Winner Australian Publishers Award Best Primary Teacher Reference for 2003 Winner Drama Victoria Award - Best New Drama Education Publication for 2002 Teachers have long recognised the positive effects that come from using drama in their classrooms. It is a powerful teaching tool that can be used to develop a childs written, visual and oral literacy leading to better academic results right across the curriculum regardless of social or cultural background. Covering the pre-school and primary years, and leading into lower secondary it provides a conceptual background of the teaching structures and strategies of drama education.

The buzz word in education today is accountability. But the federal mandate of "no child left behind" has come to mean curriculums driven by preparation for standardized tests and quantifiable learning results. Even for very young children, unstructured creative time in the classroom is waning as teachers and administrators are under growing pressures to measure school readiness through rote learning and increased homework. In her new book, Vivian Gussin Paley decries this rapid disappearance of creative time and makes the case for the critical role of fantasy play in the psychological, intellectual, and social development of young children. A Child's Work goes inside classrooms around the globe to explore the stunningly original language of children in their role-playing and storytelling. Drawing from their own words, Paley examines how this natural mode of learning allows children to construct meaning in their worlds, meaning that carries through into their adult lives. Proof that play is the work of children, this compelling and enchanting book will inspire and instruct teachers and parents as well as point to a fundamental misdirection in today's educational programs and strategies.

What could have been a quiet afternoon at home turns into an adventure for Jimmy and his dad. Their couch turns into a boat! The staircase becomes a mountain! And blankets become a cozy hut, just right to cuddle inside. The one thing they don't have to pretend is how much they love one another. Jennifer Plecas's bold artwork and lively text come together in a celebration of imagination and the love between a parent and child. Great for Father's Day, but wonderful for any day that parent and child spend together.

Molly Arnette is very good at keeping secrets. She lives in San Diego with a husband she adores, and they are trying to adopt a baby because they can't have a child on their own. But the process of adoption brings to light many questions about Molly's past and her family-the family she left behind in North Carolina twenty years before. The mother she says is dead but who is very much alive. The father she adored and whose death sent her running from the small community of Morrison's Ridge. Her own birth mother whose mysterious presence in her family raised so many issues that came to a head. The summer of twenty years ago changed everything for Molly and as the past weaves together with the present story, Molly discovers that she learned to lie in the very family that taught her about pretending. If she learns the truth about her beloved father's death, can she find peace in the present to claim the life she really wants? Told with Diane Chamberlain's compelling prose and gift for deft exploration of the human heart, Pretending to Dance is an exploration of family, lies, and the complexities of both.

Hog is careful. Harold is not.Harold cannot help smiling. Hog can.Hog worries so that Harold does not have to. Harold and Hog are best friends. But can Harold and Hog's friendship survive a game of pretending to be Elephant & Piggie?

You can't pretend forever. Alicia has been pretending for a long time. She pretends that her marriage isn't in trouble. She pretends she's okay with the nights alone and that she doesn't notice the growing distance between her and her husband. She pretends he's telling the truth. But pretending is a lot more difficult when Antonio Jamieson comes back into her life. He's the man she has claimed is nothing more than a friend. He's the man she has claimed she has no romantic past with. And she really believes that—but no else does, not even her husband. As others try to open her eyes to the truth about her feelings for Antonio, Alicia begins to open her eyes to the truth about her relationship with Patrick. Maybe things aren't okay after all. Maybe things need to change. Could it be time to stop Pretending? But what will happen if she stops pretending? Can she handle the truth? Can she handle the pain that's bound to come when everything is revealed? When the truth comes out, everything is going to change in Alicia's world. Her friends have their own truths to deal with, so there's really only person she can turn to—Antonio. Could true happiness be hers, or will she continue to pretend there's nothing between them? Will there be an end to her constant Pretending?

Teaching the Next Generation of Teachers looks to serve the many teachers who teach or sponsor classes, clubs, or conferences for secondary school students who aspire to become teachers. Based on the author’s research with students in the Tomorrow’s Teachers program, the book’s development is rich with the voices of students and their reflections on how teachers sometimes inspired them to teach and sometimes impelled them to think of new ways to teach. Their personal stories as learners will validate all students’ experiences as it both invites and inspires aspiring teachers in secondary schools to fulfill their dreams by becoming teachers. Guided by the learning community concept, it presents research and practical activities that will assist teachers and their students in re-imagining and re-inventing what teachers and schools do. It does this as it presents important research on how professional learning communities have the most positive effects on student learning while also empowering teachers to greater job satisfaction. Most importantly, this book will serves as a practical, how-to guide so secondary school students can begin to experience working in a professional learning community as they strive to improve the schools they are in right now. In doing this, the book adheres to the idea that ‘student leadership now is the best preparation for teacher leadership later.’ It will help aspiring teachers move away from the many stale traditions in schooling as they re-conceive of the profession in ways that will make it more personally satisfying while acknowledging that the work of teachers in the 21st century must necessarily be different from what we have now, legacy practices of standardization left over from the industrial age.

All my writings are kind of a … self therapy And i was writing on and on and on …. defining my feelings and thoughts … But it was a little bit funny realizing the contradiction between what i thought, what i felt deep inside of my soul … and how i was acting on the stage of life. … analyzing and defining myself … the one that i thought i was … deep into my soul … and the one from the outside world … i was realizing it’s such a huge difference. And still … i was trying to be better … but all i was doing was … pretending … on and on and on. But why?! Why … this huge different between my inner self and the one from the stage of life?! I knew the theory … and knew all i had to do … and i was really pretending … i was doing the right thing, but … Well …. most probably my real problem … which was a huge one …. was probably that i was disconnected from my inner self. I knew about that self. I knew it exists … and i had to be one with it … and even if i was pretending i was doing the right thing … it was all a lie. I was lying myself … pretending … on and on and on … Why?! Why?! Why?! Until one day … when i decided that i need to stop doing that … and practicing the process of self therapy … i started to be more honest in front of myself. Cause … I was simple … wasting my life … pretending … and i really had to redefine myself.