple say is okay to do.”

As the TV industry supplies morechannels and options for program-ming, people spend more timewatching. Families play a major rolein deciding what and how muchtelevision children should watch(Huston & Wright, 1996). Often,children are present in rooms inwhich parents are watching televi-sion and get secondary exposure tothe program. Thus the amount andkind of programming that childrenview is similar to their parents’choices.

For young children especially,exposure to adult programmingoccurs more with parents presentthan without them, according toHuston & Wright. While parents inNorth America imposed little regu-lation on the amount of time thatchildren spent watching television,they did try to prohibit exposure tographic violence, sexuality, frighten-ing content, and bad language. Par-ents also tried to encourage theirchildren to watch educational pro-

grams, but apparently did not useco-viewing experiences to discusswhat their children saw on televi-sion as much as they could have.

There is no doubt that childrenidentify with TV characters thatthey see as significant, whether theyare superheroes, kindly hosts of chil-dren’s programs, talk-show hosts,professional wrestlers, or any otherindividuals. Vygotsky’s theory onsociocultural development (Bedrova& Leong, 1996;Vygotsky, 1998)states that

1. Children’s behavior and self-worth are influenced by signifi-cant others and the models theypresent for social interaction,

2. Formation of cognitive con-structs are heavily dependentupon socially mediated experi-ences, and

3. Children’s experiences with toolsbecome internalized and used infuture social and cultural situa-tions.

Consequently, professionals mustalso concur that the culture of tele-vision will influence children, tosome degree, in the choices they

make, in the behav-iors they exhibit,and in the mannerin which they willhandle conflict. Thisis not to imply thatthere should be for-mal censorship, but,just as major tobac-co companies areheld responsible forthe images they pro-ject at children, soshould television-broadcasting com-panies be heldresponsible for thecontent that theybeam at children.

Nancy P. Alexander

After a few days of independence from television’s controlling influ-ence, families begin to interact on a much more personal level andparents become more significant to their children.

room, a photocopy of thesigns can be sent home. Mostfamilies are supportive of theirchildren learning to use signs,and many of them learn thesigns along with their chil-dren. As parents praise chil-dren for the use of signs, itreinforces their self-conceptsas competent learners.

Choose a Sign SystemA number of sign systems

are used by various groups.American Sign Language(ASL), the language of thedeaf community, is probablythe most common sign sys-tem. It is signed quickly and usesdifferent syntax from English.Signed English and Signing ExactEnglish use traditional English syn-tax and word endings. Some states,

such as Texas, have a standard signsystem for instruction in publicschools in the state.

Although it is important to beaware of these distinctions, the signs

used in the preschool classroom aretypically basic core vocabulary andphrases rather than sentences usingthe syntax of ASL. Young childrenare not typically expected to use signlanguage as their primary means ofcommunication. Therefore, con-cerns about syntax and sign systemsare not at the forefront when usingsigns to augment the languageacquisition of developing preschool-ers. However, it is always a goodidea to teach the sign languagevocabulary used in public schools inthe state.

Where to Learn to SignMost community colleges have

basic and advanced courses in signlanguage. Often these courses teachASL. Some community agencies inlarger metropolitan areas offercourses in sign language. Largerschool systems, particularly thosewith deaf education programs, offercourses for teachers, family mem-bers, and other interested parties.Many times these classes are free orare reasonably priced. Some providechild care as well.

Photo courtesy of the author

Most families are supportive of their children learning to use signs, and many of themlearn the signs along with their children. As teachers see how enthusiastic children arein using their signs and how much it helps some children to express themselves verbal-ly, they typically want to learn more.

Internet Resources

• Handspeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Onlinehttp://www.handspeak.com/ Animated versions of basic sign vocabulary.

• Animated American Sign Language Dictionaryhttp://www.bconnex.net/~randys/

Animated versions of sign vocabulary.

• American Sign Language Browser: University of Michigan Web site forASL resources

http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/

• A Basic Dictionary of ASL Terms http://www.masterstech-home.com/ASLDict.html

• International Bibliography of Sign Language http://www.sign-lang.uni-hamburg.de/bibweb/

• American Sign Language Handshapes Dictionary http://handshapes.com/

• SLanT: Fingerspelling and Typinghttp://shareware.lycos.com/tukids/win95nt/5-8/sign58.shtml

• National Center for Sign Language and Gesture Resourceshttp://www.bu.edu/asllrp/cslgr/

• Are You Sign Smart? http://bonus.lycos.com/bonus/card/quiz_signlang.html

• Funbrain: Sign the Alphabethttp://funbrain.lycos.com/cgi-bin/shtml.cgi?A1=../signs/index.html


What Can Be Done?What can educators and parents

do to employ television as a usefultool for learning and a fun tool forentertainment without overexposingchildren to violent television pro-gramming? These are a few recom-mendations that professionals areencouraged to share with parents ofchildren and youth.

• Write to companies that sup-port the more violent programsto voice concerns, and boycottthe companies.

• Screen the programs childrenwatch. Use tools such as TVlistings, the rating system, andthe V Chip.

• Set time periods for watchingtelevision and establish timelimits.

• Watch television with children.Discuss what is real and what isnot. Find shows that offer thesame attributes that the familyvalues.

• Read and discuss newspaperarticles that report events whichportray the positive side ofhumanity in the community.

• Turn off the tube and open abook. Read to children instead ofletting the TV do the entertain-ing. Play games together. Engagein recreation together. Makeyour own music. Volunteer.

• If all else fails, turn off the cable,take down the antennas, and

put the TV in the attic. After afew days of independence fromtelevision’s controlling influ-ence, families begin to interacton a much more personal leveland parents become more sig-nificant to their children.

ReferencesBedrova, E., & Leong, D. (1996). Tools of

the mind: The Vygotskian approach toearly childhood education. EngelwoodCliffs, NJ: Merrill.

Chen, M. (1994). The smart parent’s guideto kids’ TV. San Francisco: KQEDBooks.

Devore, C.D. (1994). Kids & media influ-ence. Edina, MN: Abdo & Daughters.

Eron, L.D., & Slaby, R.G. (1995). Intro-duction. In L.D. Eron, J.H. Gentry, &P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to hope: A psy-chosocial perspective on violence andyouth. Washington, DC: American Psy-chological Association.

Gunter, B., Charlton, T., & Coles, D.(2000). The impact of television onchildren’s antisocial behavior in anovice television community. ChildStudy Journal, 30(2): 65-90.

Heintz-Knowles, K. (1996). Reflections onthe screen. Unpublished paper. Univer-sity of Washington.

Huston, A., & Wright, J. (1992). Televi-sion and socialization of young chil-dren. In T. MacBeth (Ed), Tuning in toyoung viewers: Social science perspectiveson television. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.

Kostelnik, M., Stein, L., Whiren, A., &Soderman, A. (1998). Guiding chil-dren’s social development (3rd ed.).Albany, NY: Delmar.

Mediascope National Television ViolenceStudy, (1996). (Online). Availablehttp://cii2.cochran.com/mnet/eng/med/home/resource/ntvs.htm (1997,March 26).

Murray, J.P. (1973). Television and vio-lence: Implications of the SurgeonGeneral’s research program. AmericanPsychologist, 28(6), 472-478.

Murray, J. (1995). Children and televisionviolence. Kansas Journal of Law andPublic Policy, 4(3), 7-14.

National Institute of Mental Health.(1982). Television and behavior: Tenyears of scientific progress and implica-tions for the eighties (vol. 1), Summaryreport. Washington, DC: United StatesGovernment Printing Office.

Page, R., Hammermeister, J., & Scanlan,A. (1996). Psychosocial and health-related characteristics of adolescenttelevision viewers. Child Study Journal,26(4), 319-334.

Robinson, M. (1997). Children readingprint and television. London: Falmer.

Surgeon General’s Scientific AdvisoryCommittee on Television and SocialBehavior. (1972). Television and grow-ing up: The impact of televised violence.Washington DC: U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office.

Sweet, D., & Singh, R. (1994). TV viewingand parental guidance. Education Con-sumer Guide. (Online). Available:http://inet.ed.gov/pubs/OR/Consumer/tv.html (1997, April 2).

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: Thedevelopment of higher psychologicalprocesses. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.

Yamamoto, K. (1972). The child and hisimage: Self-concept in the early years.Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Increase Positive Self-ConceptMost preschoolers are curious,

exuberant learners. When sign lan-guage is used, they learn it naturallyin the context of their day. They areproud of their accomplishments andreadily demonstrate them to others.As they show their signs for theirfamilies and friends, their acquain-tances are rightly impressed and typ-ically express their approval. As chil-dren demonstrate their unique skillsand are praised by others, their con-cepts of themselves as competentlearners are reinforced and built.

How to Get StartedAdopt Learnability Research

Research about the learnability ofsign, particularly for children withdisabilities, is most helpful to teach-ers of young children who wish toemploy sign techniques. Reichle,Williams, & Ryan (1981) developedcriteria for selection of initial signs.Signs are more easily learned if theyare iconic. An iconic sign resemblesthe concept it represents. For exam-ple, the sign for "ball" is made byforming the shape of a circle withthe thumbs and forefingers. Becausethis sign looks like a ball, it is easilyremembered by the learner.

Signs are more easily learned ifthey are useful for the learner. Whenchildren can use the signs frequentlywith others in many places, theylearn the signs more easily. Also,signs that require contact withanother part of the body are easierto learn than those made in the air.It is easier to learn one-handed signsthan two-handed signs. Finally, two-handed signs that are symmetrical(both hands performing the sameaction) are learned faster than signsin which the hands are performing

different actions. Although the

motor componentsof the signs are afactor to consider inhow quickly thechild learns them, teachers are urgedto be more concerned about the use-fulness of the sign for expressingneeds and participating in the activ-ities of the classroom.

Select Relevant Vocabulary When selecting useful vocabulary

for signing, first examine the class-room activities to identify wordsthat are most meaningful for chil-dren. For example, if there are ritu-als that are repeated during circletime such as the weather report orthe lunch menu, these are logicalchoices. Favorite songs that arerepeated often provide good oppor-tunities for the use of sign. Songsthat signal transitions such as thebeginning and ending of activities,(e.g., the clean-up song) also pro-vide useful sign vocabulary.

Direction words such as come,walk, stop, wait, and close (the door)all are excellent signs to use inthe classroom. Colors, animals, com-

mon foods, posi-tions (up, down,in, out) actionwords (verbs), anddescriptive words(adjectives), all are

useful in the preschool classroom.Teaching with themes is useful inpromoting the language and devel-opment of young children andfrequently is used in preschool class-room curriculums. When conceptsare introduced, the core vocabularycan be presented verbally and withsign.

The signs for the names of class-mates are also important inpreschool classrooms. Typicallyname signs are formed by placingthe first letter of the alphabet at aspecific location on the body. Forexample, Sharon may be signed byplacing the sign for the letter S onthe left side of the chest.

Involve FamiliesIt is important for family mem-

bers to be aware of the signs thattheir children are learning. At parentmeetings and in newsletters, theplan to use signs can be explained.As signs are introduced in the class-

Signs are learned morequickly if they are...

• Useful to the child

• Used with other persons inother places

• Iconic: they look like the con-cept that they represent

• Formed with one hand ratherthan two

• Formed with body contactrather than in the air

• Formed symmetrically if twohands are required

Signs are more easilylearned if they are

useful for the learner.

Suggested Vocabulary

• Children's names

• Classroom songs

• Transition routines

• Colors

• Weather report

• Direction words

• Position words

• Animals

• Foods

• Action words (verbs)

• Descriptive words (adjectives)

• Unit vocabulary

SECA is currently looking for creative photogra-phers to submit high-quality, multicultural prints ofyoung children at play. Selected photos may be pub-lished in SECA’s journal, Dimensions of Early Child-hood, for which photographers will be paid.

For more information on this as well as our photoguidelines, please contact SECA directly at (501)221-1648 or (800) 305-7322. Photos may be sent to

SECA at the following address:

Southern Early Childhood Association8500 W. Markham, Ste. 105Little Rock,AR 72205Office: (501) 221-1648Toll Free: (800) 305-7322Fax: (501) [email protected]

Photographers Needed


Strategies to Support Children


What is the role of early childhood educators in atime of crisis? We are all very much aware of the impor-tant and heroic role that early childhood personnelplayed in the World Trade Center disaster in New York.We all remember the emotional images of children fol-lowing the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Okla-homa City. Following both of these tragedies, manymore early childhood personnel comforted and reas-sured children, provided a stable environment duringdifficult times, ministered to families directly or indi-rectly affected by the crises, and consoled children whowere emotionally affected by the televised reports.

We all hope that we will never have to cope withsuch horrible disasters again. But there are other disas-ters that cannot be prevented and which we are farmore likely to experience. Many Southern states aresubject to tornadoes and other destructive weather con-ditions. States that border the Gulf of Mexico andAtlantic Ocean fall victim to hurricanes. Low areas aresubject to flooding. Weather conditions that causethese problems can fortunately often be predicted, butnot typically prevented.

What happens when areas affected by weather mustbe evacuated? Many families go to the homes of rela-tives or friends. Others travel away from endangeredsites to hotels or motels. Still others take shelter in pub-lic evacuation shelters established and staffed by volun-teer organizations such as the Red Cross.

As Hurricane Lili approached land last winter, ameeting scheduled in the southern part of Louisianawas canceled, leaving a rare day free of appointments orother commitments. The morning news included videoof families in a crowded Shreveport gymnasium thathad been set up for hurricane evacuees. Parents, grand-parents, and children left their homes not knowing ifthere would be homes to which they would return.Children milled around with little to do.

Situations in which parents are under stress, chil-dren have nothing to do, and families are crowded

together in an emergency shelter do not foster pleasantrelationships. What might be helpful to these families?

Knowing that parents in the haste of evacuationprobably would not think about toys, games, or activi-ties for their children, several colleagues and I decidedto see what we could do to provide interesting, sooth-ing experiences. Realizing that children under stressfulconditions benefit from sensory, open-ended activities,ideas were put together quickly. We called the RedCross to offer our services. They accepted.

Soon, collage materials and construction paper werebeing set out, and interested children gathered around.Another table was set up with strips of paper, tape, andstaples. Children began to decorate paper chains. Along sheet of butcher paper was rolled out on the floorto help disperse the growing groups of eager-to-partic-ipate children. Crayons, markers, and collage materialswere set out nearby, and children immediately began agroup mural. Curious parents joined the groups andwatched or helped.

After most of the children had spread out, smallgroups began making modeling dough. They mixed,kneaded, pounded, rolled, and squeezed—all great ten-sion relievers. Parents began to help and some asked forthe recipe. Another popular activity was large sheets ofbubble wrap. Their popping sounded almost like dis-tant fireworks, with parents and children alike makingsure that every bubble was popped!

As children needed more choices, a Discovery Bottleactivity was set up to mix salad oil, water, and largepieces of glitter. The supply of empty plastic bottlessoon disappeared. Volunteers serving food began savingwater bottles. Toward the end of the day, children weretold that if they drank a bottle of water, they couldthen make a Discovery Bottle. Children who otherwisemight have chosen a soft drink selected water instead.Parents made notes about how to make Discovery Bot-tles. Many expressed appreciation for the volunteerswho kept their children happily occupied.

How Can Sign Language Be UsedWith Preschoolers?Increase Vocabulary

Every child is unique and has hisor her own learning style. Whenchildren see and hear a word beingspoken, it may help them rememberthe word more easily. Gardner's the-ory of multiple intelligences (1999)supports the use of multiple avenuesof learning through the use of ver-bal, visual, and tactile-kinestheticmodalities. Sign language shouldnot be used by itself, but should bepresented in combination with spo-ken words, using a multi-sensoryapproach. Some children can recalla needed word more easily whenthey make the motor movementrepresented by it. Others attend tolanguage more easily when they seeit and hear it simultaneouslythrough this multi-sensory method.

When preschoolers are unable tospeak well due to maturational orneurological problems, the teachercan assist them in forming the signfor the word by shaping their handsto form the pattern of the sign. Thisis something that teachers cannot dowith oral language. Oral languagerequires a much more complexprocess of coordinating breathing,phonation, palatal, jaw, and tonguemovement. Try as someone elsemight, they areunable to help achild shape theword she is tryingto say orally!

Scaffold LanguageMany stories, songs, games, and

poems in the preschool classroomuse repeated phrases to reinforcesentence structures. Examples

include, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear,what do you see? I see a _______looking at me" and "Going on aBear Hunt." When these stories,songs, poems, and games initiallyare used in the classroom, sign lan-guage can be combined with therepetitive phrases. As childrenbecome more familiar with the storyor game, the signs can be used lessfrequently and more unobtrusively.Thus, children gain independenceusing their oral language in the songor game.

By using this technique, thosechildren who are less mature in theirlanguage expression, or those whoare reluctant, are able to participatein a risk-free language-learningexperience. This author has used themethod with children as young as18 months. At first they were notable to participate in the activityverbally, but they were able to imi-tate the signs and be active partici-pants that way. As they matured,they were able to say the words andphrases along with their teacher andclassmates.

Follow DirectionsPreschool teachers spend much of

their time giving directions to chil-dren. When teachers give groupdirections, some learners are not ableto attend as well to the instructionsas others. If the directions are signed

as well as stated,these children arebetter able to tunein to the teachermore effectively.Additionally, the

teacher can provide correction tochildren discreetly when needed.When the teacher sees a child misbe-having, she can make eye contactand sign "stop." When the teacher

wants a child to walk instead of run,he signs "walk" before the childleaves the classroom to go to theplayground. When a child needs toremember to use a spoon to eatlunch, the teacher makes eye contactand signs "spoon." For some chil-dren these subtle cues avoid embar-rassment. For others who misbehaveto gain attention, the use of signsprovides an unobtrusive correctionwithout giving the child groupattention for inappropriate behavior.

Improve Imitation AbilityPeople learn much of what they

know by observing others and imi-tating their actions. Much of the useof spoken language is acquiredthrough imitation of what childrenhave heard and observed in use. Forsome children, particularly thosewith significant disabilities, imita-tion does not come naturally andthey must be specifically taught toimitate. When children are unableto imitate verbally, imitation of ges-tures and signs is a starting point inteaching imitation. Later, as thechild is able to imitate signs andactions, vocalizations and wordscome more easily.

All too often young children aredescribed as lazy or stubborn whenthey are not able to repeat words orphrases. It is rare for a child to refuseto speak because of laziness or stub-bornness. However, children andadults may become involved in apower struggle over speaking if toomuch pressure is placed on a childto perform verbally. When childrenexperience a risk-free opportunity toimitate signs and gestures, oftenthey develop the confidence to imi-tate sounds, vocalizations, words,and phrases.

Sign language promotes verbal communication.


Three girls worked on a paperchain together, making it first aslong as the table, then long enoughto reach the wall, then as long as thelength of the hall. When onereturned the stapler, she proudlyannounced that the chain was 846lengths long! Even in such a difficultsituation, math skills were used in arelevant way.

What is the early childhood pro-fession’s role in times of crisis? It isto use our knowledge to make deal-ing with crisis more manageable forfamilies and children. What madethis impromptu event successful wasthe ability to structure activities in away that required minimal supervi-sion and to interact with the chil-dren to keep them interested, calm,and happily occupied.

Hopefully, none of us will ever berequired to cope with events such asthose in New York or OklahomaCity. But we will likely be in com-munities that face evacuation,weather trouble, and other crisesthat put families and children instressful situations. What skills canyou contribute when that happensin your community?

Note: Permission is granted toreproduce this article to distribute toparents or coworkers provided credit isgiven to SECA and to Nancy P.Alexander.

Nancy P. Alexander is Director ofNorthwestern State University Childand Family Network, in Shreveport,Louisiana. She is the author of EarlyChildhood Workshops That Work: TheEssential Guide to Successful Trainingand Workshops published by GryphonHouse. She conducts workshops andother training for the early childhoodfield and frequently contributes articlesand photographs to professional publi-cations.

Language development is a primary focus in mostclassrooms for young children. The typical preschoolclassroom provides numerous opportunities for languageand beginning literacy through stories, centers, grouptimes, music, and art activities. As children develop,most of them learn language naturally within the con-text of developmentally appropriate activities (Bre-dekamp & Copple, 1997).

Some children with language-learning difficultiesmay need additional instruction in order to becomeeffective communicators (Cook, Tessier, & Klein, 2000).For these children, sign language often is helpful in pro-moting language understanding and use (Howard,Williams, Port, & Lepper, 2001).Traditionally, sign language has beenused with children with hearing loss.However, some current research sup-ports the use of sign language withtypical learners and learners withother academic and developmental problems (Bird,Gaskell, Babineau, & MacDonald, 2000).

Sign language now is used successfully to promoteboth oral language and reading skills, as revealed by sev-eral researchers. Children with hearing loss acquired theliteracy skill of sight word recognition with greater accu-racy when speech and sign were combined, rather thanpresented with speech alone (Wauters, Knoors,Vervloed, & Aarnouste, 2001). Brennan and Miller(2000) used a game involving sign language to teachsight words to children with learning disabilities.

English language learners in kindergarten throughsecond grade acquired receptive vocabulary with signifi-cantly greater gains when sign language was paired withspoken words, as opposed to spoken words alone(Schunk, 1999). Daniels (1993) and Crawford (2001)

both reported improvements in receptive vocabulary oftypical preschoolers when sign language was used in thepreschool classroom. Additionally, Crawford noted thatthe use of sign language improved children's self confi-dence in language use.

This author has had positive experience with the useof sign language to improve vocabulary acquisition withchildren with disabilities such as Down Syndrome, cere-bral palsy, mental retardation, and autism. With thegrowing emphasis on inclusion of learners with disabili-ties in regular classrooms, teachers are looking for tech-niques to assist them in meeting the diverse needs oflearners. Sign language can assist learners with disabili-

ties, with the added value of provid-ing an avenue of learning for all stu-dents in the classroom.

Many times young children areunable to express themselves verbal-ly. However, when they can learn to

express themselves through signs, they learn that theycan be communicators. Research substantiates the factthat sign language promotes verbal communication anddoes not cause the child to rely on nonverbal means ofcommunication as a "crutch" (Bird et al., 2000).

It is extremely important for young children to expe-rience the power of being a communicator. Without theability to communicate, children can easily become frus-trated or they may eventually experience "learned help-lessness" (Seligman, 1975). Thus, sign language foryoung children with disabilities can provide a bridge tooral language and effective communication.

Looking for techniques to help meet the diverse needs of young children?Sign language can assist learners with disabilities, with the added valueof providing an avenue of learning for all students.

Say It—Sign It—Do It!Using Sign Language With Young Children

Sharon A. Lynch

Sharon A. Lynch, Ed.D., is Associate Professor of SpecialEducation, Department of Language, Literacy, and SpecialPopulations, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville,Texas.

Sign language should bepresented in combination

with spoken words.

Share your Strategies to Support Children withstate and local leaders!

Submit practical articles, or requests for topics tobe addressed in this column, to SECA.

Early childhood educators have struggled with thestandardized testing movement since it began about 20years ago. Few would argue with the president of theNational Educational Association, who stated that“high standards and high-stakes tests are here to stay”(Chase, 1999, p. 2).

Although this article does notaddress the problems of standardizedtesting (see Haladyna, Hass, & Alli-son, 1998), the ripple effects of thispolicy continue to be felt for bothchildren and educators. Curriculaoptions have narrowed, and the pressure continues toincrease to implement a “push-down curriculum” (Bre-dekamp & Rosegrant, 1992) in order to achieve hightest scores. As a result, it has become more difficult toplace student teachers in classrooms that are congruentwith the content and focus of their professional-prepa-ration experiences.

Kindergartens that support the growth and wellbeing of children are often referred to as developmen-tally appropriate, child-centered, constructivist,child-sensitive, or professional-practice classrooms.Although the terminology may differ, the goal is thesame—to make thoughtful, informed decisions aboutearly childhood classroom practices based on the pro-fessional knowledge base about how children developand learn.

Research findings (Burts et al., 1993; Hart,Charlesworth, Burts, & DeWorth, 1993; Larsen &Robinson, 1989; Moyer, 2001) confirm the efficacy ofa curriculum that addresses children’s abilities andpotential. The Association for Childhood Education

International recently revised its position paper onchild-centered kindergarten (Moyer, 2001). The South-ern Early Childhood Association has published a posi-tion statement on Early Literacy and Beginning to Read(2002) that addresses literacy development.

Developmental theorists such asDewey, Piaget, and Vygotsky areamong the theorists whose work pro-vides the theoretical underpinningsfrom which child-centered practicesare derived. Developmentally appro-priate practice “is a framework, a phi-

losophy, or an approach to working with young chil-dren” (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992, p. 4). Conse-quently, much-needed publications have translatedideas based on research and theory into relevant curric-ula recommendations (Gestwicki, 1999; Hart, Burts, &Charlesworth, 1997).

The common threads that bind theory, philosophy,and practice remain the same: Young children need sup-portive environments and numerous, meaningful,directed learning experiences. To achieve this goal,teachers create explorations, situations, and challengesthat enable children to actively construct knowledge(Stork & Engel, 1999).

Aligning Professional Preparation and Practice: Bringing Constructivist Learning to Kindergarten

Denise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Debra Danyi, and Jacquelyn Aurilio

Denise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor,Department of Curriculum & Instruction, NortheasternState University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

Debra Danyi, B.S., is a Kindergarten Teacher in Lyon PlatElementary, Struthers School District, Struthers, Ohio.

Jacquelyn Aurilio, B.S., is a First Grade Teacher in EmersonElementary, Warren City School District, Warren, Ohio.

Partnerships between teacher education programs and classroomteachers reap many benefits—for professional preparation institutions, college students, classroom teachers, young children,and their families!

Experienced teachersincorporate meaningfullearning experiences in

the curriculum.


ments, and integrates all aspects ofchildren’s development—social,emotional, physical, and cognitive.

As for an answer to the question“How can you tell a boy worm froma girl worm?” start a worm projectto find out! Happy digging!

ReferencesBerk, L.E., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffold-

ing children’s learning: Vygotsky and earlychildhood education. Washington, DC:

National Association for the Educationof Young Children.

Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (Eds.)(1997). Developmentally appropriatepractice in early childhood programs(Rev. ed.). Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

DeVries, R., & Kohlberg, L. (1987). Con-structivist early education: Overview andcomparison of programs. Washington,DC: National Association for the Edu-cation of Young Children.

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and educa-

tion. New York: Macmillan.Jones, E., & Nimmo, J. (1994). Emergent

curriculum. Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (2000). Engag-ing children’s minds: The ProjectApproach. Stamford, CT: Ablex.

Piaget, J. (1973). To understand is toinvent: The future of education. NewYork: Penguin.

Tanner, L. (1997). Dewey’s laboratoryschool: Lessons for today. New York:Teachers College Press.

Thank You,ReviewersSECA expresses its

appreciation to thesepeople who reviewedthe articles that appearin this issue:

Nancy P.Alexander

Florie Babcock

Anne Bomba

Susan Culpepper

E.Anne Eddowes

Aaron Fink, M.D.

Janet Foster

Stephen Graves

Peggy O. Jessee

Carolyn Mitchell

Margaret B. Puckett

Jean Shaw

Dolores Stegelin

CALL FOR PROPOSALSThe Fall 2004 issue of Dimensions of Early Childhood will be a theme

issue.The topic is:

The Changing Role of the Early Childhood Practitioner

Members and friends of the Southern Early Childhood Associationare encouraged to submit proposals for manuscripts to be published inthis issue. Proposals must include:

• 2-page detailed outline• 200- to 400-word summary• a list of pertinent sample references• indication of the author’s expertise

Teaching young children is challenging in an ever-changing world.TheGuest Editors are seeking manuscripts that address the changing role ofthe early childhood practitioner with regard to these topics:

• teaching in standards-based classrooms• working in inclusive classrooms• dealing with health and safety issues• working collaboratively with families, medical professionals, and

community agencies• interacting with diverse families and communities• understanding multiple legal issues in early education• nurturing children in a post-9/11 culture

Guest Editors for this issue are Laverne Warner and Sharon Lynch.Submit questions and proposals by e-mail to them at:

[email protected][email protected]

All proposals must be submitted by October 15, 2003. If acceptedfor the theme issue, final manuscripts will be due by February 1, 2004.

To review author guidelines for publication in Dimensions, please goto www.SouthernEarlyChildhood.org


Today’s kinder-garten classroomsare at the center of atug-of-war betweenthose who promotechild-centered edu-cation and thosewho want kinder-garten programs toreflect the academicdemands of elemen-tary school (Graue,2001). Moyer (2001)contends that thetension betweenthese competingphilosophies wasbrought about by these factors:

• societal pressures• misunderstanding about how

children learn• aggressive marketing of commer-

cial materials largely inappropri-ate for kindergarten children

• a shortage of teachers specificallyprepared to work with children.(p. 161)

Within the context of standard-ized-testing pressures, early child-hood educators struggle to createchild-centered classrooms that nur-ture students’ physical, social-emo-tional, and intellectual growth anddevelopment.

Discrepancies BetweenProfessional Preparationand Teaching Practices

Clinical experiences ideallyenable teacher education students inbaccalaureate programs to translateknowledge of child developmentand curricula into educational prac-tice (Katz, 1993). Carter’s (1992)first-hand account of the disconti-nuity of experiences between whatwas she was taught to teach andwhat she was expected to teach is a

familiar one. A decade later, collegestudents continue to encounter dis-parities between what they havelearned and what their cooperatingteacher expects. Observing andlearning from teachers who providechildren with developmentallyappropriate experiences is an essen-tial part of every preservice teacher’seducation.

Two students, Carrie and Sarah,shared the sources of their frustra-tions as they confronted the chal-lenge of reconciling their profession-al training and their observations ofkindergartens during the first quar-ter of student teaching. While read-ing and pondering their thoughtful-ly worded reflections, the first authorof this article, a teacher educator,wondered how much the teachereducation program contributed totheir frustrations. Higher educationhad provided, in the students’ ownwords, “professional training [that]emphasized developmentally appro-priate practices. These practicesincluded hands-on learning, recall-ing prior knowledge, activating stu-dent interest, and applying the con-cept of the students’ real world expe-

riences” (J. Aurilio& D. Danyi, per-sonal communica-tion, February 24,1999).

After completingtwo quarters of stu-dent teaching, Car-rie and Sarah hadmany opportunitiesto see and reflecton both develop-mentally appropri-ate and inappropri-ate practices. Theseare some of theincongruities be-

tween what they were taught andwhat they observed.

• They were taught that “oralcommunication is an importantskill that children will usethroughout their lives” (J.Aurilio & D. Danyi, personalcommunication, February 24,1999). Yet, they observed, “two-way communication among theteachers and children was limit-ed” (J. Aurilio & D. Danyi, per-sonal communication, February24, 1999).

• Carrie and Sarah were taughtthe multiple benefits of cooper-ative learning so students coulddevelop the necessary skills tobe a productive member in soci-ety. Instead, they observed chil-dren being “instructed to workindependently and quietly attraditionally arranged desks, anarrangement that prohibitedopportunities for cooperativelearning” (J. Aurilio & D.Danyi, personal communica-tion, February 24, 1999).

• In their college classes, theywere taught that when childrendevelop a positive dispositiontoward learning, intrinsic moti-vation is fostered. What Carrieand Sarah observed were

Nancy P. Alexander

Developmentally appropriate practice means to make thoughtful,informed decisions about early childhood classroom practices based onthe professional knowledge base about how children develop and learn.

to the school library and doing someInternet research, the first-grade stu-dents were soon caring for their newpets, who lived in a classroom wormbin prepared by the group.

An introductory lesson on thehandling of worms involved all stu-dents. Working in pairs, childrensecured a worm from the bin andplaced it on a flat surface to observe.Once again, field notes were writtenand drawn to report any interestingfindings. Some children noticedthat large night crawlers crawledover a pencil, while smaller redwig-glers moved around a pencil. Thisobservation led to the use of magni-fying glasses and closer examination,during which children discoveredthe night crawlers’ segmented bod-ies. Rather than giving a teacher-directed lecture on the way in whichworms move and the segmentationof worms’ bodies, these childrenwere provided with an environmentthat encouraged their own, far morerelevant discovery.

Every day, two children wereresponsible for feeding the worms, atask that became an importantopportunity to learn social andobservation skills. Banana peels wereby far the most popular worm food,according to the children. To provethis point, a few students createdcharts to record how many days ittook a teabag, banana peel, andgrapefruit rind to disappear. Scienceconcepts are so much more mean-ingful and exciting when childrenare the explorers!

Throughout the course of the year,these young children were encour-aged to learn all they could aboutworms. They frequently lifted wormsfrom the bin to examine and, guidedby their inquisitiveness, discoveredhow worms live in a natural habitat.

Assessment was continuousthroughout the study of worms.Children made individual portfo-lios by folding a 22” x 28” sheet ofposterboard in half and securing theedges with masking tape. They wereencouraged to design the outsidecover of their portfolio, making itpersonal and unique. Portfolioscontained their charts, drawings,field notes, and a variety of writtenwork, such as journals and student-made fiction and factual booksabout worms.

The teacher conducted weeklystudent/teacher conferences, atwhich time the contents of each stu-dent’s portfolio were discussed.Assessment pertained not only tofacts about worms, but also evaluat-ed students’ writing, reading, lan-guage, and mathematical skills.Each student’s level of proficiencywas recorded on a checklist of stateand district curriculum competen-cies. In this way, the teacher was ableto evaluate the progress of everychild and monitor when specific

competency goals were achieved. Inorder to schedule a weekly stu-dent/teacher conference with everychild, a few conferences were heldeach day and scattered throughoutthe morning and afternoon.

As a culminating activity, chil-dren consolidated their artifacts in adisplay for the entire school body toexplore. Paintings, murals, charts,models, and student-made booksmapped the progress of this project.Children stood by the display asworm experts. They shared theirproducts with the audience andeagerly talked about the process oftheir work and the information theylearned.

Ready to Integrate?When children are provided with

an intriguing learning environmentthat enhances their cognitive devel-opment through active, content-rich involvement, teachers meettheir responsibility to support chil-dren’s learning. An integrated cur-riculum embraces academic require-

More Resources on Integrated Curriculum Projects

Chard, S. (1998). The Project Approach, book one: Making curriculumcome alive. New York: Scholastic.

Harris, T.T., & Fuqua, J.D. (1996). To build a house: Designing curriculumfor primary-grade children. Young Children, 52(1), 77-83.

Helm, J.H., & Katz, L.G. (2001). Young investigators: The Project Approachin the early years. New York: Teachers College Press

Jones, E., & Nimmo, J. (1999). Collaboration, conflict, and change:Thoughts on education as provocation. Young Children, 54(1), 5-10.

Katz, L.G. (1994). The Project Approach. Urbana, IL: Clearinghouse onElementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduc-tion Service No. EDO-PS-94-6)

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (1998). Issues in selecting topics for projects.Urbana, IL: Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Educa-tion. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EDO-PS-98-8)

Katz, L.G., & Rothberg, D. (2002). Early childhood research & practice: AnInternet journal on the development, care, and education of young chil-dren, Spring 2002. Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementaryand Early Childhood Education.


instructional techniques thatdid not foster intrinsic motiva-tion. The teaching they encoun-tered in elementary schoolsfocused mainly on segmenteddrill and skill activities thatlacked subject integration.Because the techniques did notmeet the individual needs ofmany of the children, instruc-tion was effective for only a seg-ment of the children.

• Carrie and Sarah had learnedhow to use higher-level ques-tioning techniques to supportchildren’s problem solving skills.In practice, however, they wererequired to provide drill andskill activities which includedonly convergent questions.

Opportunities to PutProfessional PreparationInto Practice

The questionable classroomteaching strategies described herewere primarily observed during Car-rie and Sarah’s first quarter of stu-dent teaching. Both students weresimultaneously enrolled in a confer-ence course with their instructor,who selected a second studentteaching site where the kindergartenteachers used developmentallyappropriate practices. Carrie andSarah were impressed by how theseteachers provided a comfortable,welcoming environment that fos-tered trust between families andschool. They saw how parentinvolvement was “key to creating apartnership between the communityand school” (J. Aurilio & D. Danyi,personal communication, February24, 1999).

These two student teachers werefirm in their belief that all childrencan learn and that this powerfulbelief becomes a shared vision by

the teacher and child (a self-fulfill-ing prophecy). They wrote, “self-concept and self-esteem are impor-tant components of a child’s emo-tional development. High expecta-tions contribute to the positive emo-tional development of children” (J.Aurilio & D. Danyi, personal com-munication, February 24, 1999).

In their second semester of stu-dent teaching, Sarah and Carriewere included in the process ofteacher reflection at weekly plan-ning meetings. At that time, theyand their cooperating teachers con-sidered the best instructional meth-ods and learning experiences for thechildren. These two preserviceteachers learned to become moreflexible as they tried to meet theneeds of the children. And like theircooperating teachers, they were ableto plan rich experiences and then letchildren pursue their own learning.

Sarah and Carrie learned to devel-op and use cooperative learning cen-ters that resulted in children’s posi-tive social development. They sawhow learning centers provided theopportunity for children to experi-ence and learn concepts in a con-crete, hands-on manner. They cameto view centers as an alternative tousing textbooks and worksheets.

Despite some initial uneasiness,the teacher education students suc-cessfully implemented an in-depthproject that was a fruitful learningexperience for them, the children,and their cooperating teachers. Theproject wsas based on the ProjectApproach (Katz & Chard, 2000).The children’s curiosity and interestin trees guided the project. Theteacher education students providedhands-on, meaningful, and real-world experiences for children basedon their initial questions and com-

ments on the topic of trees. Chil-dren used process skills to explorethe topic.

As the project progressed, theteacher education students observedthe children making connections,feeding their curiosity, and findinganswers to their initial questions.The uneasiness originally felt by thepre-service teachers stemmed fromtheir lack of experience using thistype of teaching method. They werealso concerned about the reactionsand support they would receivefrom their cooperative teachers.However, the result of implement-ing this type of learning opportuni-ties was truly a collaborativeapproach and a learning experiencefor everyone involved. They enthu-siastically shared their culminatingactivity with appreciative parentsand explained the process to theschool superintendent.

These supportive student teach-ing experiences were summarized bythis comment: “Although we werediscouraged by the inappropriatepractices observed during our [first]field experiences, we never compro-mised our belief in developmentallyappropriate practices taking place inclassrooms. We were encouragedwhen we witnessed theories andmethods being practiced in the realworld of teaching” (J. Aurilio & D.Danyi, personal communication,February 24, 1999).

A Growth-MindedTeacher

The final course in Carrie andSarah’s baccalaureate program was akindergarten practicum. Both stu-dents were placed with Gail, akindergarten teacher who was com-pleting her seventh year. This

Other children joined in andtheir questions began to pour forth.“What do worms do all day in thedirt?” “How can you tell a boyworm from a girl worm?” The chil-dren’s questions were clearly basedon observations they recalled fromtheir personal experiences.

Upon returning to the classroom,the teacher initiated a class meeting.Clearly, the topic of worms was ofinterest to a large number of groupmembers, including the teacher.During the group discussion, thechildren generated two lists:

1) What we know about worms.2) What first graders wonder

about worms.This technique is commonly

called developing a K-W-L chart, onwhich children list what they know,what they want to know, and (lateras the project evolves) what theyhave learned about a topic. The longlist is recorded for all to see on chartpaper. A brief sample of a K-W-Lchart, with just a few of the ideasgenerated about worms, is found inFigure 1.

To further develop an integratedcurriculum, the teacher followed theProject Approach guidelines (Katz& Chard, 2000). During the plan-ning, she selected reading, writing,

mathematics, social studies, and sci-ence skills and concepts as compo-nents of the various project tasks.

Early in the process, family mem-bers were asked to record theirmemories about worms, modeling awriting-from-recall experience fortheir children. Families then helpedchildren record their personal expe-riences with worms. Everyone illus-trated their work. The descriptions

and pictures made it possible for theteacher to identify the knowledge ormyths previously constructed byboth children and adults. Thisshared learning experience also gaverise to a host of new questions aboutworms.

At the same time, major planningwas taking place. The teacher con-tacted the coordinator of a local uni-versity horticultural garden, homeof a large worm habitat, and madearrangements for children to tourthe facility. Armed with clipboardsand pencils, children were encour-aged to dig for a worm to examine,and then to illustrate and label theirdrawings (this is called making fieldnotes). Several answers to “what firstgraders wonder about worms” wereuncovered and excitedly shared.

The teacher also requested andobtained worms from a science sup-ply laboratory so they could beraised in the classroom. After trips

The early childhood curriculum naturally emerges when teachers becomeattentive to children’s curiosities.

Figure 1. K-W-L Chart for Worms

What We What We Want What WeKnow About... to Find Out About... Learned About...

Worms are dead on Do worms have legs? Worms have stiff hairs,the sidewalk after it setae, under their bodies rains. to help them grip the

earth when they move.

Worms live in holes Why do worms stay Worms are nocturnal.in the dirt. in the dirt most of

the time?

Worms’ bodies can What do worms eat? Worms eat leaves orgrow back if broken. small pieces of fruits

and vegetables. They eat teabags.


cooperating teacher readilyacknowledged that this teacher’seducational philosophy was differ-ent from other teachers in the build-ing—except for a Head Start teacherwho often visited her room—andher principal. Gail related that shewas getting tired ofbeing “viewed as afreak” (H. Sebest,personal communi-cation, March 16,1999) because ofher early childhoodphilosophy, active parent involve-ment, and hands-on approach tolearning.

At one point, Gail expressed mildfrustration due to her principal’slack of support following a play puton by the children for their families.Gail had carefully incorporatedmany skills in the production of theplay, such as numerous literacyevents, math tasks, music, problemsolving, and interpersonal processes.Her response to the principal’s indif-ference to the play was, “My princi-pal thinks it is fluff, but I can pointto several areas in the course ofstudy that specifically state the chil-dren should be involved in theseactivities. Anyway, that’s okay, I getmy thanks from the parents” (H.Sebest, personal communication,March 16, 1999).

Although Gail lacks support fromher principal, the children’s familiesoverwhelming endorse her teachingapproach and are powerful allies andadvocates. Possibly due to their sup-port, Gail enjoys a certain degree ofautonomy and freedom to experi-ment and improve her developmen-tally appropriate kindergarten. She isconstantly looking for new ideas toenhance her classroom environmentand improve her curricula.

Gail’s reach extends beyond chil-dren and their families and nowincludes preservice teachers from alocal university. This collaborationfurther legitimizes her classroompractices. Seeking out kindergartenteachers like Gail who strive to pro-

vide develop-mentally appro-priate programsand placing stu-dents in theirclassrooms hasat least these

three benefits:• Their professionalism is enhanced.• Their selection as mentors gives

credence to and shows supportfor their professional classroompractices.

• Building administrators findout how much college studentsand their university professorsappreciate the guidance theirteachers provide the futureteachers.

First-Year Teaching Difficulties

Another former student’s first-yearexperiences in a kindergarten class-room also demonstrate difficultiesthat new graduates encounter whenthey begin to teach. While Amandawas in college, her instructor’s appre-ciation of Amanda’s potential andteaching ability was slow to develop.Amanda was a quiet student who satin the back of the room. It wasn’tuntil the instructor saw Amandaorchestrate The Paper Bag Princessinto a play with first graders that hertalent for teaching was revealed.Amanda’s obvious organizationalskills, sensitive support for children’screativity, and grasp of developmentalissues coalesced in a successful morn-ing of meaningful activities.

Amanda’s kindergarten studentteaching experience was less thanoptimal, leaving her discouraged.Chance encounters with her and thecampus supervisor provided a pic-ture of a classroom where tradition-al seat work was the norm. Never-theless, Amanda maintained hercommitment to a constructivistlearning approach.

After graduating from college,Amanda was hired by a school dis-trict that had recently secured fundsto provide all-day kindergarten, sogoals for children were being recon-sidered. There seemed to be a work-able match between the principal’sexpectations and Amanda’s teachingphilosophy.

However, halfway through herfirst year of teaching, Amandainformed her former professor thatshe was seriously considering notteaching kindergarten in that schoolnext year. The increasing pressure tocomplete workbooks at the expenseof more hands-on activities was dis-heartening. She resorted to hidingpretend-play props, bringing themout only when she felt confident thechildren would not be observedusing them.

Feeling dishonest and tornbetween what she knew childrenneeded and the principal’s mandates,she was unsure of her future as aneducator. Being a first-year teacherwith tenure, she was obviously muchmore vulnerable than teachers whohad learned to close their classroomdoors and teach in ways they knewwere best for children.

Amanda was in the survival stageof her teaching career (Katz, 1995).She needed “support, understand-ing, encouragement, reassurance,comfort, and guidance” (p. 206).Some more experienced teachers

Connect growth-mindedpreservice teacherswith beginning and veteran teachers.

ula when develop-ing lesson plans.When using theProject Approachto plan curriculum,start by becoming familiar with thethemes and competency goalsrequired for a particular grade levelor age group. Next, gather a varietyof books, videos, songs, and postersto enable children to gain anoverview of an overarching curricu-lum theme. The idea is to providechildren with a look at multipleaspects of the theme.

For example, a study of trans-portation might be required at thefirst-grade level. To introduce thetopic, a teacher could read aloudstories about airplanes, trains, andships. Display helicopters, rockets,passenger planes, submarines, andcargo ships on posters. Show a videodepicting journeys by train or otherunfamiliar vehicles. Play games withtransportation themes. Offer unitblocks and pretend play props thatencourage children to explore vari-ous modes of transportation. Lookat and draw maps of the local areawith children.

The time frame of this introduc-tory overview will depend on indi-vidual schedules and the ages of stu-dents. Whole-class group discus-sions, some recorded as experiencestories, children’s journal entries,and creative art explorations are vitalduring these activities.

As children engage in these intro-ductory activities, listen attentivelyto children’s voices. Encourage themto ask questions and make com-ments on their observations andexperiences. Teachers often askthemselves these questions: What dochildren wonder about? What partsof the theme spark keen interest?

How can thistheme be investi-gated with first-hand experiences?This reflective pro-

cess is where the topic idea surfaces.The best projects are those in whichthe both teacher and the studentsare curious. Remember, a teacher’senthusiasm is contagious!

Plan Experiences That Integrate Content

After a topic has been identifiedand children have brainstormed alist of their “wonderings” about thetopic, the teacher examines curricu-lum goals and designs relevant, sup-portive, age-appropriate learningexperiences. Ideally, teachers planlearning explorations, field trips,and guest speakers in collaborationwith a teaching team that mightinclude media, art, music, or otherspecialists in the school. Family andcommunity volunteers can also be atremendous source of help to orga-nize a project and gather expertiseon the topic.

All learning experiences duringthe project should reflect academicgoals from a variety of subject areas.For example, if measuring is a math-ematical skill the teacher wishes toinclude, incorporate an explorationin which children use measurement.For example, they might measure,and then record on paper, the widthand length of a train car before mak-ing replicas with craft sticks, milkcartons, and/or modeling dough.Children will learn to measure, per-haps discover proportion, and be

able to construct a class train that isto scale, too. Rulers, tape measures,yard sticks, or small cubes makegood measuring tools depending onthe items to be measured, the age ofthe children, and the grade-levelmath requirements. This task willalso provide opportunities to prob-lem-solve as students choose thebest-size train for the space andmaterials available.

The Worm ProjectThe first-grade teacher used this

curriculum-planning process for theworm project described at thebeginning of this article. This is howthe project came about.

One sunny morning, a group offirst graders and their teacher weredigging a small garden outside theentrance to their school. Severalworms were revealed during theprocess, inspiring an inquisitivechild to ask, “Why are there wormson the sidewalk after it rains?”

The teacher honestly replied, “Idon’t know. I wonder how we couldfind out.”

Both the teacher and students are curious.

Steps to Integrate the Cur-riculum Through Projects

• Become familiar with local,state, and national standards

• Observe children’s interests

• Offer introductory learningexperiences that pique chil-dren’s curiosity

• Note children’s responses andquestions

• Identify a specific topic withchildren

• Brainstorm what children won-der about this topic

• Plan explorations that promotehands-on learning tied to acad-emic goals

All learning experiencesreflect academic goals.


have learned how to incorporatemeaningful and relevant learningexperiences within the confines ofcurriculum demands. Amanda hadnot yet learned to be “bilingual”(Chenfield, 1993).

When teachers feel pressure toconform to teaching practices oragendas different from theirown, they may need to become“bilingual,” to speak the educa-tional lingo of the day when nec-essary, while continuing in theirown classroom to speak the “lan-guage of the spirit.” (p. 27)

Again, Amanda’s former profes-sor wondered if the teacher educa-tion program had unknowinglycontributed to Amanda’s difficulties.Wasn’t there a like-minded support-ive teacher in the school who couldhave allayed her isolation?

Amanda’s first-year difficultiesare now behind her. According tothe end-of-year evaluations, herkindergarten children achieved orexceeded district expectations. Hercredibility was established. Conse-quently, Amanda’s principal is morecomfortable with the developmen-tally appropriate learning experi-ences she provides in her classroom.No longer feeling as torn betweenacting upon her educational beliefsand pleasing her principal, Amandadecided to remain and completed asecond year as a kindergartenteacher.

Options for DealingWith ConflictingPhilosophies

Teachers’ experiences andresponses reflect the options avail-able to them when their profession-al preparation and educationalphilosophies conflict with thoseheld by school administrators or

supervisors. Gail, Amanda, andother excellent teachers can quietlydisregard the direction of adminis-tration while at the same time con-tinue to model and teach in waysthat are congruent with their beliefsystems. Teachers often refer to thisstrategy as “shutting the door anddoing what is best for children.” Ofcourse, this option is easier to exer-cise when the teacher has the securi-ty of tenure.

Another option is for teachers toteach in ways that conflict with theirown education and belief systems.Carrie and Sarah, to their great dis-comfort, chose this course of actionduring their first quarter of studentteaching. Amanda’s teaching situa-tion was similarly difficult. All ofthese young teachers experiencedthe stress of surreptitiously acting ontheir beliefs while at the same timeattempting to meet the expectationsof the principal.

When such a philosophical mis-match exists between how a teacherbelieves children should be taughtand administrative expectations, it is

no wonder that leaving the profes-sion appears to be an appealing solu-tion (Haupt & Ostland, 1997; Rush-er, McGrevin, & Lambiotte, 1992).

Ways to Support Professional Practices

Teachers who work hard to pro-vide developmentally appropriateclassrooms often feel isolated. Asone retired teacher stated, “It’stough out there” (F. Kerpsack, per-sonal communication, April 6,1999). These teachers deserve sup-port and recognition for theirefforts! What can early childhoodeducators do?

Become a vocal supporter. Artic-ulate that early childhood educatorsmake important contributions tochildren, families, and universitystudents.

Provide preservice teachers withopportunities to observe and par-ticipate in professional-practiceclassrooms. In so doing, college stu-dents can see how developmentaland learning theories are linked to

Nancy P. Alexander

College students continue to encounter disparities between what they havelearned and what their cooperating teacher expects.

The advantages of an integratedcurriculum are numerous for chil-dren’s holistic development. Socialskills, perspective taking, criticalthinking, and problem-solving tech-niques are among the skills thatmany teachers and administratorstoday hope to foster in young chil-dren. These skills fit comfortablyinto an integrated curriculum. Cer-tainly a firm knowledge base,emerging through multiple activitiesand constructed through everydayexperiences, is a plus for the inte-grated curriculum.

The integration of subject areasis not a new concept, yet applica-tion of this process continues to bea difficult skill for many teachers.Many teachers still wonder: “Itmakes sense, but how do I do it?”Young children’s inquiring mindsare a good place to begin to under-stand the way in which a number ofacademic areas can be approachedsimultaneously.

Children’s Inquiring MindsChildren are naturally inquisitive.

They continually question and seekanswers, a process that reflects chil-dren’s growing understanding of theworld around them. According toVygotsky’s theory of cognitive devel-opment, children construct theirown knowledge through shared cul-tural activity and language (Berk &Winsler, 1995). Piaget (1973) con-sidered children’s interactions withtheir physical and social environ-ment as necessary components in theconstruction of knowledge.

The early childhood curriculumemerges naturally when teachersbecome attentive to children’scuriosities. In response to theseexpressed interests, curriculum plansare made and shaped that attractchildren (Jones & Nimmo, 1994).The Southern Early ChildhoodAssociation and the National Asso-ciation for the Education of YoungChildren (NAEYC), among many

professional organizations, empha-size that teachers are responsible toknow and understand how childrenacquire knowledge and skills. Thebest teachers actively support chil-dren’s development (Bredekamp &Copple, 1997).

Ways to Integrate the Curriculum

Katz and Chard (2000) devel-oped the Project Approach as a wayof teaching and learning. Projectsare different from themes andunits. Themes and units are oftenprepackaged or planned beforeintroducing a topic to students.Learning experiences are designedto teach concepts the teacher deemsimportant. They are prepared inadvance and students are invited,sometimes required, to work on theactivities.

In contrast, project work usesstudents’ interests as a foundation todevelop explorations on a topic.Together, teachers and studentsshare areas of interest until a topicthat intrigues everyone surfaces.This is how the worm project origi-nated. Although projects tend to bedrawn from children’s everydayexperiences, both themes and pro-ject work can offer integrated sub-ject matter.

Projects also involve research. “Aproject is a piece of research about atopic...in which children’s ideas,questions, theories, predictions, andinterests are major determinants ofthe experiences provided and workaccomplished” (Katz & Chard,2000, p. 5).

The Topic Idea EmergesTeachers are often guided by

state- and district-mandated curric-

The worm project integrated writing, reading, social studies, and mathematics,all initiated by the children and guided by the teacher. These classroom experi-ences also provide for children’s developmental growth—social, emotional,physical, and intellectual.


classroom practice. Teacher educatorsactively are seeking classroom teach-ers who best exemplify developmen-tally appropriate practices! Telladministrators, school board mem-bers, and others how valuable theseclassroom teachers contributions areto the school and community.

Find ways to help early child-hood educators grow. Start a localprofessional network of monthly gettogethers to share ideas and visithigh-quality classrooms. Some top-ics addressed in one network includ-ed tips for writing grants, overviewof a school district’s literacy pro-gram, and creative ideas for learningcenters.

Nominate teachers for awards sothat others become familiar withtheir work. Recommend teacherswhen university adjunct teachingopportunities become available.

These and similar efforts bolstersupport for teachers who often feelisolated. A mutual support systemcan connect growth-minded preser-vice teachers with beginning andveteran teachers who use profession-al practices. Together, early child-hood educators can make an enor-mous difference in the professionaldevelopment of teachers who arenew to the field.

Authors’ notes: Carrie is currentlya kindergarten teacher in the sameschool as Gail. Both enjoy the supportof their principal, superintendent,and families of children enrolled intheir classrooms. They continue toadvocate and model developmentallyappropriate practices. Sarah is cur-rently teaching first graders. She con-

tinues to find ways to incorporatedevelopmentally appropriate practiceswith the school district’s early literacyprogram. Amanda is a kinder-garteacher in Girard, Ohio.

Special thanks to Mrs. Goist forher careful and thoughtful editing.

ReferencesBredekamp, S., & Rosegrant, T. (Eds.).

(1992). Reaching potentials: Appropriatecurriculum and assessment for youngchildren (Vol. 1). Washington, DC:National Association for the Educa-tion of Young Children.

Burts, D.C., Hart, C.H., Charlesworth,R., DeWolf, D.M., Ray, J., Manual,K., & Fleege, P.O. (1993). Develop-mental appropriateness of kindergartenprograms and academic outcomes infirst grade. Journal of Research in Child-hood Education, 8(1), 23-31.

Carter, G.J. (1992). How can the teachingintern deal with the disparity betweenhow she is taught to teach and how sheis expected to teach in real-world pri-mary grades? Young Children 47(6), 68-72.

Chase, B. (1999). Don’t get mad, getready! NEA Today 17(6), 2.

Chenfield, M.B. (1993). Teaching in thekey of life. Washington, DC: NationalAssociation for the Education of YoungChildren.

Gestwicki, C. (1999). Developmentallyappropriate practice: Curriculum anddevelopment in early education (2nded.). Albany, NY: Delmar.

Graue, E. (2001). What’s going on in thechildren’s garden? Kindergarten today.Young Children, 56(3), 67-73.

Haladyna, T., Hass, N., & Allison, J.(1998). Continuing tensions in stan-dardized testing. Childhood Education74(5), 262-275.

Hart, C.H., Burts, D.C., & Charlesworth,R. (1997). (Eds.). Integrated curriculumand developmentally appropriate prac-tices: Birth to age eight. Albany: StateUniversity of New York Press.

Hart, C.H., Charlesworth, R., Burts,D.C., & DeWolf, M. (1993, March).The relationship of attendance in devel-opmentally appropriate or inappropriatekindergarten classrooms to first and sec-ond grade behavior. Paper presented atthe biennial meeting of the Society forResearch in Child Development. NewOrleans, LA.

Haupt, J.H., & Ostlund, M. (1997).Informing parents, administrators, andteachers about developmentally appro-priate practices. In C. Hart., D. Burts,& R. Charlesworth (Eds.), Integratedcurriculum and developmentally appro-priate practices: Birth to age eight (pp.417-447). Albany: State University ofNew York Press.

Katz, L. (1993). Helping others with theirteaching. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearing-house on Elementary and Early Child-hood Education. (ERIC Catalog no.213)

Katz, L.G. (1995). Talks with teachers ofyoung children: A collection. Norwood,NJ: Ablex.

Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (2000). Engag-ing children’s minds: The ProjectApproach (2nd ed.). Norwood, NJ:Ablex.

Larsen, J.M., & Robinson, C. (1989).Later effects of preschool on low-riskchildren. Early Childhood ResearchQuarterly, 4, 133-144.

Moyer, J. (2001). The child-centeredkindergarten: A position paper. Child-hood Education, 77(3), 161-166.

Rusher, A.S., McGrevin, C.Z., & Lam-biotte, J.G. (1992). Belief systems ofearly childhood teachers and their prin-cipals regarding early childhood educa-tion. Early Childhood Research Quarter-ly, 7, 277-296.

Southern Early Childhood Association.(2002). Early literacy and beginning toread: A position statement of the South-ern Early Childhood Association. LittleRock, AR: Author.

Stork, S., & Engel, S. (1999). So, what isconstructivist teaching? A rubric forteacher evaluation. Dimensions of EarlyChildhood, 27(1), 20-27.

Two first-grade girls areshoveling dirt in a large plas-tic worm bin, feedingbananas and orange peels tothe creatures. “Look, babyworms!” Kerry exclaims asthe discovery is made.Tadewi notices the largestworms, the nightcrawlers,have made their home at thebottom of the container.Students continue to inves-tigate the habitat and behav-iors of the worms.

Nearby, two other chil-dren, clipboards in hand,record field notes and labelpersonal drawings of theirworm observations. In strate-gic locations around the room, books about worms offerchildren the necessary information and vocabulary towrite independently.

A small group of children congregates around a photo-graph of a 12-foot-long African worm. They participatein a lively discussion in which they compare the wormsfound in their school garden to some worms in Africa.

Other children measure and chart the lengths of sev-eral worms, and write their findings in their journals.One child creates a painting at the easel depicting hisrecent observation.

The atmosphere in this classroom is busy and active.Children are engaged in a variety of activities. They areinteracting with each other and physically engaged withtheir environment. Students are learning science con-

cepts and so much more!The worm-bin project hasintegrated writing, reading,social studies, and mathe-matics. Multiple learningopportunities are initiatedby the children and guidedby the teacher. Theseclassroom experiences alsoprovide for children’s devel-opmental growth—social,emotional, physical, andintellectual.

Why Integrate the Curriculum?

Early childhood theorists, both past and present, con-tinue to view young children as thinkers and investiga-tors who strive to relate their personal experiences tonew encounters, including their school experiences(DeVries & Kohlberg, 1987; Dewey, 1916; Piaget,1973). “When a single subject is related to the everydayworld, a marvelous thing happens—other subject fieldsare brought into the picture” (Tanner, 1997, p. 82).

Language, Math, Social Studies, and ...Worms?Integrating the Early Childhood Curriculum

Mary K. McCoy

Mary K. McCoy, M.Ed., is an Early Childhood Educationdoctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma, Norman.She is an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma City CommunityCollege and the University of Central Oklahoma. McCoyhas 20 years of teaching experience with children from briththrough third grade.

At first glance, a study of worms appears to be a science activity isolated fromother subject areas, such as reading, writing, mathematics, and social studies.However, upon closer examination of this first-grade project, a variety ofacademic content areas are addressed.

Photos courtesy of the author

An introductory lesson on the handling of wormsinvolved all students. Working in pairs, childrensecured a worm from the bin and placed it on a flatsurface to observe.

If you do not wish to have your name appear on SECA’s rented list, pleasecontact the SECA office at 800-305-7322 or (501) 221-1648.

Notice to SECA Members

MEMBERS AT LARGE

PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE

I just returned from Tampa, Florida, where Iworked on the Child Welfare League of Ameri-ca’s Standards of Excellence for Child Care, Development and Educationprograms. It is an amazing process, which I believe will produce an excellentproduct.

The League invites about 25 professionals from various regions of thenation and with different expertise and perspectives to come together toproduce the Standards of Excellence. The standards were about 10 years oldand really out of date. These standards are used by organizations and gov-ernments that are trying to upgrade their standards or establish new stan-dards.

The most interesting part of this exercise is deciding what excellence is.Is 50 square feet per child the standard of excellence or is 35 square feetenough? Are three infants per teacher the standard of excellence, or can youachieve excellence of care with a 1 to 4 ratio? Is an Associate Degree in EarlyChildhood Education the standard of excellence for lead teachers, or dothey need a Bachelor’s Degree or Masters?

What is really interesting is the variance from state to state in the licens-ing standards as well as the level of monitoring. Some states require anyonecaring for an unrelated child for pay to be regulated, while other states allowindividuals to care for as many as six unrelated children for pay withoutbeing regulated. There are states where the licensing counselor visits the reg-ulated program seven times a year with six of those visits being unan-nounced, and there are states where the licensing counselor only visits theprogram when they do the annual license review.

As we worked through the different sections of the standards, we refer-enced the NAEYC Accreditation Standards and CWLA’S Council onAccreditation Standards, and as you might expect they each have differentstandard of excellence. The final dynamic that factored into deciding whatis a standard of excellence is the individual/professional perspective. It wasamazing to see how an issue was assessed based on if you were a licensingcounselor, a director, a consultant, or an administrator of a multi-serviceagency or a special needs program. One of the participants pointed out thatdeveloping standards of excellence for child care, development, and educa-tion programs is not a science but an art.

The reason I am sharing this experience with you is that it points

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STAFFGlenda Bean

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Sarah MoseleyMembership Services Coordinator

Jenny RyanProgram Services Coordinator continued on page 14


Book Reviews

Books for Early Childhood Educatorsby E. Anne Eddowes, Editor

Understanding Waldorf Educa-tion: Teaching From the Inside Outby Jack Petrash. Beltsville, MD:Gryphon House, 2002, 160 pp.,$19.95.

Teachers and parents who longfor a more meaningful education forall children will find stimulation inPetrash’s easy-to-read book. Thejourney into the concepts andnuances of Waldorf educationbegins on the cover, which featuresthe guiding principle of Understand-ing Waldorf Education, TeachingFrom the Inside Out. There is aphoto of flawless, green apples, oneshown whole, the other cut acrossits circumference, strikingly differ-ent from the usual stem down wayapples are cut. The book describesSteiner’s belief that true educationcomes through a process of drawingout the innate capacities and capa-bilities of children, rather thanattempting to add on mere informa-tion. Creative thinking “outside thebox” is valued.

Early in the 20th century, Austri-an philosopher Rudolph Steinerbased Waldorf education on thepremise that human possibility isinfinite. Waldorf education address-es development of the whole child,the inner, more qualitative aspects aswell as the more quantitative physi-cal and cognitive aspects. Similar toHoward Gardner’s (1983) theory ofmultiple intelligences, Waldorf edu-cators consider all children gifted inat least one area. Growth instrengths and weaknesses is evaluat-

ed through teacher observations,anecdotal reports, and children’sproducts that are defined and dis-tilled throughout the year to create aportfolio for each child. Althoughpreparation for standardized testingis not emphasized, Waldorf childrenobtain favorable results on the oblig-atory standardized tests.

Several unique features of Wal-dorf education are noteworthy.First, the same teacher moves for-ward with a class from first througheighth grade. This allows for deepknowledge and understanding ofstudents and teachers, and increasesteaching efficiency. It also providesteachers with opportunities forongoing reflection on their teachingstrategies and effectiveness as eachchild matures.

Second, Waldorf educationadheres to a thematic approach inwhich basic skills are taught andpracticed in the context of topicsderived from the children’s naturalcuriosity, interests, and develop-mental status. For example, youngchildren are active and learnthrough play. Waldorf classroomsare designed to be both stimulatingand protective so that childrenengage with and explore materials innumerous ways that assist develop-ment emotionally, mentally, andphysically.

Third, the Waldorf preschoolcurriculum, like developmentallyappropriate practice, avoids directteaching of academics. Nor are aca-demics taught via traditional meth-

ods in early grade school classrooms.Instead, teachers introduce new top-ics in context and immerse the class-room in targeted concepts. Forexample, letters are taught usingobjects that relate to them, such asusing the image of a snake (or thereal thing, if available) to teach theletter S.

Each chapter of UnderstandingWaldorf Education begins with aquote appropriate to its contents.For example, Chapter 2, titled Head,Heart, and Hands begins with aquote from William Butler Yeats:“Education is not the filling of a pail,but the lighting of a fire” (p. 23).

Chapters 1 and 2 are an overview,including a rationale for and a struc-tural outline of, Waldorf education.Chapters 3 through 5 discuss andillustrate the Waldorf Preschool,Grade School, and High School cur-ricula. Chapters 6 and 7 identifyattributes of good Waldorf parentsand teachers. The final chapter reca-pitulates the book, tying Waldorfeducation to the fullness of human-ity, spiritual connections and well-being, unspoken and spokenlessons, and moral education. Eachchapter is followed by references,and an alphabetical list of referencesis also found at the end of the text.There is a reasonably comprehensiveindex.

Petrash was trained in Waldorfeducation and has seen three classesof students from first througheighth grade at the WashingtonWaldorf School. He has created an


engaging presentation of what musttranspire between students andteachers in order to educate deeplycitizens for a democratic society.

— Carole S. CampbellArkansas State UniversityState University, Arkansas

Make Way for Literacy! Teachingthe Way Young Children Learn byGretchen Owocki. Portsmouth,NH: Heinemann and Washington,DC: National Association for theEducation of Young Children(NAEYC), 2001, 210 pp., $11.00.

Make Way for Literacy! was writ-ten to assist teachers in creating aclassroom community that supportsthe developing literacies of all chil-dren. The book describes thesedeveloping literacies from a develop-mental, sociocultural perspective,which focuses on the connectionbetween children’s socioculturalcontexts and their cognitive process-es for living and growing. This bookis designed for teachers workingwith children ages 4 to 9.

Owocki begins by explaininghow literacy develops, then givesguidelines for evaluating literacy,which emphasize a comprehensiveassessment of children’s literacydevelopment. The author includes anumber of forms that can be used inthe assessment process, as well assample types of communication touse in working with families. Owoc-ki also explains the processes she andcolleagues have used to researchquestions in the classroom, tellinghow theory and practice are recur-sive in nature.

A major portion of the book con-tains practical, curriculum-enhanc-ing ideas that can be used by theclassroom teacher, but these ideasare not presented in a typical idea-book format. Rather, the authorgives examples of inquiry directionsthat a teacher might want to take asshe or he works with different typesof literacy engagements. Owockidefines these as “classroom experi-ences for supporting children’s liter-acy growth” (p. 49). The ideas pre-

sented, along with supportive infor-mation, are designed to help teach-ers create a classroom environmentin which children may use their“hundred languages” to demon-strate their literacy knowledge. Par-ticularly interesting is the variety ofways the author suggests for class-room communities to explore vari-ous genre of children’s literature. Alist of children’s books that supportemergent literacy is included in theappendix.

Make Way for Literacy! is a bookthat could be read by the beginningteacher for helpful information con-cerning getting started in literacyactivities with young children. It isalso an interesting book for experi-enced early childhood educatorswho want a fresh look at literacyengagements in a classroom setting.

— Janette C. WetselUniversity of Central

OklahomaEdmond, Oklahoma

Editor - Janet Brown McCrackenCover photo by Kingwood Day School

Montessori

Dimensions ofEarly Childhood

Copyright ©2003, Southern Early ChildhoodAssociation (SECA). Permission is not required toexcerpt or make copies of articles in Dimensions ofEarly Childhood if they are distributed at no cost.Contact the Copyright Clearance Center at (978)750-8400 or www.copyright.com for permissionfor academic photocopying (coursepackets, studyguides, etc.). Indexes for Dimensions of Early Child-hood are posted on the SECA website atwww.SouthernEarlyChildhood.org. Additionalcopies of Dimensions of Early Childhood may bepurchased at $2.00 per copy through the SECAoffice by calling (800) 305-SECA. Dimensions ofEarly Childhood (ISSN 1068-6177) is SECA’s quar-terly journal. Third Class postage is paid at LittleRock,Arkansas. SECA does not accept responsibil-ity for statements of facts or opinion which appearin Dimensions of Early Childhood.

Authors are encouraged to ask for a copy ofSECA’s manuscript guidelines. Submit manuscriptsthat are typed and double spaced with referencesin APA style. E-mail manuscripts for review to theeditor at [email protected]..

SECA serves the interests of early childhoodeducators concerned with child development,including university researchers and teacher edu-cators; early childhood, kindergarten, and primary-grade teachers; and early childhood programadministrators and proprietors.The association hasaffiliates in 13 Southern states. Non-affiliate mem-berships are available to anyone living outside the13 affiliate states. For information about joiningSECA, contact the executive offices at P.O. Box55930, Little Rock, AR 72215-5930, (501) 221-1648. Members receive a one-year subscription toDimensions of Early Childhood and discounts onSECA publications and conference registration fees.

Southern Early Childhood Association8500 W. Markham St., Suite 105P.O. Box 55930Little Rock, AR 72215-5930(501) 221-1648 • fax (501) 227-5297e-mail: [email protected]: www.southernearlychildhood.org

—Refereed Articles—

3Language, Math, Social Studies, and...Worms?Integrating the Early Childhood Curriculum

Mary K. McCoy

9Say It—Sign It—Do It!

Using Sign Language With Young ChildrenSharon A. Lynch

15Responding to the Events of September 11, 2001:

One Program’s StoryRena A. Hallam, Jennifer Grisham-Brown, and Charlotte Manno

22Effects of Television Violence on Young Children:

Viewed From Vygotsky’s Sociocultural PerspectiveCallum B. Johnston

33Aligning Professional Preparation and Practice:

Bringing Constructivist Learning to KindergartenDenise A. Da Ros-Voseles, Debra Danyi, and Jacquelyn Aurilio

—Departments—

2President’s Message

Phil Acord

31Strategies to Support Children—


39Book Reviews—Books for Early Childhood Educators

E. Anne Eddowes, Editor

SouthernEarly ChildhoodAssociation Dimensions

Volume 31, Number 2 Spring/Summer 2003

of Early Childhood

Have You RenewedYour Membership?If you have not yet received your member-ship renewal form, please let us know sothat you can get the latest information onwhat’s happening at the state and nationallevels. Your SECA affiliate can provide thisfor you. If you live outside the SECAregion, please contact the SECA office atP.O. Box 55930, Little Rock, AR, 72215-5930.Phone: (501) 221-1648 or 800-305-7322

We’re very excited about countingyou as a member!

Submit DimensionsManuscripts by E-Mail!

SECA’s Publications Advisory Committee ispleased to announce that effective immediately,manuscripts for review in the association’s profes-sional journal are being accepted by e-mail.Check SECA’s Web site—www.southernearly-childhood.org—to make sure your manuscriptmeets Dimensions’ guidelines.

Suitable manuscripts may be submitted for publication consideration to

[email protected]’s peer review procedures are also being con-ducted by e-mail. Relying on electronic documents isfar more efficient in all phases of the review and pro-duction process.

Menu for Successful Parent & Family Involvement

written by Paul J. Wirtz and Bev Schumacher

Getting parents involved in an early childhood program takes creativity, great ideas, and strategies that make it easy for parents to become involved.

This newest SECA publication explores successful experiences in working with families and helps you develop a "menu" ofactivities and strategies that will promote parental involvement.The book includes ideas for all early childhood programs,including group settings and family day homes.$5.50 SECA Members, $6.50 Non-Members. ISBN #0-942388-28-3

New! From SECA Publications!

Call 1-800-305-7322 to order today.

Powerful, Positive and Practical Practices: Behavior Guidance Strategieswritten by Jeanette C. Nunnelley, Ed.D.

When asked about the most commonproblem in the early childhoodeducational setting or in the home,most adults say, “Getting the children to behave!” Obtaining the behaviors we want in ourclassrooms and our homesrequires knowledge of children,planning for changes inbehavior, and resources to

help guidance techniques.

This booklet is intended for anyone who nurtures and caresfor pre-school children. Although it is primarily directed toteachers in a structured setting, the family is the firstteacher; therefore many of the ideas apply to either the class-room or the home.

$5.50 SECA Members$6.50 Non-membersISBN-0942388-27-5

Call 1-800-305-7322to order today.

Hurry and order

your SECA products today

by calling SECA at 1-800-305-SECA

for a complete order form.

A Little Literacy Goes a Long Way:SECA and August House proudly present a collection of diverse folktale picture books, eachwith its own teacher's guide. The teacher's guides contain a variety of meaningfuland FUN literature experiences for young children.

Each teacher's guide contains:• A summary of the storybook and the awards that it's won.• Background on the story subject and author.• Ideas for "setting the stage" before reading the story.• Suggestions on how to use vocabulary.• Tips on how to read the story.• Activities, including:

– critics chair.– questions to jumpstart discussions.– integration activities for social studies, math, science, field trips, snack time.

• Extended literacy activities such as letter recognition and family involvement activities.• A list of additional teacher resources for literacy.

Take a few minutes to share a story with a child today and prove.... A Little Literacy Goes a Long Way!

PO Box 3223 • Little Rock, AR 72203 • 501-372-5450 • 1-800-284-8784

Other titles with Teacher's Guides:

For a preview of each Teacher's Guide and book, go to the

August House website atwww.augusthouse.com

SouthernEarly ChildhoodAssociation

of Early Childhood

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Inside this issue:Responding to Emergencies

Signing With Children

Integrated Curriculum

Constructivist Kindergartens

Effects of TV Violence

8500 W. Markham, Ste. 105 • Little Rock, AR 72205P.O. Box 55930 • Little Rock, AR 72215-5930Office: (501) 221-1648 • FAX: (501) 227-5297Toll Free: 800-305-7322 • www.SouthernEarlyChildhood.org

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Dimensions

Documents

Go to after June 1, 2003€¦ · · 2015-09-14agency or a special needs program. ... -Virginia--West Virginia-EDITORIAL BOARD Loraine Dunn ... Howard Gardner’s (1983) theory of