Early and Middle Childhood

  • Gender Roles in Disney Movies

    In this student project, the way Disney movies often portray gender roles is explored. Through pictures, clips, and audio tracks, the video clearly paints a portrait of old-fashioned gender roles, where women are expected to be beautiful and subservient, and men are strong and powerful. Do you agree that this is how Disney movies portray gender roles or is this…

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  • Adult Role Models Inspire Students

    A social worker at Parks Middle School in urban Atlanta describes his work with students and families at the school and the role that community service plays in improving results for kids and families at Parks. Focused attention to student and family needs outside of school has helped Parks change from a chronically failing school to best in the district.…

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  • Good Idea, Bad Idea Compilation

    This video is shows several Good Idea, Bad Idea segments from the childrens television cartoon Animaniacs. The first scene explains that while it is a good idea to toss a penny into a fountain and make a wish, it is a bad idea to toss your cousin, Penny, into the fountain and make a wish. Assume that tossing your cousin…

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  • Id, Ego, and Superego

    This clip is an excerpt of an old educational film about Sigmund Freud. In addition to discussing the id, ego, and superego, the Oedipus complex is discussed and dramatized. In classical psychoanalytic theory, a childs superego, or conscience, is an internalization of parental values and moral standards. At what age and stage is a childs superego formed, according to Freud?

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  • Empathy Audrey Hepburn

    In this short scene from the movie Funny Face, Audrey Hepburn explains to her costar what empathy means. Based on his response, do you think he understands the concept? What are the four levels of empathy, and how might a child display each of them?

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  • Building Self-Esteem and Confidence in Children

    This television show for kids bills itself as the latest kids show that builds self-esteem in children and creates confident kids. Is it true that if you have trouble doing something, all you have to do is believe you can do it, and you can? Is this an effective way to help teach children about positive self-esteem?

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  • Preoperational Lack of Conservation

    This video demonstrates how children in the preoperational stage have a lack of conversation. This is shown using volume and number. How old are children in the preoperational level? How might you demonstrate a lack of conservation using volume? What does it mean that preoperational children are seduced by appearances?

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  • Concrete Operations Stage of Cognitive Development

    These students were asked to create a video detailing the main characteristics of a child in the concrete operational stage of development. What are the tests the students use to show these characteristics? How would you design experiments to test these different concepts of conservation?

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  • Formal Deductive Reasoning

    In this clip, a younger child and an older child are asked to do some deductive reasoning. Their answers to the problem are different because each are in a different stage of cognitive growth. What stage are each of the children in? What were the reasons they gave for their answers?

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  • School Readiness

    This clip discusses the United Ways school readiness initiative, and tells the story of Daniel Perez and his three young daughters. The concept of readiness is used to refer to a time when the childs physical, cognitive, social, and emotional maturation are at a level to undertake new learning. Is it just the ability to learn that makes children ready…

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  • Bullying

    This ABC news story shows clips from Candid Camera and Mean Girls in discussing bullying in children and teens. It then moves on to discuss one of the most extreme consequences of bullying suicide. Why do you think some bullies are popular and have high status among their peers? How does it affect the social structure when bullies are the…

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