Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's ...



Online Companion: Early Education Curriculum: A Child's Connection to the World, 4E

Chapter 12

Dramatic Play and Creative Dramatics

• Reflective Review Questions

• Web Activities

• Additional Related Web Links

Reflective Review Questions

1. Explain the differences between presenting children with opportunities for a dramatic play, creative dramatics, or a play that has the actors’ lines written and the actions described. Which of the three do you think offers the most possibilities for creative expression by the participants? Why? Is it necessary for individuals working with young children to understand the differences? Why?

2. According to Sara Smilansky’s theory, what are the four categories of play that she discusses? Can toddlers play games with rules? Can primary-age children be involved in functional play? Why or why not?

3. Does fantasy play have an important role in the development of young children? Why? At which point, or under which circumstances, does it become inappropriate? How should a teacher deal with inappropriateness?

4. Describe a well-planned dramatic play center, including prop boxes, clothing, and storage.

5. Describe a memory that you have from childhood that involved pretending. Using either Piaget’s or Smilansky’s theory, how would you categorize the type of play that you were involved in?

6. Describe three themes for dramatic play that preschoolers enjoy engaging in, and identify items you would include in the center and how you would arrange them. What input might you receive from children before changing the center?

7. Relate dramatic play to four other learning centers. Be specific in the ways that dramatic play would help teach concepts in these other learning areas.

Web Activities

1. Search on line for an article that discusses dramatic play and young children. Read the article, and summarize what you have read. How will you use ideas from the article to improve your teaching skills? Would you recommend this Web site to another student? Why or why not?

2. Field Trips and Sociodramatic Play

Often teachers use field trips as the culminating activity for a dramatic play theme. Read the article from the Web site below and write a brief reaction paper to share in class. Why might you think about doing a field trip early on in a dramatic play theme?

Do a Web search for “Learning Through Sociodramatic Play.” This is an article by Christine J. Ferguson and Carol P. McNulty.

3. Toys and Play

Toy Industries of Europe



(Click on “Search, “ then in the Search box type “the value of toys and play,” scroll down and click on “The Value of Toys and Play.”)

After you read the article, reflect on this question: Do you think that toys are important for enhancing pretend play? Why or why not?

4. Culture and Play

Do a Web search for “Play and Cultural Diversity.” This is an article by Michael Rettig.

Does culture affect children’s play? Read the article and then summarize your reaction in a short written format.

5. Texas Child Care:



(Click on “Back Issues,” then click on the “Winter 2006” issue, and then click on “‘I’m a boy but I’m pretending I’m a girl’: Cross-gendered play in preschool children.”)

If young girls dress up in men’s shirts, ties, and jackets in the dramatic play area they’re usually never given a second glance. However, what are your feelings regarding young boys dressing up in female clothing and accessories? Write your immediate reaction down on a piece of paper. Now, read the article from the Web site. Has your opinion changed in any way after reading this information? Be specific in describing if it changed or if it did not, and why. If you are comfortable doing so, share your reactions with one of your classmates.

Additional Related Web Links

1. Creative Drama Links



2. Games Kids Play



3. International Play Association



4. Pretend Play and Young Children’s Development



5. Scholastic



6. TASP—The Association for the Study of Play



7. Teaching Strategies



8. University of South Carolina Essays in Education



(Click on “Archives,” then click on “Volume 19, Winter 2007,” and then click on “The Importance of Symbolic Play as a Component of the Early Childhood Curriculum.”)

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