In chapter 3, Kenny plays dinosaurs with his friends. His imaginative play with the dinosaurs is very different than the way we see dinosaurs played with these days.
The following is taken from an article from the University of Oregon regarding the purposes of imaginative play:
Function of Imaginative Play • Problem-solving - Children 'play through' ideas in much the same way that we (grownups) 'talk through' ideas or think inside our heads.
• Perspective-taking - Children use role-play to process events occurring around them. Pretending to be 'the mom' is a great way to gain perceived control!
• Development of abstract thought - Children use imaginative play as a way to 'think through' problems or issues they don't understand. Being able to accept a substitute item (like a stick for a plane) requires a more sophisticated level of thinking that leads to the way we, as adults, process information in our heads.
1.How is Kenny's imaginative play with his dinosaurs different than what we expect?
2.What functions do you think his play serves?
3. If he were playing with dinosaurs today, what roles might the dinosaurs play?
In chapter 2 of The Watsons, Kenny speaks about reading a Langston Hughes poem to the class.
Look at the following video/slideshow of the Langston Hughes poem, Dreams.
Think about how the creator of this video chose different very specific images to reflect the meaning of every line in this poem. For example for the line "hold fast to dreams" showed someone holding their hand with the world in the background.
3. In your comment, copy the lines and give a detailed description of the picture you would put on the background of each of those lines if you were creating a video.
