Transcript

Welcome to Lesson 3 of our play-based learning course! I’m thrilled to have you here as we dive into the heart of play-based learning. We will learn how to design activities that ignite curiosity, foster development, and keep kids actively engaged. In this lesson, we’ll explore how to plan purposeful play activities, tailor them to your students’ needs, and incorporate meaningful learning goals. Let’s get started!

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of activity design, let’s talk about the key principles to keep in mind. When we talk about play based learning, we want to make sure the activities are…

1. Child-Centered:
   • Activities should align with your students’ interests, needs, and developmental levels.
   • Observe your students to identify what sparks their curiosity.
2. Purposeful Play:
   • The activity should have clear learning objectives while maintaining the freedom of play.
   • Ask yourself, “What skills or concepts will this activity support?”
3. Open-Ended:
   • Provide opportunities for creativity and exploration without rigid outcomes.
   • Use materials that can be used in multiple ways, like blocks, art supplies, or natural objects.
4. Engaging Environment
   • Create a space that invites play and exploration.
   • Arrange your classroom into zones or centers, like a reading nook, a sensory table, or a dramatic play area.

So how do we plan for maximum play? I was reading this book called The Playful Classroom and one of their pieces of advice was NOT start with the standard you’re teaching. She recommended knowing all your standards you need to teach, but you should look to the experiences first.

What unique experiences do we want to provide for our students?

What have they never done in a classroom while learning? What could you do inside or outside the classroom that would teach the standard?

As a side note, this book was really good and I do recommend reading it for more tips on building a play-based classroom

So here’s an example of play-based learning.

Let’s say one of your standards is for your students to understand animal adaptations. You could do one of the following options:

1. Find the section of adaptations in the science textbook. Look at picture examples. Talk about it. Then have the kids fill out a worksheet assessing what they learned. The next day, you move on to a new standard on the list.

2. Or you could walk outside the school building and go on an adaptation hunt. Find bugs under rocks, look at squirrels in trees, birds on nests, etc. You experience them, not just read and look at pictures. This is what a playful classroom teacher would do. This is also what would impact student learning the most and what they would remember.

Not every lesson has to be this engaging. But what would happen if most of our lessons were? We still can assess them at the end of our lesson, but which way do you think would help them more?

Here are some more examples:

1. Learning about outer space? Do a video call with a NASA employee
2. Are math facts hard for your students to master? Play card games!
3. Instead of reading about the cycle of H2O, show them with an experiment.

I’m not naïve in thinking this wouldn’t require more work. Sometimes it would require you to do some more planning or prep work. But when your students are engaged and interested, you will likely have less behavior problems in the classroom, too!

Play isn’t just an early childhood concept. A playful classroom will lead us to a new place of learning, but we must first let go of old-fashioned ways and embrace new thinking.

Steps to Design Play-Based Learning Activities

Now that we have the principles down, let’s break it into actionable steps.”

1. Consider your Students

You know your students best. What are they interested in? Are they pretty active and need an interactive activity?”

2. Choose the Activity

1. Decide what type of activity you’ll do.
2. Select which standard this activity will teach.

3. Select Materials and set up the environment

1. Choose open-ended, age-appropriate materials that align with the activity.
2. Arrange the space so it’s inviting and easy to navigate.

4. Invite Exploration:

Allow students to explore and take the activity in their own direction.

5. Facilitate, Don’t Direct:

Be an active participant by observing, asking open-ended questions, and supporting students as needed.

Example: Ice Skating for Dramatic Play

1. I thought of my active students
2. I decided to do an ice skating rink indoors because of their need for gross motor skills, crossing the midline activity, and social skills
3. I created the ice rink with plastic sheeting and tape. Then I added fuzzy slippers and other winter items.
4. I demonstrated just briefly how to play in the dramatic play center
5. Then I let the kids explore, while I facilitated. I asked them open-ended questions and was there if they needed help.

This is good for a preschool classroom and I didn’t need an assessment for this.

Another example:

1. Let’s say you have students who ask a lot of questions about how things work.
2. You could set up a zone where students can put together snap circuits, where they follow directions to make a circuit work, and another zone where students can take apart old appliances with tools. Or play with blocks of wood, nuts, and bolts.
3. Just like the other example, I am the facilitator and I can ask questions and guide them. If I don’t know the answer, I use it as a teachable moment to look it up together.

Play Based Activities for Different Subject Areas

I’m going to share some ideas you can use in your own classrooms. Feel free to tweak it to make it work for you!

Starting with science:

• STEM challenge cards to design a marble maze
• A habitat tray showing habitats for animals, plants, and earth
• Exploring rocks with examples, picture cards, and magnifying glasses
• A bird nests station

English:

• An interactive spelling station
• A station to make different emotions with rocks and pictures
• A comic book station with models and books
• Re-creating a path (like the one in the book, Rosie’s Walk) using positional words

Math:

• Set out cards and shapes for a fun tangram activity
• Practice number facts with this rainbow station
• Ordering numbers by hanging “shirts” with numbers on them with clothespins
• Use ladybugs to practice understanding more or less
• Create a shop to work on money skills

More Ideas:

• Create a musical instrument
• Practice fine motor skills
• Teach map skills with this treasure map station

You don’t need to worry about making these Pinterest or Instagram worthy. They don’t have to be super pretty. Don’t let that hold you back from setting up play-based learning activities.

I put together a lesson planning page for you to use. Feel free to download it and use it in your own classroom.

Now you may be curious about how we can assess students with this type of teaching? Head over to the next lesson where we’ll talk all about that!