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Assignment | Persuasive Play Paper (Ferguson & Gatlin): Getting Started

TECA 1354 | Profs. Gatlin, Ferguson (Fall 2022)

Assignment

Your Goals:

  • 2 sources via research databases (no websites!)
  • 1 source = textbook
  • APA (professional format) paper
    • 3-5 pages (not including title page and references)

Start Taking Notes to Organize Your Thoughts

Start with your textbook to begin identifying parts of your answer to the assignment's guiding question: Why is play important to the development of children? (Focused on PreK - 3rd grade)

Textbooks provide helpful overviews of topics, making them a good place to start gathering ideas...plus, you already have it lying around. Convenient!

You know what points you need to cover in your paper, so start taking notes in an outline format to organize your research. This way you'll know what you know -- and where the gaps are that you need to fill in with additional sources.

Starter notes from textbook and assignment. First time is headed "5 types of play (p. 241)" followed by examples from the assignment description, solitary and cooperative. Another set starts naming cultural angles from p. 244.

Topics that must be included in your essay:

  1. The 5 Types of Play (explain each type and give examples)
  2. Gender Differences in how Children Play
  3. Cultural Impact on Play
  4. How to Insert Play into a Early Childhood Classroom
  5. Why Play is Important

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