Dramatic Play What is It Dramatic Play Children

Dramatic Play

What is It? • Dramatic Play– Children take on make believe roles by themselves • Socio-dramatic Play – They are pretending with another

9 Ways to Foster Dramatic Play • • Support/Time/Place Introduce new roles and ideas Full length mirror Provide props – Anti bias – Make written language visible • Be attentive to children’s interests, feelings, concerns • Provide equipment outside • Facilitate language development • Encourage making of props • Help those having difficulty

Support/Time/Place

Introduce New Roles and Ideas

Full length mirror

Provide Props Anti Bias

Provide Props Make written language visible

Be attentive to children’s interests, feelings, concerns

Provide Equipment Outside

Facilitate Language Development Where are you going? . . .

Encourage Making of Props

Areas of Development Enhanced • Physical- • Emotional- • Cognitive- • Language - • Social- • Creative-

A Four-Step Planning Process • I. Provision the environment – Space – Materials – Observe Children • Doing • Enjoying • Talking About • What Are they – Inventing – Questioning – Understanding

II. Sustain the Play • Provide more props • Ask open-ended questions • Help them negotiate problem solving • Observe – Material to extend their experience – Opportunities to represent their ideas and feelings – What other activities could extend or branch out the ideas you see

III. Enrich the play • If interest waning or in need of more complexity – enrich with props – new experiences • (ex. games, field trips, books, discussions…)

IV. Represent the Experience • Collect and display documentation – Evolution of the project – Children’s thinking • Beginning ideas/actions • What happened over time? • How have they changed? • Summarize what they learned? • What emerged that may lead to a new theme?

Values of Dramatic Play • Practice give-and–take necessary for success in a group • Emotions involved • Difficult situations coped with: – Acting out problems often solves them • Opportunities for self expression • Gains self-confidence

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