University of Sheffield Library. Special Collections and Archives Ref: MS 410 Title: Curtis Collection

Scope: A collection of documents, recordings and photographs relating to children’s games and songs created and assembled by Mavis Curtis

Dates: 1992-2006 Level: Fonds Extent: 11boxes

Name of creator: Mavis Curtis Administrative / biographical history: The collection consists of documents, sound and video recordings and photographs relating to children’s games and songs, which have been created and assembled by Mavis Curtis in the course of her research. The majority of the material deals with research in schools in West Yorkshire, notably in the Keighley area, but there are also conference papers and fieldwork notes of more general scope. Mavis Curtis studied for a PhD at the University of Sheffield, carrying out research into ‘Aspects of children’s oral tradition in Keighley, West Yorkshire’, and receiving her degree in 1998. She continued to work in this area as Research Associate in the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition at Sheffield from 2000 to 2003, looking into ‘The effects of changes in the physical environment of the primary school on children’s games repertoire’. In 2001, she published From Pise-Ball to Pokemon: Ingrow School 1901-2001, and also edited, along with Julia Bishop, Play today in the primary school playground: life, learning and creativity. In 2003, she was part of a multidisciplinary team undertaking research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s study of disabled children’s inclusion in play at school. Further research papers and conference presentations followed.

Source: Donated by Mavis Curtis in July 2009 System of arrangement: As received Subjects: Games Names: Curtis, Mavis, 1936- Conditions of access: Available to all researchers, by appointment Restrictions: None Copyright: According to document Finding aids: Outline listing MS 410 Curtis Collection Boxes 1 Video tapes and audio tapes from schools, 2002 1 1/1-1/22 2 Fieldwork for Phd 1992-1993 2 2/1-2/25 3 Changing premises research project 2000-2003 3 3/1-3/9 4 Millennium book award project: 'From Piseball to Pokemon'. 2000 4-5 4/1, 4/2-4/3 5 Joseph Rowntree Trust Project 2003 6-7 5/1-5/25, 5/26-5/29 6 Papers and presentations 8-9 6/1-6/5, 6/6-6/17 7 Miscellaneous 10 7/1-7/13 8 Photographs 11 8/1-8/10 410/1 Recordings of Keighley children performing songs and associated movement.2002

Have list of 'performers', list of game titles, 1/1 VideoTape 1 26/11/2002St Anne's Primary A Year 4 girls, lower playground, lunch annotations related to games and 26/11/2002 School Keighley B Year 5 girls, upper playground, lunch a list of codes 27/11/2002 C Year 6 & 5 girls, upper playground, playtime

1/2 VideoTape 2 27/11/2002 A Year 6, 5, 4 girls. Playground, lunch 28/11/2002 B Year 6 girls inside, lunch 28/11/2002 C Year 5 girls, playground, lunch

1/3 VideoTape 3 28/11/2002 A Year 5 girls, inside, lunch 29/11/2002 B Year 4 girls outside, playtime 29/11/2002 C Year 4 girls, inside, after play

1/4 VideoTape 4 29/11/2002 A Year 6 girls, inside, lunch 29/11/2002 B Year 3 & 4 girls in playground, lunch

1/5 Videotape 1 04/11/2002 Eastwood Primary A Playground, lunchtime 04/11/2002 School Keighley B Year 4 girls, inside at lunch 05/11/2002 C Playtime, playground

1/6 Videotape 2 05/11/2002 A Playground, Year 5 girls, lunchtime 05/11/2002 B Year 5 girls, inside, lunchtime 05/11/2002 C Year 4 & 6 girls, playground lunch 05/11/2002 D Year 4 & 6 girls inside 06/11/2002 E Playground, playtime 06/11/2002 F playground lunch 06/11/2002 G Year 3, 5, 6 girls inside

1/7 Videotape 3 06/11/2002 A Year 5, 6 girls inside lunch 07/11/2002 B Year 4, 6 girls, playground, playtime 07/11/2002 C Year 5 girls outside at lunch 07/11/2002 D Year 5 girls and Year 3 boy inside lunch

1/8 Videotape 4 07/11/2002 A Year 5 girls inside, lunch 11/11/2002 B Playground, playtime 11/11/2002 C Playground, lunch 11/11/2002 D Year 5 & 6 girls inside, lunch

1/9 Videotape 5 12/11/2002 A Year 5 girls inside, lunch 12/11/2002 B Year 5 girls inside, lunch 12/11/2002 C Year 6 girls inside after lunch

1/10 Videotape 6 13/11/2002 A year 5 & 6 girls inside, lunch 14/11/2002 B Playground, playtime 14/11/2002 C Playground, lunch 14/11/2002 D Year 5, 6 girls inside, lunch

Crossover information in section 2, red folder at back, Tim Garthwaite notes on 1/11 Videotape 1976Tim Garthwaite's Recordings in Keighley 1976 skipping rhymes.

Loose sheet with contents of tape 1 & 2 ? 1/12 Audiotape 1976Keighley children's rhymes and games Correspond with these tapes

1/13 Audiotape 1976 Keighley children's rhymes and games

1/14 Card index 1976-1977 Games - rules and lyrics From St Annes and Long Lee

Eastwood Tracks 01- Primary 1/15 Audio CD 1 of 2 05/11/2002 47 School Kathryn Marsh Year 5 girls, inside, Lists of songs, performers and code lunchtime Eastwood Tracks 48- Primary 1/16 Audio CD 2 of 2 06/11/2002 110 School Kathryn Marsh Year 5 & 6 girls, Lists of songs, performers and code inside, lunchtime

Eastwood Tracks 01- Primary 1/17 Audio CD 1 of 2 11/11/2002 47 School Kathryn Marsh Year 5 & 6 girls Lists of songs, performers and code inside, lunchtime

Eastwood Tracks 48- Primary 1/18 Audio CD 2 of 2 12/11/2002 110 School Kathryn Marsh Year 5 girls inside, Lists of songs, performers and code lunchtime

Eastwood Primary 1/19 Audio CD 13/11/2002 School Kathryn Marsh Year 5 & 6 girls Lists of songs, performers and code inside, lunchtime

St Anne's Primary 1/20 Audio CD 28/11/2002 School Kathryn Marsh Year 6 girls, inside, Lists of songs, performers and code lunchtime

St Anne's Primary 1/21 Audio CD 29/11/2002 School Kathryn Marsh Year 6 girls, inside, Lists of songs, performers and code lunchtime

1/22 Index of field recordings a) St. Anne's b) Eastwood 410/2 Mavis Curtis - Fieldwork for PhD 1992-1993

2/1 Fieldwork diary 5/6/1992-12/5/1993 Handwritten notebook of school visits. Information about Headteachers and structure of school Pupil groups Language and social groupings of children Number of hours spent at each school Detail of games and rhymes recorded at the schools

2/2 Red A4 Lever Arch File PhD File - handwritten Indexed by school Shipley Ingrow Stanbury St Joseph's St Andrew's Long Lee Parkwood St Anne's Eastwood Silsden

Brief description of each school: School profile - number of staff, number of classes Abilities represented Cultures represented Languages used Religions represented Social class Geographical boundaries

Physical description of school buildings Physical description of play areas Detailed data about games played, rhymes used, friendship groupings Asian children's games and rhymes White children's games and rhymes Index of video tapes showing, Punjabi games, clapping games, clapping and singing

2/3 4 Videos Clapping games 2/4 Punjabi acting games; skipping; workshop; singing games 2/5 Punjabi games; clapping; singing 2/6 Clapping and singing games from selection of schools

2/7-2/24 18 Audio tapes 1993 - detailed and numbered in Red lever arch file

2/25/a-j Raw data from schools involved in research A4 envelopes - one for each school listed, containing questionnaire's completed by individual children about games, play and friendship groupings 410/3 Mavis Curtis 2000-2003

Research Associate of the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition Blue A4 Ring Binder - Fieldwork Changing Premises Research Project: Long Lee/Haworth, Keighley Mavis Curtis: Submission for upgrading from M. Phil to PHD. Title: The effects of changes in the physical environment of the Primary School on children's games repertoire

3/1 Contents of A4 ring binder Plastic folder Research Project Proposals Letters to school regarding proposals 1999 Rough sketch of Long Lee Playing Field/Grounds 2001 Hand written list of games on tape Transcript of audiotape with pupil groups

Plastic folder Fieldwork for paper on counting out rhymes and clapping rhymes, Long Lee 2000-2001 Plastic folder Drawn diagram of Long Lee football ground with 15 photographs Loose note Haworth field work and transcript of tape

3/2-3 2 Videotapes 5 stones' and 'peethou' Punjabi games played in Keighley

3/4-5 2 audiotapes Haworth, July 2000 3/6-9 4 audiotapes Long Lee, July 2000-June 2002 410/4 Mavis Curtis. 2000. Millennium book award

From Piseball to Pokemon

4/1 Leverarch File Plastic Folders Finished copy of 'From Pise-Ball to Pokemon'

Draft copy of 'From Pise-Ball to Pokemon' Written notes of interviews with ex-pupils from 1910 onwards 1 page report on process Keighley News March 2001 'Keighley Greats' Letter to ex-pupil Minutes of Board of Education Meeting 1899-1904 Writings from individual interviews with ex Ingrow students from 1910 - 2000s Audiotape 'Brenda & Jean' with two songs written on manuscript Letters from ex-pupils General notes on history of primary education Notes from school log book 1915-1932 Notes from school punishment book

4/1a A4 envelope Questionnaires from pupils at Ingrow 2001 'Seasonal pleasures'

4/1b A4 envelope Correspondence between Mavis Curtis and Iona Opie 1998 - 2001 Newspaper articles: Guardian April 1998 article on 1990s girls games in playground

4/2 Folder Letter from Mavis Curtis to contributors of 'From Pise-ball to Pokemon' Notes and original drawing for chapter headings of 'From Pise-ball to Pokemon' Handwritten notes on rhymes and photograph of Ingrow Primary School Documentation on Ingrow project/proposal for Age Concern Millennium Award Scheme Newspaper clippings from local paper Keighley News about project/ old photographs of classes from Ingrow School

4/3 Videotape Ingrow 1 Jul 2001 410/5 Joseph Rowntree Trust Research Project 2003

A third of the fieldwork which contributed to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Study of disabled children's inclusion in play at school

The book produced is entitled' INCLUSION OF DISABLED CHILDREN IN PRMARY SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS' by Helen Woolley, Landscape Department of University of Sheffied

5/1 Video Margaret McMillan Primary (April-June 2003) Nessfield Primary (June -July 2003)

5/2-21 Audio tapes 1c-9c Margaret McMillan Primary 12c-20c Nessfield School {no tape 10, 11 or 13 numbered } Punjabi rhymes : MMargaret McMillan Primary Nicola Jaynes Sue Fenlan 5A Class 4

5/22 PLAYPEOPLE Project 36 - jrf :- Detailed summaries of class interviews 16 summaries from Hemingbrough Primary , North Yorkshire 2003 (in clear plastic wallets)

5/23 CD case - Marc Armitage Playpeople- Project 36(jrf)' = Photographs, Index to photographs, Orientation and detail photograph plan for focus schools 1 and 2 {no CD present}

5/24 Files Crossley Hall Primary-Pilot school. Interviews with children and staff

5/25 Margaret McMillan Primary School. Interviews, playground plan, analysis of play, profiles of disabled children

5/26 Nessfield Primary School. Interviews, playground plan, analysis of play, profiles of disabled children Detailed drawing/plan of Nessfield School buildings and playground- showing areas of play designated by the children for specific 'games' and activities (Red file)

5/27 Comparative data across all 6 schools, plus list of items on video included- (Blue file) 5/28 Spreadsheets comparing the repertoire of the 6 different schools- (Blue file)

5/29 Survey of play at Oakworth Primary, Keighley.Handwritten notes and tape (Clear plastic folder + Audio tape) 410/6 Papers and Presentations

6/1 1996 Comparison of rhymes known in GB, USA and Australia'. Mavis Curtis. Sheffield 1996. (A4 envelope + Audio tape)

6/2 1996 "Transatlantic patterns of transmission in children's oral tradition"-Mavis Curtis. Paper and copy of Programme International Conference Folklore 150 - July 24-26 1996. Halifax Hall, University of Sheffield

6/3 1998 [Programme only] -The State of Play- Perspectives on Children's Oral Culture. 14-17 April 1998. Sorby Hall, University of Sheffield. Hosted by the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition. In association with the Folklore Society Including abstract of paper given by Mavis Curtis entitled "The Oral Tradition Examined: An analysis of the Games and Rhymes of Keighley children"

6/4 1999 "Counting out and clapping rhymes: home and school as sites of the transmission of children's oral tradition". Mavis Curtis Paper, diagrams and graph submitted for 'Sites of Learning' conference at the Centre for Social Study of Childhood a) Dennison Centre, University of Hull 14-16 September 1999. [Folder] b) Fieldwork for paper presented at 'Sites of Learning' Conference. [Black file]

6/5 1999 " Change and continuity in children's traditional games" Mavis Curtis. Third International Conference on Traditional Field Plays and Games, October 30 1999, Tokyo, Japan. "Three traditional British games"- rhymes, diagrams, photographs Pav Sing Sum or Pav Ying Sum- "Khmer traditional game" 2 x video= 'Talk for Japan- Mavis Curtis

6/6 1999-2001 Danish children's songs. Contact information from children at Byfjord school. Stavanger a) Videotape - Barneleiker Byfjord Skole 26/10/99 b) Videotape- Katten og musen ti tusen 2002 c) Audiotape- " Danish children's songs"

6/7 2001 Dimensions of Play'- International conference held at University of Sheffield July 2001

6/8 2003 "Cross-cultural study of the musical play practices of children in school playgrounds"- Dr Kathryn Marsh Refereed in - Conference Proceedings of the Blacking Symposium 'Music-Culture-Society', Calloway Centre University of Western Australia, Perth. 12-14 July, 2003 6/9 2003 "Worlds of Play: the effects of context and culture on the musical play of young children"- Kathryn Marsh Photocopies of 'Glossary- Hand clapping game' from Riddell, C. 1990 Traditional singing games of elementary school children in Los Angeles Handwritten note for Introduction to paper presentation

6/10 2003 "A historical overview of children's games in Turkey" , Onur, B & Guney, N. (Centre for Research on Child Culture, Ankara University). The Social History Society. 28th Annual Conference 'Play'. January 3-5 2003 University of Leicester

6/11 2004 " A sailor went to sea: theme and variations". Mavis Curtis. Folk Music Journal Vol.8(4), 2004, p.421-437

6/12 2006 Participation, popular culture and playgrounds'. Children's use of media elements in peer play at school. Draft Given at Folklore Society AGM 2006. Julia Bishop and Mavis Curtis

6/13 2006 "Sound effects". The oral/aural dimensions of literatures in English. Conference schedule/booklet for conference held at University of St. Andrews 5-8 July 2006 Shows inclusion of seminar -'Playing with sound and sense: Children's experience of language on the playground. Mavis Curtis Typed/ annotated copy of the lecture given, titled 'Sound and Sense in the Primary School Playground' OHPs of material used in presentation Metrical and phonological patterning in children's rhymes', Andy Arleo

6/14 2006 Creative engagements?' Children's Play and Popular Media in Primary School Playgrounds. Mavis Curtis, Julia Bishop et al Paper for Folklore Society Conference- Folklore, Film and Television, London 31 March- 1 April 2006

6/15 n.d. Rigmarole or ritual? Play routines in the Primary School playground

6/16 n.d Faroese songs. Photocopied sheets -Faroese folk dance Audio tape -'Faroese songs'

6/17 E-mails documenting work of Laurie and Winifred Bauer- 'Children's playground language in New Zealand'- Victoria University of Wellington 6/18 n.d. "Toys and games: an oral history". East Midlands Oral History Archive. 1 CD 410/7 Miscellaneous

7/1 Tim Garthwaite's fieldwork in Keighley

7/2 Children's drawings of games. Workshop on games (Rotherham 1999?)

7/3 From folder labelled "Miscellaneous, Sheffield": " Remember the games of the old schoolyard" Mavis Curtis - published in a copy of 'Play and Folklore' (formerly the Australian Children's Folklore Newsletter) December 1997 iss. 33-. Author name misprinted as 'Maree Curtis' PLAYPEOPLE- Playpeople School Playground 'Survey and Play Audit'. Court Park Primary, Hull July 1996 Correspondence from Marc Armitage re: Playpeople audit Correspondence between Mavis Curtis and Iona Opie 1999 re: publication of conference proceedings Book Information Sheet from Open University Press for ' Play Today in the Primary School Playground: Life, learning and creativity by Julia C. Bishop and Mavis Curtis (eds) 2001 Child's drawing of game of marbles

7/4 Fieldwork data- children's rhymes a) Eastwood school 1993 b) Denholme Primary School 2002 c) St. Anne's 2002

7/5 RQ 4c' from Marc

7/6-9 Audiotapes x 4 - Long Lee School, Keighley 1999

7/10-11 Videotapes x 2 - 'Eastburn school games' 1999

7/12-13 Audio tapes - Mas mas mas/Noor Jahan 410/8 Photographs

Photographs taken with Kathy Marsh. 2002 8/1 St Anne's RC Primary. With negatives and listing by MC 8/2 Eastwood Primary 8/3 1999 AND Eastburn School. With negatives 8/4 Photos taken in Japan. With negatives 8/5 Ingrow School, 2001

Joseph Rowntree Fund research into disability in the playground. 2003 8/6 Crossley Hall Primary, Bradford. Control School. With negatives 8/7 Margaret McMillan Primary, Bradford 8/8 4J Clapping games. With negatives 8/9 Nessfield Primary, Keighley

8/10 Photographs. 1993 Variety of photographs from different school sites. Not numbered but annotated on reverse