Guest Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I'm working in a mixed year 1/2 class and the current role play is someone lacking. It's an estate agents which I can't alter but I do want to pep it up a bit. At the moment it has almost nothing in it. I have thought of a few obvious things such as a phone, real house leaflets, newspapers with house listings and some writing equipment, however I was wondering if anyone had any other ideas for exciting things to include? I'd like to try and include some sort of challenge for the more able year 2s if possible.
JacquieL Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I think that the most important feed in to role play is that the children have some experience of the roles they need to take on. Do they understand about estate agents as that is something that I can't imagine many children have experience of? This would make it difficult fo them to engage in role play on this theme. So if someone has dictated this theme to you I would be asking why and what the intended learning objectives are. Children need to have some experience to build on. It may be that you can alter it somehow. What about looking at different types of homes, could you visit a building site, (not easy these day I know) and decide how to advertise the houses and who might want to live in them. Perhaps you could ask them how they would market the houses of the 3 little pigs. How would they sell this house, who would buy it? In role you could challenge them to sell each house to you. Which one would be the best to buy? Perhaps you could visit as a seller trying to sell a Castle and ask them to come and visit it, take photos, fix a price and and put together a brochure. Could you be a customer looking for a particular type of property and visit the office asking for help with this?
Guest Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 Thanks Jacquie for your helpful suggestions. You are probably right about the fact that the children won't have had any experience of estate agents and this is something I'm hoping to model once the area actually has items in it. The children have done a whole topic on building over this half term linked to building work going on in the school and done extensive work on houses, including looking at the 3 Little Pigs so they have plenty of experience there. I know the head and everyone will be looking to see elements of challenge for the year 2s, rather than just letting them play (I know this is valuable too!) so after I've modeled the role play and children have had time to explore I'm struggling to think of ways to extend it further. The role play can't be changed till Easter which isn't something I feel I can address just yet as I'm new!
Guest Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 Can they draw up adverts based on nursery character houses-3 bears cottage, sleeping beauty's castle, jacks run down cottage, 7 dwarfs house....
JacquieL Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 You seem to have done some interesting groundwork, and I can fully understand that you don't want to rock the boat at school by challenging your role-play theme. I am just wondering what your literacy books are this half-term so that perhaps you could link the two together with a character from those wanting to buy or sell a house. You could use the good old stand-by of a letter to the children enquiring whether they have anything suitable, or saying you wish to sell a house. For example the Witches house in Hansel and Gretel needs to go up for sale now she is dead. Your Y2's could then be involved in responding, making brochures, measuring up, drawing plans, locating the home on a map etc. etc. so you could supply squared paper, tapes, maps, a camera ( ICT ) I'm sure you get the gist. If your literacy theme is non-fiction and possibly history or geography linked you could use those for different types of homes. Perhaps they could have a letter from someone in another country wanting to sell their home to someone in the UK. The children would have a starting point for research then. Hopefully someone else will come along with more ideas. Have fun.
Froglet Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 This may be rubbish - it's a while since I had Y2s and I've only ever bought one house! Could you do things like pricing the extras that a character wants to sell with the house and getting your Y2s to total it? Or things like working out how long they need to save up for to get it if they save a certain amount per month. I had a builders yard once with differentiated price lists and children had shopping lists of things to buy e.g 2 ladders, 3 planks of wood etc. They had to write out orders and invoices calculating the costs. Could they do some calculating - the agent has to show 3 houses in one day and has possible routes - which will take the longest/use the most petrol/cost the most etc? Will keep pondering - it's a tricky one!
Guest Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 Wow so many brilliant ideas already! You've got me very excited now about what I was thinking was a very dull role play. I love the idea of the children buying and selling the fairy tale homes and I think the pricing up of the extras would be a really good idea for the maths table, to tie it in with the role play area and make it more child friendly. I've only just got the job and I'm starting from scratch with a bare classroom, but instead of six lovely weeks of summer holiday to think of ideas and change the classroom around, I only have one, so any help is very much appreciated!
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