Although this program does not claim to be mathematical -- its stated educational focus is dramatics and play production, writing, and history -- children can engage in a great deal of mathematics as they create their plays. One rich source of mathematics is an on-screen numerical counter that keeps track of time as the play runs. The counter is useful for planning length of dialogues, actions, acts in the play, and the play as a whole; it's also useful for coordinating various elements in the play. For instance, if you combine several actions to create a dance for a character, you can use the counter to help you plan music to go along with it. You need to figure out how long the dance takes ("the counter went from 212 to 305 while Addy danced, so the dance is 97 long"), and then choose a song or combination of songs that will last as long as the dance ("this song is about 50 long, so I could play it twice for the dance"). Likewise, you can use the counter to make sure that events happen at just the right moment and take the right amount of time -- for instance, the counter can help you time a character's scream to coincide with a jug falling from the table, create an opening monologue that lasts for the whole time a character remains alone under the spotlight, or ensure that each of three acts in a play is about the same length. All of these involve determining starting and ending times, calculating (or estimating) elapsed time, and making staging decisions based on the results of the calculations.

Some children will naturally begin to use the counter to structure their plays; others may not attend to or know how to use this important tool. Adults can encourage children to use the counter to enhance their plays -- and at the same time, do some mathematics ("Let's get some background music for this scene. What about some creepy music that lasts while Kirsten is lost in the woods, and then, just as she finds her way out, change it to happy music?"). If children are unsure of how to use the numerical information on the counter, adults can model this ("How could we figure out how long Kirsten is lost in the woods for -- what does the counter read when she first realizes she's lost? What does it read when she finds her way out? So, she's alone in the woods from 312 to 573. About how far is it from 312 to 572?"). For children not ready to do such calculations on their own, adults can talk through their own ways of solving the problem. What's most important is that children see that math can play a critical role.

In addition to computation and number, children can also become involved in the math of visualizing and coordinating spatial relationships, planning, and sequencing as they develop their plays. For instance, suppose you want Felicity and Nan to begin at opposite sides of the on-screen stage, run headlong into the center of the room, bump into each other in front of the chair in the center and both fall giggling on the floor. You need to figure out where to initially place each character and how they should move so that they meet at the right place and time.

More broadly, the American Girl Premiere offers a natural context for using mathematics as a tool for enriching understanding of people, places, and events throughout history. As children develop stories based on the lives of the American Girls, they often begin to pose questions rich with mathematical potential: How long ago did Samantha, a child at the turn of the century, live? Could she still be alive today? How old would she be? Could Felicity, a child in the 1770's, have lived through the Civil War? Could she have met Josefina, who grew up in the 1820's? One girl, intrigued by questions such as these, took the initiative to calculate which American Girls could have met during their life times, how old each would have been when they met, how long ago each lived, and whether she could meet any of them in her own life time if they were real people. Another girl became curious when her father asked her if she thought any of the American Girls could have met. Since she was unable to figure this out on her own, father and daughter worked together to do the necessary calculations and develop a timeline illustrating the lives of the American Girls.

Is the Game Equitable?

This program, like all of the books and materials in the American Girls series, is marketed only to girls. Although the program has the potential to offer excitement and challenge to all children, boys may be reluctant to use it if they see it as a "girl" toy. This would be unfortunate, as its educational value is so strong in its target areas of history, writing, and dramatics, as well as in math.

Is the Game a Good Game?