play-based learning apples handout - starnet

Play-Based Learning...It’s More Than

Fun and GamesFeaturing

Angela Searcy andAntionette Taylor

Illinois STARnet is operated under the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education through a grant awarded by the Illinois State Board of Education; 100% of annual funding for the project is from federal sources.

#186June 30, 2016

ApplesVideo Magazineproduced by

STARnet Regions I & III

Illinois'STARNET'Regions'I'&'III'•'Center'for'Best'Practices'in'Early'Childhood'

Education'Western'Illinois'University'•'1'University'Circle'•'Horrabin'Hall'32'•'

Macomb,'Illinois'61455'800N227N7537'•'www.starnet.org'

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Play%Based*Learning….It’s*More*Than*Fun*and*Games*AVM#186*

*In'order'to'get'the'most'out'of'this'professional'development'video,'we'suggest'the'

following:'

! View'with'a'group,'possibly'during'a'staff'meeting'or'inNservice'day'

! Use'the'suggested'materials'to'participate'in'activities'during'the'video'

! Pause'at'the'end'of'each'section'for'discussion.'Generate'your'own'questions'

and/or'use'the'prompting'questions'in'this'handout'to'guide'discussion.'

'

Materials:'

! Balloons,'one'per'person''

! Permanent'markers'

! Small'postNit'notes'

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Questions*for*Consideration*Part%1:%Play%and%Early%Brain%Development*

! What'is'your'image'of'learning?'Does'it'align'with'current'brain'development'

research?''

! How'might'you'explain'the'benefits'of'playNbased'learning'to'families?'

'

Part%2:%Planning%for%Play%! What'role'does'the'Illinois'Early'Learning'and'Development'Standards'have'

in'your'current'lesson'planning'process?%! How'do'you'provide'the'conditions'for'purposeful'play?%! Are'you'planning'for'differentiation,'accommodations'and'modifications'

when'planning?'Is'this'clear'on'the'lesson'plan?'If'not,'how'might'you'revise'

your'lesson'planning'process'and'form'to'include'differentiation,'

accommodations,'and'modifications?%%Part%3:%Interest%Areas%

! Share'with'one'another'the'strategies'you'use'to'get'to'know'children'and'

families.'How'do'you'use'this'information'to'make'play'purposeful'and'

meaningful?'

! What'prompting'questions'can'you'use'to'extend'children’s'learning'during'

play?'

! What'language'strategies'have'you'found'to'be'successful?'

! What'challenging'topics'have'emerged'during'children’s'play?'Discuss'ways'

for'responding'to'challenging'topics.'

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%%




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Part%4:%Interest%Areas%! What'does'the'term'authentic'mean'to'you?'

! Explain'playNbased'assessment.'Does'your'current'assessment'process'align'

with'characteristics'of'playNbased'assessment?'If'not,'what'steps'might'you'

take'to'improve'your'assessment'practice?'

! How'do'you'plan'for'assessment?'How'is'this'reflected'in'the'lesson'planning'

process'and'on'the'lesson'plan'form?'

'

A Special Place for Play in Special EducationBY JAN DOWLING, HIGHSCOPE FIELD CONSULTANT AND SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST,

ALPINE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AMERICAN FORK, UTAH

As a speech and language pathologist in preschools for children with special needs,

I sometimes joke that I have the best job in the world because I get paid to play with

children. As educators of young children, we know it is not “just play” and that our

jobs are a lot of work, in the same way that we know a child’s play is also a child’s work.

With all that work and the mountains of paperwork we teachers face, is it possible that

sometimes we might forget just how important play is? Do we really have time to get on

the fl oor and play with cars? Can we take time to paint our own hands? Do we support

play as part of our jobs? Can we explain what children are learning as they play?

Perhaps we can also ask ourselves if we can support children in playing with purpose,

or “intention,” because

as Piaget (1962) argued,

in order to think things

through, children need to

play things through.

I’ve been mulling

these questions over in my

mind for several weeks

now. During a recent work

time, I glanced around

our room to see just what

was happening as the

children played. Taylor,

who has a craniofacial

anomaly resulting in a

vision problem, cognitive

problems, and seizures,

IN THIS ISSUE

VOLUME 28, NO. 2

FEATURE ARTICLE:

A Special Place

for Play in

Special Educationpage 1

CLASSROOM HINTS:

Play As a Best Practicepage 8

TRAINER-TO-TRAINER:

IEP Goals –

From Writing to Actionpage 10

ASK US:

page 12

NEWS BRIEFS:

page 13

Observation of children at play is an important tool in assessing their development.

Volume 28, No. 2 • page 2

A Special Place for Play in Special Education, continued

HIGHSCOPE | Extensions

PUBLISHER CREDITS

HighScope Extensions is a practical resource for early childhood teachers, trainers, administrators, and child care providers. It contains useful information on the HighScope Curriculum and on HighScope’s training network.

Jennifer BurdAdam RobsonMarcella Fecteau WeinerEditors

Nancy GoingsPublications Assistant

Nancy BrickmanDirector of Publications

Sherry BarkerMembership Manager

Carrie HernandezDirector of Marketing and Communication

Produced by HighScope Press, a division of HighScope Educational Research Foundation

ISSN 2155-3548

©2014 HighScope FoundationThe HighScope Foundation is an independent, nonprofi t organization founded by David Weikart in Ypsilanti, MI in 1970.

Click here for entire newsletter

was in the greeting-time area pretending to “read” a big book to her imaginary class.

Kario, who has Down Syndrome, was at a magnetic board putting magnetic pictures,

letters, and numbers on it. Isaiah, who has social-behavioral concerns, and Mateus, a

typically developing peer, were playing with the train set. Seth, a student with autism,

was grouping ABC blocks together, and Ben, who has Phelan McDermid Syndrome (a

syndrome that affects cognitive and motor skills), was playing with the marble tower.

If the principal, a parent, or another stakeholder of the class had walked in at that

moment, it might have looked like “free play” to them. But I could see much more.

Taylor was expanding her language using a variety of four- to fi ve-word sentences.

Kario, who has limited vocabulary, was learning new words as she held up the magnetic

picture of a guitar as if to ask “What is this?” The teacher explained to her what a guitar

is and showed her the ukulele in our music box. Isaiah and Mateus were developing

their social-emotional skills by conversing back and forth, sharing, trading, and

negotiating train cars. Seth was grouping the blocks by letter and color — a cognitive

classifi cation skill. And Ben requested his favorite toy — one that uses marbles — by

handing a picture of the marbles to a teacher, demonstrating his ability to represent

objects.

Within just a few minutes of observing the children, I garnered valuable

information about them in the areas of cognition and reasoning, social-emotional

development, and math, language and literacy, communication, and fi ne-motor skills.

Still, I know it takes courage and effort to promote play as an intentional

intervention for children with special needs. We have pressures from many sources.

We have legal mandates to meet, progress to document, and goals to meet. We face

questions from anxious parents who want their children to learn as much as possible,

and responsible policymakers who want us to justify that the extra expense of special

education is worth the investment. But I believe we can fi nd a way to do it. For example,

we found a number of ways to support Ben (the builder of the marble tower) in his play.

It is likely that Ben will never use oral communication, and I wanted to give him

another way to communicate. Eventually he will use a technological device (such as

an iPad), but right now he does not have the fi ne-motor control to do so. A picture

exchange system was the best place to start; but after two failed attempts at interesting

him with pictures, I was discouraged. However, after talking things through with

another teacher, we identifi ed a small number of objects that Ben seemed most

attracted to in his spontaneous play. Beginning with pictures of those objects, Ben

began to use them because they facilitated his ability to carry out his own play ideas.

Gradually, as he became more adept at using pictures to communicate his needs,

“Within just a

few minutes of

observing the children,

I garnered valuable

information about them

in the areas of

cognition and reasoning,

social-emotional

development, and math,

language and literacy,

communication, and

fine-motor skills.”





we incorporated pictures of actions (including self-care routines) and feelings (from

happiness to frustration). By beginning with play, we were able to open up a whole new

world of communication for Ben.

As the discussion with my colleagues progressed, we really focused on a play

approach and how we could support it by supplementing the pictures with spoken

language. That is, we focused on play as the means to expand Ben’s communication

skills. We set a goal for each adult in the classroom to have a specifi c number (we chose

fi ve) of communication exchanges with Ben each day. I explained to the team that we

wanted genuine communication exchanges, not just a barrage of questions. Now, even

though Ben can’t talk, we each make comments to him and pause for him to respond

in whatever way he can — using facial expressions and gestures, pointing at or sharing

pictures, initiating actions, and so on. We comment on what we see, what we are doing,

and what he is doing. We converse with him, play with him, interact with him. He is

responding and becoming more engaged with people and materials each day. And we

are seeing a documentable difference in his participation in each part of the routine

and in his overall engagement. Most gratifying, Ben appears to be enjoying school

more, and we take increasing delight in interacting — playing — with him. It is a mutual

learning experience.

“Even though

Ben can’t talk,

we each make

comments to him

and pause for him to

respond in whatever

way he can…

We comment on

what we see,

what we are doing,

and what he is doing.

We converse

with him, play with him,

interact with him.”

Adults foster children’s learning when participating as genuine partners in children’s play.





What About Goals?

Paperwork, standardized tests, goals, audits, team meetings, data collection, and so on,

are realities for us. Most preschools for children with special needs have a curriculum

to follow, and the children also have Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals to

meet. It is easy to see why we feel like the only way we can accomplish it all is to pull the

children aside and work on specifi c skills. Therefore, it is even more important for us to

remember how all preschool children, regardless of ability, learn. They learn by making

choices based on what interests them, manipulating materials and ideas at their own

pace. If we want children to learn, we are wise to respect their plans and support their

choices. This can be done when we consider play as an intentional intervention. That

is, we deliberately create opportunities for play because play provides the occasion to

scaffold (support and gently extend) learning. We as teachers advocate for play, support

play, and plan for play to happen throughout the day.

For example, many students in our class have fi ne-motor goals, so we have toys,

materials, and activities that facilitate fi ne-motor activities. One of the children in our

classroom, Grey, will be going to a regular kindergarten class next year. He uses a fi st

grip with crayons, pencils, and markers, and he has a fi ne-motor goal addressing his

writing skills (to help him progress toward using a tripod — thumb and two-fi nger

— grasp). We have found the occupational therapist to be a great source of ideas for

what to work on next with Grey as well as ideas for activities, classroom materials, and

special-needs adaptations. We have started doing small-group activities with writing

tools and other activities to strengthen children’s hands. We also make sure the tools

and activities are available during work time. Even so, Grey is not very interested in

writing activities. He is, however, very interested in building towers with blocks, and

he does so almost daily. So, we added writing materials to the block area, along with

maps, diagrams, markers, and whiteboards. We have boxes covered in paper that Grey

can draw on to make into any kind of block structure (such as a McDonald’s restaurant

or his house). He also makes signs and roads. I take pictures of some of his projects

and print them, and then he “writes” about the picture. It will take time for his writing-

related fi ne-motor skills to develop — he doesn’t choose these activities every day, but

with our support and trust in his play, his grip will continue to develop. We observe

him, watching for signs of progress, and we record what we see. We also play alongside

him to provide encouragement, support his independent efforts, step in when we sense

he is getting frustrated, comment on what he is doing, and acknowledge his pride in his

achievements.

“It is easy to see

why we feel like

the only way we can

accomplish it all is

to pull the children

aside and work on

specific skills.

Therefore, it is even

more important for us

to remember how all

preschool children,

regardless of ability, learn.

They learn by making

choices based on

what interests them,

manipulating materials

and ideas at

their own pace.”





“We went through

some growing pains as

we transitioned

from more traditional

‘pullout’ modes

(where a therapist takes

a student or small group

of students to an office

to work on IEP goals)

to an approach of

working on goals within

the classroom setting

throughout the daily

routine.”

To begin using children’s play as an intervention was a change of strategy for

us as teachers. We went through some growing pains as we transitioned from more

traditional “pullout” modes (where a therapist takes a student or small group of

students to an offi ce to work on IEP goals) to an approach of working on goals within

the classroom setting throughout the daily routine. However, keeping in mind that play

as an intervention is best practice for all children, we are committed to using it. (See

this issue’s “Classroom Hints” article for a discussion of some of the strategies we used

in our classroom, based on play as a best practice.)

Assessment

As special education teachers, we are familiar with the standardized testing required

by federal law. Some of us also use tests required by our particular agencies. But there

is nothing quite like using an authentic, observation-based assessment with children

— that is, an assessment tool that looks at the strengths and skills of children in a

developmentally appropriate way during their everyday experiences and interactions.

The best authentic assessment tools are non-invasive and supportive of children’s

naturally occurring behavior, and they provide developmental “snapshots” over time,

as opposed to a 60-minute annual assessment. The Child Observation Record (COR;

recently revised to COR Advantage [HighScope Educational Research Foundation &

Red-e Set Grow, 2013])* is the perfect fi t for this.

Play can be used as an intervention in the inclusive classroom — for instance, for children with fi ne-motor goals — by providing toys, materials, and activities that facilitate fi ne-motor activities.

*To fi nd out more about the COR, visit www.highscope.org.





“By using

COR Advantage,

we not only can see

children’s current

developmental level, but

we have a good tool for

deciding how

to facilitate growth

for children.”

If we go back to “observe” the children in the scenarios mentioned earlier in this

article, we can quickly see some of the children’s skill levels as we would assess them

using COR Advantage. We can see that Taylor uses phrases and sentences to talk about

what is pictured in a book, scoring a level 3 on Item Q. Book enjoyment and knowledge.

She also demonstrates level 2 profi ciency for Item L. Speaking. Ben, although he

is nonverbal, uses a visual representation or “sign” (i.e., a picture) to indicate his

intention, demonstrating level 2 on Item A. Initiative and planning. Isaiah, whose IEP

goals are in the social domain, is demonstrating skills in building relationships with

other children by playing alongside Mateus (Item F. Building relationships with other

children, level 2).

By using COR Advantage, we not only can see children’s current developmental

level, but we have a good tool

for deciding how to facilitate

growth for children. In the above

scenario, Kario shows pictures to

teachers and adults. Observing

her over time, we have seen that

Kario interacts frequently with

adults but rarely interacts with

her peers. Looking at Item F., we

can get some ideas of where to go

with Kario. For example, we can

invite other children into our play

scenarios with her and refer her

to the other children as we play

together.

COR Advantage also helps us

make sure we don’t have any

gaps in our play environment.

When we evaluate children

using COR Advantage, we can quickly see if we’ve overlooked any content areas in the

way we’ve set up our classroom or the small- and large-group activities we plan. For

example, using COR Advantage might lead us to ask, “Do we have items in our learning

environment that support a child’s exploration of history ideas [Item HH. History]

during work time, such as pictures of different time periods?” To enhance this aspect

An observation-based assessment tool allows teachers to evaluate children’s strengths and skills in a developmen-tally appropriate way during everyday experiences and interactions. It also helps teachers determine what they may need to change in the classroom environment to better support children’s learning.





of our learning environment set-up, we could ask families to send a scrapbook page of

their family from when their children were younger and post these on the wall or in a

book we make for children to look at and talk about. To enhance geography learning

(Item GG. Geography), we could take pictures of the school and other familiar places on

a fi eld trip, tape them on empty, half-pint milk cartons, and add them to the block area

or train set to introduce landmarks. Through our observations we might also notice

that, while we have plenty of toys, we might need to add some materials to support

Item EE. Tools and technology. We would then introduce these materials during a

small-group-time activity and let the children know where they would be available for

them to play with thereafter.

Our observations of children at play can give us a wealth of information for

entering into COR Advantage. And what we learn from COR Advantage can give us

great information and ideas to help us reinforce our work time to really make play an

intentional intervention for children.

In summary, perhaps Friedrich Fröebel (1826), the founder of kindergarten nearly

two centuries ago, captured it best when he said that play is the work of children.

References

Fröebel, F. (1826). On the education of man (Die Menschenerziehung), Keilhau/Leipzig: Wienbrach.

HighScope Educational Research Foundation & Red-e Set Grow. (2013). COR Advantage [Computerized

assessment system]. Online at http://coradvantage.org

Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.

Jan Dowling is a HighScope Field Consultant and a Speech-Language Pathologist for Alpine School District in American Fork, Utah. She has worked with children with special needs for more than 15 years, working in inclusion preschools, and in self-contained classes at the elementary and secondary levels. She is co-author of the book I Belong: Active Learning for Children with Special Needs, published by HighScope Press.

Children learn on many levels when engaged in play.

https://secure.highscope.org/ProductCart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=757&idcategory=0

www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol28No2_low.pdf


In the inclusive classrooms in which I serve children alongside other

early childhood professionals, we are committed to play as a best

practice. As a best practice, it is an appropriate intervention for all

children. What follows is a discussion of some of the things we do to

treat play as a best practice, as well as some of the outcomes we have

observed in doing so.

Classroom Strategies

1. A classroom teacher posted the reminder “Play is an Intentional

Intervention” on the wall to remind us that play does not happen

by accident, but rather through purposeful or intentional interven-

tion. We want our staff and all visitors, para-professionals, admin-

istrators, and other adults who might come into the classroom to

know our philosophy and know that we are working hard with the

children in each part of the routine, even in play.


Play As a Best PracticeBY JAN DOWLING

CLASSROOM HINTS


2. We have made a conscious decision to “interact rather than in-

terrupt.” For instance, Sean had an IEP goal of combining words

into sentences. One day I saw him taking the ABC blocks from

a bucket and lining them up on a shelf. I approached him on his

physical level and started to help him reach the blocks he want-

ed. After some time he started naming the blocks. I extended his

language by adding what I thought he was saying, such as “want

block,” “B goes next,” and other phrases. He engaged with me in

a natural and genuine interaction for 20 minutes, imitating what

I was saying.

3. We are committed to interacting in genuine ways with children

and adults and to advocating for children’s play. We explain to

parents the benefi ts of play, and we send home articles or links

that we think parents might fi nd interesting, such as this page

at the website for the National Association for the Education of

Young children (NAEYC): www.naeyc.org/play.

4. We advocate for ourselves as experts in child development by

letting people know what we are doing. Our preschool class

is in an elementary school, along with another special needs

preschool and a regular-ed preschool. We want the teachers in

the school, parents passing by, and the other preschool teachers

to know that we are committed to teaching with best practices

in our classroom; and play – rather than worksheets – is one of

those best practices. We understand that children learn through

their play, and we want other teachers, adults, and parents to

understand that too. While the importance of social skills cannot

be underestimated, play is also key to children’s acquisition of

academic skills. We also post information on literacy, science,

math, and social learning on a bulletin board just outside our

door. The board also displays pictures of children engaged dur-

ing different parts of the daily routine, learning and participating

in activities. We include captions below each picture, explaining

what the children are doing and what they are learning.

5. Everyone in our class has committed to becoming an expert ob-

server of children. There is not just one person in the class who

can take credit for the progress children have made with their

communication skills, social interactions, emotional self-regu-

lation, fi ne- or gross-motor development, or academic learning.




Classroom Hints, continued

Each person in the class knows all of the students, knows appropri-

ate adult-child interaction strategies to scaffold (support and gently

extend) early learning, and works with all the children all day.

6. When we use play as a best practice in our classroom, we have no-

ticed that parents are at ease in our class and feel comfortable talk-

ing with us about diffi cult topics. By partnering with their children,

and by relaxing and playing on the fl oor with the children, families

can see just how important play and relationships are to their

children’s learning. And parents see that we, the early childhood

professionals, value playing with children. We form bonds with

parents and children through natural interactions. We encourage

all family members to play with their children at home.

• • •

To sum up, we are committed to facilitating learning through the best

methods for children, and we are committed to play as an intentional

intervention and best practice. We’ve found that it works. We’ve

found that the children in our classroom are happy, excited, and will-

ing to try new things. And we’ve found a difference in ourselves, too.

We are more enthusiastic and have a greater sense of fulfi llment in

our work. We really do have the best jobs in the world.

Bulletin boards posted outside the classroom help teachers, parents, and other adults see how our children learn through play.

www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol28No2_low.pdf




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29 Children’s Research CenterUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign51 Gerty Dr. Champaign, IL 61820-7469

Telephone: 217-333-1386 Fax: 217-244-7732Toll-free: 877-275-3227Email: [email protected]

Internet: http://illinoisearlylearning.org

Illinois State Board of EducationEarly Learning Project

Any opinions, fi ndings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this tip sheet are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Illinois State Board of Education.

For more tip sheets on other topics, please go to http://illinoisearlylearning.org rev. 9/13

For related Web resources, see “Play and Self-Regulation in Preschool” at http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tips.htm.

Play and Self-Regulation in PreschoolAre your children aware of their feelings, needs, and impulses? Can they calm themselves, control their behavior, and focus on tasks? Preschoolers who can do these things fi nd it easier to take turns, make friends, and adapt to school routines. This ability is called “self-regulation.” Teachers often wonder how to help children self-regulate. The answer may be, “Let them play!” (See Illinois Early Learning and Development Benchmarks 30.A.ECa, 30.A.ECb, 30.A.ECc, 30.A.ECd, 30.A.ECe, and 30.C.ECd.)

Provide open-ended play time. x Let children have long periods of time daily to plan and take part in play activities.

When you ask children ahead of time to choose what they want to play, you help them focus attention and follow through on plans. “Dmitri, your plan was to play a board game. What game do you want?”

x Offer open-ended materials so children can plan creatively: blocks, sand, water, colorful scarves, streamers, etc. They may turn blocks into a city, a hill, or a bed. The scarves may become clouds, a waterfall, or blankets.

x Help children put disappointments into words so they can calm themselves and focus on putting things back together. “Your block tower fell and you feel frustrated. You could build another one. Or do you want to put away the blocks and play with something else?”

Encourage make-believe play. x Provide props so children can take different roles: parent, baby, rescue worker, pet,

dancer, magician. A child who pretends with others learns to follow the “rules” of the role he plays. “I’m the waiter. I give you a menu, and you tell me what you want to eat.”

x Observe to fi nd out if children internally patrol their own behavior as they play their make-believe roles. “I can’t play with Celia now. I’m being the waiter for Kaya and Will.”

x Give children a chance to set limits when a playmate doesn’t follow the rules. They will often remind each other to control impulses during make-believe play: “Don’t growl at me, Waiter. Waiters don’t scare people.”

Help children negotiate with each other during pretend play. x When children disagree, encourage them to talk to each other about what they want.

x If plans have to be changed, remind the children that they have options. “You want the magic wand. But it’s still Emma’s turn. You can sit and wait. Or you could play that this cape is magic and wear it till Emma’s done.”




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Suggested*Readings**

Einstein%Never%Used%Flashcards:%How%Our%Children%Really%LearnIAnd%Why%They%Need%to%Play%More%and%Memorize%Less.%2003.'By'Kathy'Hirsh'Pasek,'Roberta'Michnick'and'Diane'Ever.''

'

Play%Deprivation:%Is%it%Happening%in%Your%School%Setting?%2011.'By'Lisa'Lauer.''

Powerful%Interactions:%How%to%Connect%With%Children%To%Extend%Their%Learning.'2011.'By'Amy'Dombro,'Judy'Jablon'and'Charlotte'Stetson.'

'

See,%Hear,%Touch!%The%Basics%of%Learning%Readiness.'2005.'By'Mari'Blaustein.''

Talking%with%Parents%about%Play%and%Learning.''By'Linda'Weikel''

The%Role%of%Pretend%Play%in%Children’s%Cognitive%Development.'Doris'Bergen'

play-based learning apples handout - starnet

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