Jackie Marsh

This book explores changes in the nature of the relationship between play, media and commercial culture through a comparison of play in the 1950s/60s and the present day, examining the continuities and discontinuities in play over time. There are many aspects of play which remain the same today as they were sixty years ago, which relate to the purposes of play, the way in which children weave in material from a range of sources in their play, including media, and how they play with each other. Differences in play between now and the mid-twentieth century are due to the very different social and cultural worlds children now inhabit, in which technology is central to many play activities. Challenging deficit notions of play in contemporary society and providing evidence to contest the recurrent myth of the disappearance of play, the book: Provides an historical account of changes in the relationship between play, media and commercial culture over the past sixty yearsOffers fascinating, illuminating and direct accounts of children playing in the 1950s / 60s and today Engages with the work of the renowned folklorists Iona and Peter Opie and reviews their legacyAddresses key issues such as outdoor play, technology and play, and gender and play"Changing Play recovers the groundbreaking work of Iona and Peter Opie, making it relevant and consequential for the contemporary study of children, play and media cultures. Marsh and Bishop convincingly demonstrate how children's play practices, when approached on their own terms, exhibit a persistent dynamism that cannot and should not be reduced to simple exclamations of panic or celebration." Daniel Thomas Cook, Department of Childhood Studies, Rutgers University USA"Using the work of Iona and Peter Opie as a benchmark, Changing Play tracks the continuities in children's play and the changes that have taken place over the past half-century. The research juxtaposes the memories of children who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s with observations of and conversations with today's children in Sheffield and London; in doing so it allays much of the current anxiety about consumption and the media. Timely and topical, Changing Play will find its place alongside the Opies' classic volumes." Hugh Cunningham, University of Kent, UKAuthor of The Invention of Childhood"This important new text challenges the prevailing view that children's play has been contaminated by access to digital technologies. In exploring accounts of children's play from the 1950s and 60s to the present day against the backdrop of rapid changes within media and commercial markets, the authors skillfully reveal the particular ways in which children's play has changed and stayed the same. In so doing, they invite the reader to reject romantic notions of 'lost childhoods' and embrace the realities and richness of children's play in the 21st century. I highly recommend this book." Professor Trisha Maynard, Director, Research Centre for Children, Families and Communities, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

Offering an overview of the major fields in literacy studies, this book presents a detailed and accessible discussion of key theories and their relevance in the primary classroom. Each chapter uses a real life case study to explore the application of theory in practice, followed by a detailed discussion of the case study material by a leading name in the field, including contributions from Barbara Comber, Michele Knobel, Colin Lankshear, Gunther Kress, Brian Street, Kevin Leander and Patricia Enciso. The text also offers reflections on theoretical foundations for research, exploring literacy as a practice grounded in social, cultural, historical and political contexts and in relationships of power. This second edition includes: New chapters covering digital literacy, space and play, and multimodalityExamples and contributions from a range of international contexts, including US, UK, Canada, Australia and South AfricaFurther reading links. Essential reading for students at undergraduate and post-graduate level on primary education courses and an invaluable guide for anyone wanting to understand literacy theory and successfully apply this to the classroom.

Offering an overview of the major fields in literacy studies, this book presents a detailed and accessible discussion of key theories and their relevance in the primary classroom. Each chapter uses a real life case study to explore the application of theory in practice, followed by a detailed discussion of the case study material by a leading name in the field, including contributions from Barbara Comber, Michele Knobel, Colin Lankshear, Gunther Kress, Brian Street, Kevin Leander and Patricia Enciso. The text also offers reflections on theoretical foundations for research, exploring literacy as a practice grounded in social, cultural, historical and political contexts and in relationships of power. This second edition includes: New chapters covering digital literacy, space and play, and multimodalityExamples and contributions from a range of international contexts, including US, UK, Canada, Australia and South AfricaFurther reading links. Essential reading for students at undergraduate and post-graduate level on primary education courses and an invaluable guide for anyone wanting to understand literacy theory and successfully apply this to the classroom.

This bold, forward-thinking text offers a clear rationale for the development of curricula and pedagogy that will reflect young people’s in-school and out-of-school popular culture practices. By providing a sound theoretical framework and addressing popular culture and new technologies in the context of literacy teacher education, this book marks a significant step forward in literacy teaching and learning. It takes a cross-disciplinary approach and brings together contributions from some of the world’s leading figures in the field. Topics addressed include:children’s popular culture in the homeinformal literacies and pedagogic discoursenew technologies and popular culture in children’s everyday livesteachers working with popular culture in the classroom. This book illustrates the way in which literacy is evolving through popular culture and new technology and is an influential read for teachers, students, researchers and policy makers.

Karen Wohlwend provides a new framework for rethinking the boundaries between literacy and play, so that play itself is viewed as a literacy practice along with reading, writing, and design. Through a variety of theoretical lenses, the author presents a portrait of literacy play that connects three play groups: the girls and, importantly, boys, who played with Disney Princess media; "Just Guys" who used design and sports media to make a boys-only space; and a group of children who played teacher with big books and other school texts. These young children "play by design," using play not only as a literacy to transform the texts that they read, write, and draw, but also as a tactic to transform their relational identities in the social spaces of peer and school cultures. Emphasizing the importance of play despite current high-stakes testing demands, this book:Provides an argument for re-centering play in early childhood curricula where play functions as a literacy in its own right. Offers cutting-edge analyses and examples of new literacies, popular culture, and multimodal discourses. Illustrates how children’s play can both produce and challenge normative discourses regarding ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Examines the multimodal, multimedia textual practices of young children as they play across tensions among popular media, peer relationships, and school literacy. Features vivid descriptions, examples of young children in action, and photographs.

Library Technology Reports August/September 2011 vol. 47 / no.6 This issue of Library Technology Reports, conceived and coordinated by the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Research and Statistics, focuses on the evolution and current state of public-access technologies in public libraries from the infrastructure, services, and resources perspectives. This issue brings together longitudinal data, key issues, trends, and best practices that will provide library staff with tools for planning, advocacy, and service enhancements. A number of prominent library professionals contributed their expertise to this issue. Authors and topics include John carlo Bertot, Paul T. Jaeger, Emily E. Wahl, and Kathryn I. Sigler on Public Libraries and the Internet: An Evolutionary Perspective; Nicole D. Alemanne, Lauren H. Mandel, and Charles R. McClure on The Rural Public Library as Leader in Community Broadband Services; Robert A. Caluori, Jr. on Successfully Planning a Scalable and Effective Patron Wireless Network; Nancy Fredericks on E-Government and Employment Support Services; Larra Clark and Marijke Visser on Digital Literacy; and Stephanie Gerding on Transforming Public Library Patron Technology Training.

This bold, forward-thinking text offers a clear rationale for the development of curricula and pedagogy that will reflect young people’s in-school and out-of-school popular culture practices. By providing a sound theoretical framework and addressing popular culture and new technologies in the context of literacy teacher education, this book marks a significant step forward in literacy teaching and learning. It takes a cross-disciplinary approach and brings together contributions from some of the world’s leading figures in the field. Topics addressed include:children’s popular culture in the homeinformal literacies and pedagogic discoursenew technologies and popular culture in children’s everyday livesteachers working with popular culture in the classroom. This book illustrates the way in which literacy is evolving through popular culture and new technology and is an influential read for teachers, students, researchers and policy makers.

Most children engage with a range of popular cultural forms outside of school. Their experiences with film, television, computer games and other cultural texts are very motivating, but often find no place within the official curriculum, where children are usually restricted to conventional forms of literacy. This book demonstrates how to use children's interests in popular culture to develop literacy in the primary classroom. The authors provide a theoretical basis for such work through an exploration of related theory and research, drawing from the fields of education, sociology and cultural studies. Teachers are often concerned about issues of sexism, racism, violence and commercialism within the discourse of children's media texts. The authors address each of these areas and show how such issues can be explored directly with children. They present classroom examples of the use of popular culture to develop literacy in schools and include interviews with children and teachers regarding this work. This book is relevant to all teachers and students who want to develop their understanding of the nature and potential role of popular culture within the curriculum. It will also be useful to language co-ordinators, advisers, teacher educators and anyone interested in media education in the 5-12 age-range.

Most children engage with a range of popular cultural forms outside of school. Their experiences with film, television, computer games and other cultural texts are very motivating, but often find no place within the official curriculum, where children are usually restricted to conventional forms of literacy. This book demonstrates how to use children's interests in popular culture to develop literacy in the primary classroom. The authors provide a theoretical basis for such work through an exploration of related theory and research, drawing from the fields of education, sociology and cultural studies. Teachers are often concerned about issues of sexism, racism, violence and commercialism within the discourse of children's media texts. The authors address each of these areas and show how such issues can be explored directly with children. They present classroom examples of the use of popular culture to develop literacy in schools and include interviews with children and teachers regarding this work. This book is relevant to all teachers and students who want to develop their understanding of the nature and potential role of popular culture within the curriculum. It will also be useful to language co-ordinators, advisers, teacher educators and anyone interested in media education in the 5-12 age-range.

`Here is timely and extremely useful exposition and guidance on the management and procedure of language and literacy teaching. Practical advice is offered on the breadth of the role of the primary school English subject leader right from the starting point of compiling an application for such a post. The extensive and thorough coverage is frequently supported by reference to current demands and expectations, including the Framework for teaching of The National Literacy Project. An impressive adjunct to the detail is the applied anecdotal evidence and the inclusion of actual examples of documentation devised and in use in schools. I was pleased to note such aspects as the conferencing technique for both reading and writing being integral to everyday strategies' - School Librarian `Everything co-ordinators need on policy development, implementation and evaluation in English, language and literacy' - Junior Education High quality teaching in English language and literacy is a central part of the primary school curriculum. The coordinator has a key role to play in building on good practice, introducing new ways of working and monitoring their effectiveness. This book is written for coordinators and for those who are intending to take on the subject leadership, and addresses the issues of policy development, implementation and evaluation in primary English. By drawing on background theory and research, the authors provide clear guidance on the central tasks of subject co-ordination. Case study material is used to illustrate development work in English language and literacy in primary schools. The authors give up-to-date and practical advice on how to understand the processes of change.