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"Play is key to every child's well being. Children learn about the world and experience life through play. One definition of play is "the spontaneous activity of children." Through play, children practice the roles they will play later in life.
Play has many functions. It increases peer relationships, releases tensions, advances intellectual development, increases exploration, and increases chances of children speaking and interacting with each other (Santrock, 1994)."
Mary F. Longo, http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5297.html, (16/04/2005)
PLAY SCENE |
ROLES / CHARACTERS |
POSSIBLE SCENARIO |
EQUIPMENT / RESOURCES |
| Hospital / Doctor's Surgery | Doctors, nurses, patients, ambulance officers, visitors, receptionist. | An ambulance officer calls the hospital. A child has been hit by a car on the road and will be coming to the hospital. The doctors and nurses must get ready for the operation. The child's Mum and Dad are very upset and worried in the waiting room. The doctors and nurses must do the operation and then talk to the Mum and Dad about what happened. | Medical equipment - either real or toys (stethoscopes, thermometer, bandages, syringe, tongue depressors etc.), bed or bench to lay patients on, curtain for examination area, chairs and magazines in the 'waiting room', phone for receptionist. |
| Play Classroom | teacher, students, principal, parent helpers | The teacher of the classroom wants to get all of the children to draw a picture of a family but first they must read a book (great opportunity to use a class focus book for the week for children to practise reading) to the students and then help them with their work and then mark the work. | blackboard/whiteboard, chairs, pencils and paper, books, a small mat for 3 or 4 children to fit on, clipboard with paper for "teacher", stickers (or sticky labels to draw their own stickers) |
| Jungle | adventurer, explorer, animals, scientists. | A scientist read in the newspaper that there was a strange new animal living in the jungle near their home and they are going to explore. If they can get a photo of this creature they can have their photo on the front page of the local newspaper. | Trees (branches or cardboard cut outs), stuffed animals, tape recorder to play jungle sounds, cardboard cutout jeep, backpack, camera, newspaper article (for scenario listed) |
| Bus | bus driver, inspector, passengers | The bus is on its usual route and at one of the stops, a passenger is on crutches and cannot climb the stairs by themselves, so the bus driver or a passenger will need to help them get onto the bus and then back off again at their stop. | seats in rows, drivers seat, steering wheel, gears, bus stop sign, tickets, play money, bell to announce passengers want to get off, bus timetable |
| Restaurant | chef, waiters/waitresses, customers, receptionist | A customer goes to the restaurant and orders a meal but when the meal arrives at their table they are not happy with it because it is cold. They need to ask the waiters for another meal - what should they say to the waiter? Should they get crabby and yell or should they be polite? What is the best solution? | tables, chairs, table cloths, cutlery, plates, cups, kitchen equipment - oven, stove, sink, microwave, cupboard - menus, phone, plants/flower vase for tables |
| Gym | gym owner, fitness trainer, customer | A customer comes into the gym and wants to get healthy but they don't know how. They ask the fitness instructor to help them and they show the customer all of the equipment and how to use it properly. | floor space, tape recorder with music for aerobics, low table to lay on for power bar push ups, very lightweight (or fake) weights, elastic attached to the wall for pulling down, posters to show how to do exercises properly, stopwatches, fitball |
| Photography Studio | photographer, models | A family comes to have their photo taken for a special occasion but one person in the family is very sad and doesn't want to smile for the camera. What will the photographer do to make this person smile for the photo? | camera (broken camera, boxwork camera made by the students), seat for models, backdrop curtain, lamp |
| Vet clinic | veterinarian, pet owner, receptionist | You take your pet into the vet clinic because it looks sick but you don't know why. The veterinarian will ask you lots of questions to try and find out what is wrong with your pet for you and will be able to try and fix your pet. | operating table, medical equipment, stuffed toy animals, waiting room chairs, magazines, desk and phone for reception, box cages for animals, pet care pamphlets, bowls for animal food, animal photos on walls |
| Shop | shop owner, customer | Provide a range of cards with lists of shopping items that customers must try and collect all of before going to the cash register. The cards can have a focus on pictures to match words, just words for reading, or for money activities. | Shop items (food boxes, plastic foods, bottles, containers), cash register, play money, shopping lists, shopping baskets or trolleys. |