Chapter 12
Dramatic Play
“Dramatic play can help children grow in social understanding and
cooperation; it provides a controlled emotional outlet and a means
of self-expression” (Deiner, 2010).
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Overview
• Play is the natural language of children and is at the core
of developmentally appropriate practice
• Infants imitate others
– infant’s awareness of human expression, gestures, and sounds
is the beginning of creative thinking.
• Toddlers love pretend
– they demonstrate object hunger
• Dramatic play is the most valuable form of children’s play
- helps children grow in social understanding and cooperation
• Play ideas emanate from children’s experience
- trying out adult roles and new ways to solve problems
©2012 Cengage Learning.
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Definitions
• Dramatic play
- Free play of children
- Spontaneous play that can be expanded or repeated
over and over just for the fun of it
• Sociodramatic play
- The highest level of symbolic play
- Happens when at least two children cooperate in
dramatic play
- Involves two basic elements: imitation and makebelieve
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Definitions (continued)
• Fantasy element of dramatic play serves
many purposes
- allows child to accomplish through imagination
what she is unable to do in reality
- relieves emotions such as tension or
aggression
- offers a way for the child to interpret the world
- offers a vehicle for expression if the child is
feeling shy or insecure about verbalizing
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Developmental Stages of
Dramatic Play
• Parten’s Developmental Stages of Play
(play in terms of social behavior)
- Unoccupied behavior
- Onlooker play
- Solitary play
- Parallel play
- Associative play
- Cooperative play
[See Chapter 1 for Review of these terms]
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Developmental Stages of
Dramatic Play
• Piaget—play in terms of cognitive development
– Practice play
– Symbolic play
– Games with rules
• Smilansky—four types of sociodramatic play
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Functional play
Constructive play
Dramatic play
Games with rules
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Understanding of Fantasy and
Reality in Young Children
• Dramatic play helps children separate
what is make-believe from what is real
• The younger the child, the more play is
rooted in fantasy
• By age five, children start to differentiate
when they are pretending and when they
are in the real world
• Encourage use of language to help them
differentiate
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Planning and Preparing the
Environment
• Environment should support pretending and allow
children’s input
• Teacher’s role
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Provide time, space, materials
Monitor area so that all children can participate
Assist children in learning social interaction and problem solving
Keep developmental capabilities in mind
Value play
Safety
Anti-bias in approach and materials
Serve as facilitator
• Furniture and equipment considerations
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Adaptations for Children with
Identified Needs
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Apply only those rules needed for safety
Let the child take the lead
Clearly define space
Monitor interactions and gradually decrease direct
intervention
Encourage verbalization
Offer familiar materials
Use puppets and some props that provide an obvious
cue
Dress-up clothes—easy on and off
Supply supportive seating to offset fatigue
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Prop Boxes
• Materials to enrich a theme
– Consider storage and label clearly
– Consider many sources for materials
• Recycled or donated
• Share with families
- The learning possibilities that prop boxes provide
- Invite them to visit the classroom
- Guide them into making prop boxes at home with their
children
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All Rights Reserved.
Prop Boxes (continued)
• Outdoor Prop Boxes
- Children assume responsibility for the box and
contents
- Developmental domains enhanced
- Possible materials to include
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Clothes for Dramatic Play
Center
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Variety of roles, traditional, unisex
Easy access
Durable
Safety
Storage and display location
Variety of cultures should be represented
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Integrating Dramatic Play into
the Curriculum
• Infants
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Doll corner
Home living area
Push-and-pull toys
Crawling and climbing area
• Toddlers
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Home living area
Dress-up clothes
Prop box
Puppet and mask play corner
Beauty/barber shop
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Integrating Dramatic Play into
the Curriculum (continued)
• Preschoolers
– Travel agency
– Ship
– Train station and train
– Airport and airplane
– Supermarket/grocery store
– Farmer’s market/Mercado
– Picnic
– Ants at a picnic
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.
Integrating Dramatic Play into
the Curriculum (continued)
• Primary-grade children
– Rag doll/tin man/marionette
– Imaginary machine
– Mirror images
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Dramatic Play and Other Issues
• Integration with other curriculum areas
– Language and literacy
– Math and science concepts
• Tips for teachers
– Superheroes
• Positive and negative elements
• NAEYC recommendations regarding superheroes play
• Developmentally appropriate activities
©2012 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.