Playing and Learning

I'm sure that anyone that has worked with groups of young kids, in one capacity or another, has at some point witnessed a game, a playtime, where one child becomes the "teacher" and the others fill the roles of the students.  It is one that I have seen across many of my experiences as a camp counselor, a daycare assistant, and even in classrooms; and, always I think back on those playtimes fondly.  So imagine my pleasure while reading Playing Their Way into Literacies, by Karen Wohlwend, and reading about the students that were "Abbie Wannabes," students pretending to be teachers.  I could picture the scene perfectly, and it brought me great joy to read about the existing connections between that wonderful play and children's literacy.  
 

Wonderful memories were not the only thing that Wohlwend reminded me of.  I was also reminded of a podcast that I had listened to recently when I read that "In the playing/reading nexus, reading strengthened play and made a pretend teacher's performance more credible" (p. 19).  I was instantly brought back to Dr. John Guthrie's 5 critical points in motivating students to read (see my blog post from March 17, 2013).  Specifically, he says to motivate children to read, help them see the value of it, make reading pay-off for them.  There is no denying that children will see value in improving their play, and since the children engage in this type of play in groups and choose this play for themselves, it further motivates them to read. 

Playing teacher is not the only type of play in which this is applicable.  If you tune in to what children are doing while they play, you can see evidence of all types of literacy strategies.  As Dr. Karen Wohlwend informs us in a podcast with Dr. Betsy Baker, we are in a time where play has gradually been disappearing from kindergarten rooms, and kindergarten is becoming the new first grade.  We need to latch on to children's interests, recognize the literacies built into them, and encourage children to play. 

Baker, E.A., Guthrie, J. (2013, January 27). How motivation, engagement, and reading achievement are related among adolescents. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org
 
Baker, E.A., Wohlwend, K. (2009, February 16). Play with Disney princess dolls and children's literacy development. Voice of Literacy. Podcast retrieved from http://voiceofliteracy.org

Wohlwend, K.E. (2011). Playing their way into literacies: Reading, writing, and belonging in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.