Just as a child progresses through different levels of learning to read, so does the child who develops literacy skills through play. Children may start by mimicking social situations they have seen in their daily lives (talking on the phone, shopping, making dinner, etc.), but as the child is allowed to play through the literacy skills they observe in life their play evolves as well. Students begin using familiar characters to recreate favorite stories from books, movies, or TV. They may even make up new adventures for their favorite characters.
In order to learn about this process from the student's point of view, we were asked in class to use McDonald's Happy Meal toys to make a short movie. We were instructed to subvert the intended use of the toys. Our group had a stuffed animal, two scantily clad fairy women, a robotic dog-type pet, and Sherman from the cartoon Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Immediately one of our group members suggested that the fairies rescue Sherman. We opted to create a series of short situations in which Sherman finds himself trapped and the fairy women must rescue him. I believe we found it easier to work outside the original plot lines of theses characters because, for the most part, we were not familiar with the TV shows and movies from which they originated. This process was helpful for me, though, to see how students ideas evolve from expectation, to story ideas, to play.
There are many other ways to encourage play as a literacy-strengthening activity. For instance, Literacy Playshop suggests "Playing Action Scripts with Puppets." This activity helps students focus on communicating ideas through movements and actions. In this process, narration is used sparingly and the story is explained through the puppets actions and dialogue. Children must stretch their creative muscles in order to get away from tradition descriptive narration. What a useful tool for demonstrating different types of writing in an engaging way. I think this would be a very useful activity for second or third graders who have enough independent writing skills to begin to experiment with different narrative techniques and story structures. This activity is also useful for helping students understand the story in a read aloud text. The students develop ownership of the story and characters if they have firsthand experience with the situation.
It is important to allow students as many different ways to engage with curriculum. We do not use our ability to read for reading only one type of text, so why should students develop literacy skills through one type of activity. Using various kinds of play, whether it is puppet shows, movie-making, or role playing in the classroom, students engage with literacy on different levels when they play with it.
In order to learn about this process from the student's point of view, we were asked in class to use McDonald's Happy Meal toys to make a short movie. We were instructed to subvert the intended use of the toys. Our group had a stuffed animal, two scantily clad fairy women, a robotic dog-type pet, and Sherman from the cartoon Mr. Peabody and Sherman. Immediately one of our group members suggested that the fairies rescue Sherman. We opted to create a series of short situations in which Sherman finds himself trapped and the fairy women must rescue him. I believe we found it easier to work outside the original plot lines of theses characters because, for the most part, we were not familiar with the TV shows and movies from which they originated. This process was helpful for me, though, to see how students ideas evolve from expectation, to story ideas, to play.
There are many other ways to encourage play as a literacy-strengthening activity. For instance, Literacy Playshop suggests "Playing Action Scripts with Puppets." This activity helps students focus on communicating ideas through movements and actions. In this process, narration is used sparingly and the story is explained through the puppets actions and dialogue. Children must stretch their creative muscles in order to get away from tradition descriptive narration. What a useful tool for demonstrating different types of writing in an engaging way. I think this would be a very useful activity for second or third graders who have enough independent writing skills to begin to experiment with different narrative techniques and story structures. This activity is also useful for helping students understand the story in a read aloud text. The students develop ownership of the story and characters if they have firsthand experience with the situation.
It is important to allow students as many different ways to engage with curriculum. We do not use our ability to read for reading only one type of text, so why should students develop literacy skills through one type of activity. Using various kinds of play, whether it is puppet shows, movie-making, or role playing in the classroom, students engage with literacy on different levels when they play with it.
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