{"id":3852,"date":"2018-07-11T08:43:32","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T13:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/?p=3852"},"modified":"2024-09-20T20:41:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T00:41:53","slug":"pretend-play-growing-childrens-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/07\/11\/pretend-play-growing-childrens-minds\/","title":{"rendered":"Pretend Play: Growing Children\u2019s Minds"},"content":{"rendered":"<h6><em>Enjoy this guest post by Melody Hobbs, Sarah Neessen, and Kathy Fitzgerald<\/em><\/h6>\n<p><em>Authors:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Melody Kay Hobbs, Ed.S. District Preschool Program Director and Classroom Teacher, Lenoir City Schools<\/p>\n<p>Sarah Neessen, B.S. Classroom Teacher, Knox County Head Start<\/p>\n<p>Kathy Fitzgerald, Ph.D. Assistant Clinical Professor, UTK Child and Family Studies<\/p>\n<h4>Growing Children&#8217;s Minds<\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3854 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-09.49.11.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"305\" height=\"229\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-09.49.11.png 548w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-09.49.11-300x226.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 305px) 100vw, 305px\" \/>Did you know&#8230;.\u201cwhen children engage in <em>mature pretend play with their peers<\/em>, they practice representational thinking<em>,<\/em> the same type of thinking needed for early literacy.\u00a0\u00a0 In pretend play, children act out sophisticated narratives.\u00a0 Children use a combination of objects, actions, and language together in narrative sequences and use language outside of their daily vocabulary as they meaningfully act out different perspectives and roles\u201d (<a href=\"http:\/\/galileo.org\/earlylearning\/articles\/let-the-children-play-hewes.pdf\">Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Center, 2006<\/a>, p.2).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pretend play &#8211; what are we talking about?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3855 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.20.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"321\" height=\"170\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Many might agree that play is important in the lives of young children.\u00a0 Interestingly, not all play is alike.\u00a0 Sarah Smilansky (1922 &#8211; 2006), an Israeli researcher, spent time studying children\u2019s play alongside Piaget. Smilansky\u2019s own research extended her work with Piaget, as she continued a focus on the correlation between children\u2019s play and learning. In her book, <em>Facilitating Play: A Medium for Promoting Cognitive, Socio-Emotional, and Academic Development in Young Children <\/em>(1990), Smilansky and Shefatya identify four types of play:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Functional Play (manipulation of toys),<\/li>\n<li>Constructive Play (building and making things),<\/li>\n<li>Games with Rules (starts around age 6 as children come to know games through the rules that define them), and<\/li>\n<li><strong><em>Dramatic\/Sociodramatic play<\/em><\/strong> (play in which a child engages as an actor, observer, and interactor). According to Smilansky and Shefatya (1990), sociodramatic [pretend] play is \u201ca form of voluntary social play activity in which young children participate. It differs from other types of play in that it is person oriented and not material or object oriented\u201d (p.3 &amp; 21).\u00a0 It is in this type of play,<em> sociodramatic pretend play,<\/em>\u00a0 that children engage in highly complex thinking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>\u201cIn play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself.\u201d <\/em>\u00a0Vygotsky, 1933\/1967 (as cited in <a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/EJ1070266.pdf\">Bodrova &amp; Leong, 2015,<\/a> p.371)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pretend play and mastery of mental tools<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The work of Daniel El\u2019konin (1904 &#8211; 1984) provides insight into the relationship between sociodramatic pretend play and children\u2019s cognitive development.\u00a0 El\u2019konin viewed sociodramatic play as the foremost activity influencing a preschool child\u2019s mastery of \u2018mental tools.\u2019\u00a0 According to El\u2019konin, as children engage in mature pretend play they develop the mental capacity to master the tools of today as well as of tomorrow\u2026.\u201deven those not yet invented\u201d (Bodrova &amp; Leong, 2015, p.377).<\/p>\n<p>El\u2019konin identified four distinct ways children exercise higher mental functions in mature pretend play (Bodrova &amp; Leong, 2015):<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Pretend play affords opportunity for children to develop a sophisticated system of short and long term goals<\/strong>.\u00a0 At times, children must suspend the immediate goal of play to plan for the next scene.\u00a0 Take, for example, an ice cream shop scenario in which children must pause their role as customers in order to make paper money needed to purchase their ice cream.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pretend play fosters cognitive \u201cdecentering.\u201d <\/strong>In sociodramatic play, children must \u2018see\u2019 from the perspectives of others.\u00a0 For instance, in the same play scenario described above,\u00a0 a child says \u201cDING!\u201d to ring a pretend bell alerting the \u2018ice cream shop worker\u2019 that she is ready to order.\u00a0 Understanding the perspective of the other child (a customer ringing the bell to order ice cream), the \u2018ice cream shop worker\u2019 responds, \u201cWhat can I get for you today, ma&#8217;am?\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pretend play supports the development of mental representation<\/strong>.\u00a0 In pretend play, children must think about concepts that may or may not be concrete. In the ice cream shop scenario, the \u2018mother\u2019 states that she is buying chocolate ice cream for her child &#8211; even though there is no visible representation for the role of the daughter (such as a doll). This illustration underscores children\u2019s use of abstract thinking and imagination during pretend play.\u00a0 Inasmuch as imagination is not a necessity for pretending, it is an end result.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pretend play supports intentionality in actions &#8211; both physical and mental.\u00a0 <\/strong>In sociodramatic play, children must follow the \u201crules of the role.\u201d Referring again to the ice cream shop play scene, the \u2018customers\u2019 wait in line for the \u2018ice cream shop worker\u2019 to attend to each customer, resisting the desire to merely take what they want when they want it.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead, the child\u2019s role dictates how the child must communicate, respond,\u00a0 and navigate actions with others in role.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Pretend play: A vehicle for building cognitive competencies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3856 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.36.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.36.png 1350w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.36-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.36-768x327.png 768w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.36-1024x435.png 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><sup><em>*citation below<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Our simplified interpretation of El\u2019konin\u2019s notion of mental tools provides a lens for conceptualizing how children\u2019s engagement in sociodramatic play serves as a vehicle for developing cognitive competencies necessary in literacy learning.\u00a0 During collaborative pretend play, children participate in sophisticated conversations, practice self regulation through \u2018rules of the role,\u2019 and use symbolic and abstract thinking as they pretend and imagine.\u00a0 In addition, children apply analytical thinking as they plan for play, and address and respond to issues that emerge during their play.\u00a0 Oral language, symbolic and abstract thought, analytical thinking, and self regulation are cognitive competencies foundational in early literacy development <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=2&amp;v=eH_9kica74U\">(Bodrova &amp; Leong, 2010) <\/a>&#8211; all strengthened through children\u2019s ongoing engagement in mature sociodramatic play.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pretend play mediates learning<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Based on the work of researchers like Smilansky, Vygotsky,\u00a0 El\u2019konin, and others, we believe pretend play <em>causes<\/em> development to happen. Pretend play <em>mediates <\/em>(i.e.\u00a0 is a go between) a child\u2019s extrinsic experiences and\/or perceptions and a child\u2019s internalized understanding.\u00a0 In other words, by engaging in sociodramatic play children come to know and make sense of their world as they act out notions they cannot yet verbally explain.\u00a0 Children act out scenes, dilemmas, or storylines in which they <em>appropriate <\/em>the required roles by taking the actions on as their own.\u00a0 Within this context, children build capacity to use abstract thought as they imagine, create, and represent ideas\u00a0 (Duncan &amp; Tarulli, 2003).<\/p>\n<p>Children begin thinking in terms of symbols by using objects to stand for something or someone in their play. For example, children might grapple with using a block to represent the role of a dog.\u00a0 Eventually, children come to a point in their thinking that they do not need a concrete item (in this case a block) to represent the dog&#8230;they are able think in the abstract, to <em>imagine<\/em> the role of the dog existing in the play.\u00a0 Scientists like Smilansky, Vygotsky, and El\u2019konin argue that children\u2019s minds change as they engage across time in this level of cognitively demanding pretend play.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As children command abstract thought, their minds prepare for comprehending using letter symbols to represent words and ideas.\u00a0 At this point, the symbols D &#8211; O &#8211; G can begin to make sense as a representation for dog (Bodrova &amp; Leong, 2015; Smilansky &amp; Shefatya,1990).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pretend play does not just happen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pretend play may be universal, but it must be intentionally supported in order for preschool children to reach the highest level of sociodramatic play <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/292513144_Assessing_and_scaffolding_make-believe_play\">(Leong &amp; Bodrova, 2012). <\/a>\u00a0As reflective practitioners in the field of early childhood, we have been provoked to wonder about maximizing and leveraging sociodramatic play possibilities in our preschool classrooms.\u00a0 Specifically, we have asked ourselves deep questions for inquiry:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What are our own understandings of pretend play?<\/li>\n<li>How can we plan for pretend play without dictating it?<\/li>\n<li>Do we recognize when children\u2019s pretend play is \u2018stuck\u2019?<\/li>\n<li>How do we attempt to move the play along without intruding?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Our questions have led us to revisit the notions of teacher intentionality, shared experiences, and project work for answers.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Supporting mature pretend play through teacher intentionality, shared experiences, &amp; project work<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3857 \" src=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.51-e1531318472884.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"326\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.51-e1531318472884.png 962w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.51-e1531318472884-300x255.png 300w, https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.04.51-e1531318472884-768x652.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Teacher knowledge leads to teacher intentionality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just like other developmental domains, pretend play matures across stages. In order to appropriately scaffold children\u2019s play so that it continues to increase in complexity, we recognize we must know more about it. Developed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/292513144_Assessing_and_scaffolding_make-believe_play\">Deborah Leong and Elena Bodrova (2012)<\/a>, PRoPELS is a tool for identifying ingredients of pretend play, as well as for analyzing specific characteristics of play. PRoPELS is an acronym that stands for six components of pretend play:<\/p>\n<p><strong>P &#8211; Plan.<\/strong>\u00a0 Children demonstrate the ability to think about and develop the play before playing occurs. At the highest level of pretend play, the children spend more time planning the play than acting it out.<\/p>\n<p><strong>R &#8211;<\/strong> <strong>Roles.\u00a0 <\/strong>The children\u2019s roles must fit into the play scenario, and their actions must follow the rules of behavior as determined by the role.\u00a0 In mature play, roles have social relationships and children may play more than one role at a time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>P <\/strong>&#8211; <strong>Props<\/strong>.\u00a0 A prop can be any real, symbolic, or imaginary object used during play.\u00a0 In the most complex form of play, props are imaginary and are not needed for children to stay in their roles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>E &#8211;<\/strong> <strong>Extended time frame<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is the duration of the play and its continuation across time, either within one play session, one day, or as indicated in mature play, across several play sessions and days. At this level, play can even be suspended and restarted.<\/p>\n<p><strong>L-<\/strong> <strong>Language<\/strong>. Language refers to the words and vocabulary children use to develop a role, scenario, or actions in play. As children mature in their play ability, book language is a part of the role speech.<\/p>\n<p><strong>S <\/strong>&#8211; <strong>Scenario<\/strong>.\u00a0 The scenario includes the scene and sequence of interactive events that children act out.\u00a0 In mature play, children navigate the unfolding play story in response to previous play or the wishes of the players.\u00a0 Themes from stories and books are used and reenacted (Leong &amp; Bodrova, 2012, p.29).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shared experiences and project work support the development of pretend play <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-3858\" src=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2018\/07\/Screenshot-2018-07-11-10.05.05.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"587\" height=\"443\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Next, we looked to shared experiences and project investigations as a vehicle for providing children with context and information to extend pretend play opportunities.\u00a0 We know shared experiences are vital for building a classroom community, so it stands to reason that shared experiences are essential for providing a common framework for children\u2019s staging and engaging in a pretend play scenario.\u00a0\u00a0 A shared experience can be anything from commonality of everyday life experiences to book reading, time spent together in school, field trips, community events, or project work.<\/p>\n<p>We view project work as an intentional shared experience that can provide children with common experiences and understandings that can enrich sociodramatic play. By definition,\u00a0 project work is \u201can in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about&#8230;A research effort deliberately focused on finding answers to questions about a topic posed either by the children, the teacher, or the teacher working with the children\u201c (Katz &amp; Helm, 1994, p. 1).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As preschool children engage in an investigation around a meaningful topic, they gain knowledge to expand their pretend play.\u00a0 Project work experiences broaden the scope of pretend play possibilities,\u00a0 opening the door for children to incorporate new roles, details, vocabulary, materials, facts, or scenarios.\u00a0 Moreover, project work supports pretend play that develops over time.\u00a0 Much like a play scene in pretend play, project work is open ended and emerges through ongoing interactions between children, adults, materials, and ideas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, what is the big take a way?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sociodramatic play is the activity through which young minds grow.\u00a0 Pretend play <em>causes <\/em>development, and <em>mediates<\/em> learning within children. Teacher intentionality, shared experiences, and project work can serve to scaffold children\u2019s pretend play and maximize pretend play possibilities.\u00a0\u00a0 Sociodramatic play is just too important in the learning lives of young children to be left to happenstance.<\/p>\n<p><em>References<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bodrova, E. &amp; Leong, D.\u00a0 (2015).\u00a0 Vygotskian and post-vygotskian views on children\u2019s play.\u00a0<em>American Journal of Play, v.7<\/em>, n.3, p.371-388.\u00a0 Retrieved from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/EJ1070266.pdf\">https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/EJ1070266.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Leong, D. &amp; Bodrova, E.\u00a0 (2012).\u00a0 Assessing and scaffolding:\u00a0 Make believe play.\u00a0 <em>Young Children<\/em>, v67 n1 p28-34. Retrieved from www.researchgate.net\/publication\/292513144_Assessing_and_scaffolding_make-believe_play<\/p>\n<p>Bodrova, E., Leong, D., Davidson, F. W., Davidson, J. M., Vygotskii\u0306, L. S., &amp; Davidson Films. (1995). <em>Play: A Vygotskian approach<\/em>. Davis, CA: Davidson Films.<\/p>\n<p>Duncan, R. &amp; Tarulli, D. (2003).\u00a0 Play as the leading activity of the preschool: Insights from Vygotsky, Leont\u2019ev, Bakhtin.\u00a0 <em>Journal of Early Education and Development v.14.<\/em> (n.3). p 271 -289.<\/p>\n<p>Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre. (2006).\u00a0 <em>Let the children play: Nature\u2019s answer to early learning<\/em>.\u00a0 Retrieved from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/galileo.org\/earlylearning\/articles\/let-the-children-play-hewes.pdf\">http:\/\/galileo.org\/earlylearning\/articles\/let-the-children-play-hewes.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Helm, J.\u00a0 H. &amp; Katz, L. G. (2010). <em>Young investigators: The project approach in the early years.\u00a0<\/em>(2nd ed.).\u00a0 New York, NY: Teachers College Press.<\/p>\n<p>Smilansky, S., &amp; Shefatya, L. (1990). <em>Facilitating play: A medium for promoting cognitive, socio-emotional, and academic development in young children.<\/em> Gaithersburg, MD: Psychological &amp; Educational Publications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enjoy this guest post by Melody Hobbs, Sarah Neessen, and Kathy Fitzgerald Authors:\u00a0 Melody Kay Hobbs, Ed.S. District Preschool Program [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":3855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-4","category-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pretend Play: Growing Children\u2019s Minds - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/elc\/2018\/07\/11\/pretend-play-growing-childrens-minds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pretend Play: Growing Children\u2019s Minds - Early Learning Center for Research and Practice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Enjoy this guest post by Melody Hobbs, Sarah Neessen, and Kathy Fitzgerald Authors:\u00a0 Melody Kay Hobbs, Ed.S. 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