Study Notes on Play and Play Activities. chapter 7

ROLE OF PLAY IN LEARNING

  • Encourages reflection on personal experiences of play during school age.

    • Prompt questions:

    • What did it sound like?

    • What were you doing?

    • Who were you playing with?

    • Describe the environment.

TYPES OF PLAY

  • Play can be categorized into several types which include:

    • Play rituals

    • Brain teasers

    • Collections

    • Games with rules

    • Rough-and-tumble play

    • Drama

PLAY RITUALS

  • Defined as games or play activities handed down through generations, typically in play yards.

  • Three types of play rituals:

    1. Handed Down Games: Includes traditional games such as:

    • Jacks

    • Kick the can

    • Statues

    • Hide and seek

    • Marbles

    • Hopscotch

    • Cat’s cradle string games

    • Skipping

    • Tag

    • Clapping games

    • Four squares

    • Ball games

    • Rhymes

    • Red Rover

    1. Counting Rituals: Activities that involve counting such as:

    • Black shoe

    • One potato, two potato, three potato, four

    • Bubble gum bubble gum in a dish

    • Rock-paper-scissors

    1. Storytelling Rituals: Includes various narrative forms such as:

    • Ghost stories

    • Limericks

    • Riddles

    • Oral stories (often scary)

    • Poetry

    • Skipping chants

    • Books (e.g., the Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Holes, Black Beauty).

BRAIN TEASERS

  • Engaging brain teasers present various cognitive challenges, including:

    • Would you rather games.

    • Sudoku.

    • Math games, such as placing mathematical symbols among numbers to achieve a target value:

    • For example, inserting one mathematical symbol into 5555555555 to equal 500500:

      • Solution: 555−55=500555 - 55 = 500.

    • Puzzles like:

    • Crossword puzzles

    • Secret code challenges

    • Find the difference puzzles

    • Mazes.

    • Riddles such as:

    • "People make me, save me, change me, raise me. What am I?" (Answer: MONEY)

    • Trivia questions like:

      • "What has to be broken before you use it?" (Answer: egg)

      • "What jungle animal is inside these letters: L P H N?" (Answer: elephant).

COLLECTIONS

  • The act of collecting is a form of play that school-age children engage in, which itself can be enjoyable.

  • Examples of collectable items include:

    • Rocks

    • Stamps

    • Comics

    • Dolls

    • Horse figurines

    • Beanie Babies

    • Postcards

    • Marbles

    • Shells

    • Songs

    • Crystals

    • Rock band posters

    • Cards.

  • Collection utility:

    • Objects can serve multiple purposes:

    • During play

    • During games

    • For discussions

    • For aesthetic appreciation.

  • Social aspects of collections:

    • Children may trade or borrow items, raising discussions on the pros and cons of trading.

GAMES WITH RULES

  • Defined as having a specific set of rules that govern gameplay.

  • Importance of negotiation:

    • Rules are typically discussed and agreed upon prior to the onset of play.

  • Examples of games with rules include:

    • Chess

    • Checkers

    • Snakes and ladders

    • 7-Up

    • UNO

    • Monopoly

    • Skip-Bo.

ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY

  • Describes natural forms of play among children, characterized by playful wrestling.

  • Nature of the play:

    • Considered non-competitive.

  • Distinction:

    • Rough-and-tumble play differs from aggressive play in terms of intention and execution.

  • Educational support for rough-and-tumble play:

    • Factors to consider include:

    • Age of children

    • Gender dynamics

    • Environment and context

    • Safety measures.

DRAMA

  • Defined by influences from peers, community, and popular culture.

  • Characteristics:

    • Can involve long-term projects.

    • Provides avenues for creativity and leadership.

    • Children can engage in creating their own plays, movies, commercials, and music videos.

MALCOLM'S GRADE 4 DRAMA PROJECT

  • A specific case or example mentioned to illustrate drama in play, though details were not provided in the transcript.

CONCLUSION: LOTS OF PLAY OPPORTUNITIES

  • The overarching theme suggests that numerous opportunities exist for children to engage in play, reflecting on the importance of varied play types for developmental outcomes.