With the introduction of the ‘National Curriculum’ and more recently the ‘Foundation Stage Profile,’ which is putting pressure on teachers’ time, sadly, imaginative play has been given a low priority over the last few years. Nursery and Reception teachers will be familiar with the term ‘role-play’ and most nursery and reception classrooms have a designated area set-aside for play with dolls and prams and other household items. Here children are able to create ‘homes’ and ‘shopping’ and other domestic play. These areas are sometimes more sophisticated and are transformed into ‘doctors’ surgeries’, ‘hairdressers’ and other well-known locations. ‘Home’ corners or role-play areas used to be a strong feature of the Infant school or department. In this article I would like readers to revisit the idea of imaginative play as an important tool in young children’s learning. Imaginative play is about working ‘as if’ you are someone else, somewhere else, doing something else. But this is not always as simple as it would appear. We need to be aware that children function in the ‘as if’ in distinct ways. Pretend play, unlike any other activity, allows children the imaginary space to create new worlds and confirm old ones. Various psychological studies have identified several types of play that could come under the umbrella of imaginative play: symbolic play, role-play, socio-dramatic play and thematic fantasy play. Children use each of these kinds of play for different purposes but they all require the state of ‘as if’ to function. I will concentrate on socio-dramatic play in which they play with ‘scripts’ from their real lives and thematic-fantasy play where they create story from their imagination. It is important we provide opportunities for both. I am often asked ‘what is imaginative play?’ The short answer is that it is the ability to work with the ‘as if’ and pretend to be another person doing things, experiencing feelings, reacting to situations, working out ideas, motivations and reactions in different contexts. A mother smiles at her baby and the baby smiles back. Imaginary or pretend play develops from the copying of everyday activity. Very young children will use a teddy or favourite soft toy to ‘act out’ different aspects of their experiences. ‘Pretend’ play is not simply copying. This ability to use imaginary episodes and create ‘stories’ from them is the way children have of sorting out events in their lives and making sense of them. Pretend play allows children to move from the ‘real’ world into an ‘imaginary’ one, albeit with great similarities to the world they know. In this ‘imaginary’ world, they can experiment; objects are transformed and roles are created. Children use the ‘fictional’ events to explore the world and to make sense of who they are. Very young children do not create characters in the theatrical sense but enter these imaginative events as themselves. It is the way they function in a world that makes it feel different from ‘real’ life. At the end of this article, I have included a number of activities based around a 'fairy tale house' role play area, and related them to areas of learning. The Importance of ‘talk’ Discursive language or talking together is particularly important in the growth of children’s thought and understanding. By using ‘imaginative’ play or what I call interactive story making, teachers are given an effective tool to change the management of spoken language and children's perceptions of the world. Through this form of exciting play, young children, with the guidance of adults, are put in control of their own speaking and listening. The quality of language plays an important part in the significance of the experience. Young children are allowed to express themselves individually and as a group. Children’s verbal input in these situations is not random or without thought. Children are Story-tellers Young children are accomplished story-tellers and the story of our life changes as we gain more experience and understanding. Within ‘interactive story-making’, we can use events to draw children’s attention to the significance of an incident or action. In doing this we help children see the implications for their own lives and the lives of others. The use of story or narrative as a mode of communication becomes an important aid to their learning in the Early Years. Listen to any small child playing and they speak aloud their actions and their thoughts as if telling a story. Working alongside young children in their imaginative play You have the opportunity of ‘freezing’ the action if you work alongside children when they play in the ‘as if’. By freezing the action children have the opportunity to reflect in role or out of role. Children discover how different circumstances; conflicts and pressures influence feelings, behaviour and attitudes. As an adult involved in the story, you can structure the story to offer experiences relevant to the needs of each particular group of children. By playing with time and place, you can create opportunities for children to develop their growing sense of identity, as they learn about themselves and others through the safety of an imagined context. What you should provide Firstly, you need to identify a space in your classroom that can become your role-play area. You may already have a designated place, which children recognise as the ‘home’ corner. Have a good think about how children use this area. ‘Role-play’ corners should be seen as more than dressing up clothes and the doll’s pram. Your choice of activity for the ‘role-play’ area is important. By providing different types of environment the children are able to explore different kinds of pretend play. Role-play areas to develop ‘socio-dramatic’ play You might want a context that encourages communication skills so you provide settings where you can have a telephone or preferably two. Writing equipment and books or magazines in Doctors’ Surgeries, Shops, and Offices can provide surroundings to foster emergent writing and stimulate reading. Making things for a ‘role-play’ corner might require the use of maths, Design and Technology or Information Technology. Beardsley (1998) provides a very thorough list of home play materials that would be too long to reproduce here. Role-play areas to develop ‘thematic-fantasy’ play Role-play areas can also be used to encourage types of ‘fantasy’ play. By making the area into the ‘Three Bears’ House’ or ‘The Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage’ we can introduce a different kind of story-telling which takes children beyond socio-dramatic play into narrative thinking. Castles, sailing ships, pirate ships, old houses will take children back in time, whereas time travel situations such as a space ship or a time machine will move time forward. Fairy story settings, such as the Three Little Pigs' brick house, Little Red Riding Hood's cottage, or Cinderella’s kitchen will encourage the retelling of well-loved tales. New environments, such as the all blue forest, the big and little room or the house of dreams, will develop children’s imaginations and story-telling skills. Children’s involvement in the creation Children should be involved in the creation of a role-play area, to give them ownership. A young teacher spent one whole week-end creating a space-ship in the role-play area, only to have it wrecked by playtime on the Monday! This is not only disheartening but it is also counter-productive. Try instead talking to the children about what should be in it, you can also explore with them how to play there as well. Children should be allowed to make things and arrange the furniture. By involving the children there are many curriculum opportunities for designing and making that you can use. Working alongside the children We must think beyond the use of the role-play area as part of classroom management. It should be seen as more than a place for keeping children occupied while teachers and other adults are engaged elsewhere in the room. Sometimes it is important to allow the children to work alone, but there are times when the adults should join the play. By always allowing children to play unsupervised, they are sent the message that this type of play is not highly valued by adults. If there is no intervention, children will either stop using these areas as they were planned or not play with any conviction. By entering children's imaginative play we are able to add dimensions that children are usually unable to sustain for themselves. Our interventions can add the dimension of persistence and consequence; what children do and say can be challenged, questioned and analysed, not just by the adult but by the children themselves. Engaging in ‘role-play’ There is no methodology for knowing when and how to intervene constructively. Sometimes we can make mistakes. It requires sensitivity and good observational skills. You need to judge the right moment to ‘step in’ without the children feeling you are encroaching on their territory. Initially it is important to watch children as they use the role-play area. They need to know that you approve of what they are doing. By careful observation you can determine whether the children are ready to accept you into their ‘make-believe’ world or not. It is important to build up trust perhaps over a few weeks if you have not been in the habit of taking any interest in what they are doing. How you intervene You can enter the fiction in a variety of ‘roles’. To do this you use the convention known as ‘Teacher-in-Role’. Each of your interventions in a different role varies the learning opportunities and the possible learning outcomes. By entering the shoe shop in role as a ‘customer’ you could ask the ‘assistants’ to show you different kinds of shoes to promote discussion on sorting and ordering. You could find you have not enough money to buy the pair you want, encouraging discussion about costs and expense. The adult’s role is to provide a model for effective talk and discussion. Each intervention should take no more than a few minutes. We need to indicate when we are joining the play and when we are leaving. Otherwise, children become confused about how they should respond. Once we join the children at play and adopt a role within their make-believe, we can both initiate or respond in order to facilitate learning. Each adult intervention varies the learning opportunities and the possible learning outcomes. It is particularly effective if the adult identifies and utilises learning opportunities which arise naturally and are offered by the children themselves. It is important for children to feel some ownership of the exchanges and that their contributions to the play are taken seriously and valued. When you enter the play as the customer, you must treat the child’s role with the same respect as if it were real life. This includes the manner in which you talk. Always begin any conversation with statements that you would make in similar circumstances with adults such as “Excuse me, I wonder if you could help me?” “I don’t like to bother you but could you tell me where I might find...?” This receives a much more positive response from children. As teachers, we have a tendency to question children. In imaginative play, we must be prepared not to be in the high status role all the time. Children should be given roles in which they are in charge. Your intervention will help to develop the shared fiction in a more public way, as other children overhear the conversation and are encouraged to join in. Your intervention will also help children to become more committed to their role. By using this approach, we are able to signal to the children that we value their play. We indicate it is important to us and we respect this form of activity. By entering children's imaginative play in this small way, we are able to build up trust and commitment. When children are able and willing to accept an adult into their imaginary play, we can help them sustain the make-believe verbally and non-verbally. Interactive story-making Intervention in the role-play area leads naturally into the subject of whole class story-telling. This is the subject of another article, called 'Interactive Story-making', which can be found here on the Foundation Stage Forum! Conclusion Develop role-play areas that encourage both ‘home’ and ‘fantasy’ play Think carefully about the learning potential of your role-play area Allow the children to help create the role-play area Do not ignore the role-play area but make time during each day to join children in their imaginative play Make time for ‘interactive story-making’ that will develop both Language and Literacy and PSHE Make sure the ‘talk’ in role is natural and not over-questioning. Further Reading: Beardsley,G. (1998) Exploring Play in the Primary Classroom (David Fulton Publishers) Booth, D.(1994) Story Drama (Pembroke Publishers Limited) Hendy,L & Toon,L.(2001) Supporting drama and Imaginative Play in the Early Years (Open University Press) Kitson, N. (1994) ‘Please Miss Alexander; will you be the robber?’ Fantasy play: a case for adult intervention in Moyles, J. (ed) The Excellence of Play (Open University Press) Toye,N & Prendiville,F (2000) Drama and Traditional Story for the Early Years (Routledge) Example activities for role play around 'The Fairy Tale House' Whole Class Discuss children’s favourite fairy tales Ask children which fairy story characters they want to be represented in the house (Children will provide more than you want. You can vary the activity by choosing each day which of characters will be in the house e.g. Snow White, Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks; The Three Bears; the Three Little Pigs etc. Keep the various clothes, props in separate boxes so that the children can choose who they want to be for their session. Too much choice is confusing for small children) Personal, Social and Emotional Development Discuss who are the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ characters chosen Language and Literacy Ask children to suggest some books the characters might like to read to go on the book-shelf. Make labels for the different boxes to identify the story each represents Mathematical Development Make collections of different sized furniture for house Sort different props into boxes that relate to each story Knowledge and Understanding of the World Discuss what might be outside the house in terms of landscape and environment Discuss what kinds of food each of the different characters would like. (If you have both Jack and the Giant it would be interesting to discuss their different needs) Creative Development Have a painting competition and choose three of the best pictures for the walls Make some masks for characters like the Frog , the Wolf etc. Small Group Activity Discuss who will use the role-play area each day. Have a time-table for the different groups and limit the numbers to a maximum of four. Before the children play provide an adult to talk to them about their stories. (this helps children to plan and signals that the adults take their play seriously) Starting points for whole class ‘interactive story-making’ • Enter the story as a character from a fairy tale. Ask the children to help you solve your problem: e.g. You are the Princess from the Frog Prince and your father the King is making you kiss the frog and you don’t want to. You are the Frog and the Princess has broken her promise to you You are the Huntsman from Snow White and you have to kill Snow White or lose your job You are Goldilocks and you have been frightened by the Bears. They are cross because you have broken things in their house. You are Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk and you don’t want to go home because you have been silly enough to swap your mother’s cow for some old beans. Each of these scenarios should produce discussion on moral and social dilemmas, as well as openings for introduction to other parts of the curriculum. Allow children to travel with you, give you tea or comfort you as part of their problem-solving. Engage children in your story so that they take the dilemma seriously and try to solve it in a mature manner. It is not your job to tell the story– follow the suggestions from the children.
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