Description
Book SynopsisOffers the first comprehensive guide to the world of cooperative play and games for pre-K-12 learning. The book includes a thorough pedagogical rationale and guidelines for practice, a survey of related research and scholarship, engaging anecdotes, illustrations, historical background, and an array of sample games to try.
Table of Contents
- Contents
- Foreword ix
- Acknowledgments xiii
- Introduction 1
- About Playing Together 1
- Why This Book? 3
- Contents of This Book 5
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- PART I. FOUNDATIONS OF COOPERATIVE GAMES
- 1. What Are Cooperative Play and Games? 8
- Understanding Play 8
- Defining Cooperative Games 10
- A Brief History of Cooperative Games 10
- Theories of Learning and Play Supporting Cooperative Games 12
- Playful Learning 16
- Meeting Current Challenges in Play with Cooperative Games 17
- Chapter Summary 21
- Play to Learn—Try This! 22
- 2. Learning to Cooperate 24
- Understanding Cooperation 25
- Forms of Cooperation 26
- What Cooperation Is Not 27
- Roots of Cooperation 28
- Social Interdependence Theory: Cooperation versus Competition 30
- Learning Cooperation in School 32
- Teaching Cooperation Through Play and Games 33
- What Research Says About Teaching Cooperation Through Games 35
- Chapter Summary 36
- Play to Learn—Try This! 37
- 3. Rethinking Competition 39
- Defining Terms 40
- Documented Downsides of Competition 42
- Handling Competition With Care in the Classroom 48
- Chapter Summary 49
- Play to Learn—Try This! 50
- PART II. SOME COOPERATIVE GAMES AND GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICE
- 4. A Gallery of Cooperative Games 52
- Cooperative Games for Welcoming and Inclusion 53
- Cooperative Games for Trust-Building and Empathy 55
- Cooperative Games for Community-Building 56
- Cooperative Games to Prevent Bullying 57
- Cooperative Games for Young Children 59
- Cooperative Games for Older Children, Tweens, and Teens 61
- Cooperative Games to Teach Language Arts 62
- Cooperative Games to Teach Math 63
- Cooperative Games to Teach Science 64
- Classic Cooperative Play Activities 66
- Chapter Summary 66
- Play to Learn—Try This! 67
- 5. A Guide to Facilitating Cooperative Games 68
- The Five Steps of Facilitating Games 69
- Designing Cooperative Games 75
- Converting Competitive Games to Cooperative Games 78
- Chapter Summary 79
- Play to Learn—Try This! 79
- PART III. APPLICATIONS OF COOPERATIVE GAMES
- 6. Cooperative Games to Support Cooperative Learning 82
- Background on Cooperative Learning 83
- Using Cooperative Games to Support Cooperative Learning 85
- A Cooperative Games Training Program for Cooperative Learning 86
- Chapter Summary 91
- Play to Learn—Try This! 91
- 7. Cooperative Games and the "Soft Skills" 93
- Teaching the Whole Student 93
- Pedagogy of Cooperative Games for Social and Emotional Learning 94
- Cooperative Games and Classroom Climate 98
- Cooperative Games for Moral Education 100
- Chapter Summary 101
- Play to Learn—Try This! 102
- 8. Cooperative Games to Prevent Aggression 103
- The Aggressive Student 103
- Group Aggression: Fighting Together 105
- Treating Group Aggression 110
- Cooperative Games to Reduce Group Aggression at School 112
- Chapter Summary 116
- Play to Learn—Try This! 117
- 9. Cooperative Games in Early Childhood Education 119
- Young Children and Play 120
- Cooperative Play—The Capstone of Early Childhood Social Development 122
- How Cooperative Play Promotes Social Development 123
- Two Definitions of Cooperative Play 125
- Summary of Important Differences Between Competitive and Cooperative Play 126
- How to Use Cooperative Games in the Early Childhood Classroom 128
- Chapter Summary 133
- Play to Learn—Try This! 134
- Epilogue: Putting It All Together: A Pedagogy of Cooperative Games 136
- Elements of the Pedagogical Framework 136
- Conclusion 139
- Appendix A. Answers to Questions for Reflection 141
- Appendix B. Resources for Further Exploration 145
- References 147
- Index 154
- About the Author 161
