The Play's the Thing: Teachers' Roles in Children's Play

Early Childhood Education

by Elizabeth Jones, Gretchen Reynolds

The traditional role for teachers in children's play was to structure it, setting rules and interrupting if things got "out of hand". However, for children three to five, sociodramatic play is a way to invent and make familiar the rhythms and actions of everyday life. This text describes why play is a fundamentally important part of children's development and shows how adults can support and promote play. The authors offer systematic descriptions and analyses of the different roles a teacher adopts toward this end - including those of stage manager, mediator, player, scribe, assessor, communicator, and planner - and describe both highly interactive and inhibited children from different economic backgrounds. The authors integrate cognitive and psycho-dynamic theory as well, regarding the scripts children play in both cognitive and affective terms, and they discuss the importance of fantasy and reality play themes, demonstrating the implications of play for literacy learning.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Professional Development

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

Reviews

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took awhile for me to get into this book but once I did it was very compelling. So many wonderful ideas about enhancing play and more strongly connecting children to learning through their freely chosen play. I can’t wait to share and discuss this with our teachers!

[Jodie Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has some great examples, explores some play mindsets, and has a great response to several struggles teachers deal with. It could use some more hands on ideas on how to scaffold play skills for teachers who find children who struggle.

[Stacy Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for early childhood educators!

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent early childhood guide. I found the descriptions of different teacher roles really useful and especially enjoyed all the class observation and dialogue examples.

[Megan]

from recommended reading list in How Much is Enough?

[Erin McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book, full of information. The book presents a whole new way to think about play and teaching.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book on play and the importance of fostering play as an early childhood educator. Loved the breakdown of each teacher role and it gave me fresh ideas for my classroom.