Books about sports and the development of reading in Physical Education curriculum: an analysis of Arthur G. Miller and Virginia Whitcomb’s book (1957)

Abstract

This paper has the following aims: (a) to analyse the activities proposed by Miller and Whitcomb to include and use books about sports and the development of reading in Physical Education curriculum; (b) to identify the bibliographies in sports books presented by the authors in their 1957 book. The object of study is the classic book Physical Education in the elementary school curriculum (Miller & Whitcomb, 1957). To carry out this investigation two different techniques were utilized: the content analysis and the documental analysis. Regarding the results, the subjects of development of reading and literature appear on Chapter 12 – Language Arts and Appendix B – Sports Reading Books. The authors, in the majority of Chapter 12 text, emphasize on children’s plays, combining them with books to develop reading and exemplify some activities and possibilities that can be developed from this union, such as: to narrate, to perform, to dramatize, to dance, to sing, and to read stories/short stories, poems, verses and songs from children’s plays. The Appendix B contains 86 references in Sports Reading Books. In summary, all activities presented by Miller and Whitcomb represent a great progress in English-speaking Physical Education and a prospective vision regarding the importance of developing reading and children’s literature in the school curriculum of this area.