DEVELOPING DRAMATIC PLAY CENTERS

CHAPTER 12

Introduction
Dramatic play allows children to become

representers of their experiences and also to create new imaginative realities. It linked to social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth.

Development of Dramatic Play

Childrens dramatic play ability is enhanced as

their development allows them to use symbolic representation and to engage in cooperative play with others. At the age of 1 & 2, they will know to imitate another child and then will build upon what the other child is doing.

 As for preschoolers, the numbers player expands

and dramatic play becomes a cooperative activity. Sociodramatic plays. Engage in role-playing Make believe with actions and objects Have verbal & social interaction among player Have a play theme persists for 5 minutes

How The Dramatic Play Center Enhances Childrens Development

Allows children to practice skills they learned in

real-life situations, to assimilate information & to try to make sense of it. Children will gain literacy, self regulatory, cognitive, social, emotional and creative skills.

Literacy Development
It promotes oral language as children become

storytellers of pretend events. They act out, the role of using different voices, inflections and rich verbal exchanges. It allows student to practice writing and reading in an authentic highly motivating context. Disadvantages: researchers indicates that this is a wrong approach because the program is based on teacher-directed activities.

Social Development
Children negotiate roles, take turns, and resolve

interpersonal relationship. They begin to understand their own & others cultural beliefs, practices and values. Experience another perspective Develop empathy Engage in rehearsal of life

Emotional Development
Allows the children to act out fears and traumatic

events in a safe environment. They have the power to control what happens and to change the endings if they wish.

Creative Development
Children use their drama skills by developing

scripts and assuming roles. Provide rich opportunities for children to develop literacy, cognitive, self-regulation, social, emotional, and creative skills.

Designing an Effective Dramatic Play Center

It provides sufficient space for at least four to six

children to play It is aesthetics. (educators to create aesthetic dramatic play areas using beautiful materials) It contains needed equipment It includes duplicates of props so children can participate in parallel play. It provides ways to make clothing and prop choices available & organized.

TERESAS HOME LIVING CENTRE

Began the year by providing dramatics play props

representing the cultures in her classroom. Allowed the children to participate in dramatic play using some familiar props from their home. As children became familiar with the materials, Teresa slowly began introducing and adding materials from cultures that were not represented. She also drew on the childrens background knowledge and elicited their ideas to help plan materials to add to the area. By involving the families, Teresa was able to set up a rich dramatic play area that was culturally relevant to the children in her classroom.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Childrens early pretending is context driven,

suggested by the objects that are available in the environmernt. As with older children, toddlers practice adult roles as they play. It is important to have familiar centers (home living) and realistic props (pots and pans, baby dolls). In planning for this age group you will want to carefully consider their development.

 Also, consider childrens interests in making your

plans. It is important that play equipment provides their interestses. At this age, children may need more adult modeling and suggestions to support them in using pretend play.

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SCHOOL-AGE (K-3) CHILDREN

Organized games with rules become important and

their sociodramatic play often changes to reflect this focus. At this age they are also able to keep their script going over a longer period of time. Elementary-age children will reenact stories, movies, and their own narratives.

CHANGES TO DRAMATIC PLAY CENTER

It is important to carefully observe childrens play

determine when to add props or change the center. Changing the center allows children to experiment with new roles, explore new scenarios, and use additional vocabulary. Also spark interest in children. Children can assists in planning changes to the dramatic play center. This level of involvement can assists in building interest, provide additional materials and props, and help children to think about and share their knowledge in relationship to the proposed center.

PROP BOXES
Advantages
Save time Volunteers can help create them Classrooms can share them

Prop boxes can be used in different ways. When creating prop boxes, it is helpful to begin

with similar-sized sturdy boxes or totes for easy stacking and storing.

 To be effective, prop boxes need to be

developmentally appropriate and relevant to the group of children using them. Prop boxes also need to be nonexist and contain multicultural materials.

TEACHERS FACILITATION OF LEARNING IN THE DRAMATIC PLAY CENTER

To promote high-quality dramatic play, teachers need

to support children by providing background experiences, planning effective centers, building and maintaining excitement and interest in dramatic play, and facilitating childrens play skills.

PROVIDE RICH, SHARED EXPERIENCES

A shared background of experiences can enrich

childrens dramatic play. It is important that children see people perfroming their roles and that the tour guide at the location is prepped for the age of the group of children you are bringing. It might be helpful to give the person a sense of what the children are interested in, questions they may have, and the depth of their current understanding.

PLAN CENTERS THAT ENCOURAGE ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT

When planning the dramatic play center, teachers

must think about childrens play opportunities. Changes in the center need to lead active engagement for children.

BUILD EXCITEMENT
Teachers can build childrens exitement and interest

in the center in many ways.

KEEP INTEREST ALIVE THROUGH PROVIDING A DYNAMIC CENTER

The effective dramatic play center is rarely static. Instead it is dynamic, changing to meet childrens interests and expand their learning.

PROVIDE ADEQUATE TIME FOR DRAMATIC PLAY

There needs to be adequate daily center time for

dramatic play.

INTRODUCE MATERIALS AND TEACH MINI LESSONS AS NEEDED

It is helpful to introduce materials and teach mini lessons to support childrens play. Mini lesson about joining and sustaining play are also helpful.

EXTEND PLAY
With young children, you might extend childrens

play by being the play partner, but as children begin to play cooperative with peers, it is important for children to determine and enact their own story line. Instead of being a play partner, you might assist preschool and early elementary children to deepen and extend their play through a play plan.

 Children using play plans spend more time

participating in mature dramatic play, recall more details of their play, and argue and fight less while playing. It is important that they review the plan immediately before beginning the play, helping them to recall their previous ideas.

Assist individual children to join play

Participating in low risk behaviour (low risk of

being rejected) Observe other children play Asking a question Suggesting a role to play

Facilitate children: acting out their fears

Acting out their concerns and fears

Take the role of the child and model coping

strategies Ask open-ended question

Meet the needs of all learners

Supporting children with disabilities
The centre needs to be accessible Materials reflect the children who are disabled Coaching and support from peers

Supporting children from all cultures

Think of multi culturalism Be cautions about not in advertently teaching

children with misconceptions and stereotypes.

Observe and document individual childrens learning

Accessing and documenting childrens play such

as level of play and play interest. Observe many skills such as language, math, science, emotional, social, self-regulatory, and creative. Use anecdotal records, running records, video and audio recording.

Special challenges in the dramatic play centre

Super hero and war play
Allows children to feel powerful and to face their

fears. Promote imaginative play rather than imitative play. Focus on the helping behaviours of super heroes. Focus on real life heroes, fairy tales and folk tales. Provide additional outlets for facing and describing fears

Outdoor dramatic play centre

Help to create their own place sites such as snow

caves. Natural materials such as flowers, dirt, leaves, and water.

Thank You
Prepared by: Olyvea William (KK1190529) Kimberly James (KK1190521) Rachel Hee (KK1190533)