What does the teacher do, while the kids play?
Adults can play too! It builds trust and connection to see the adults in a playful mode, especially for groups that seem nervous about letting loose and playing at school. Sometimes, it’s useful to continue modeling play with your kids in their small groups.
Use the Puppet Play Observation Tool to notice how the students are choosing to work. What interests and excites them? What brings them together? Where do they get stuck? How could they develop their story making further?
Learn a story, so that you can retell it. You will need to facilitate a moment for kids to share and reflect on their play (see step 3 for reflection options). One reflection option is to choose a story each session to retell verbally at the end of class. If you are doing this reflection, use the play time to really study and learn the actions and details of the story that you will retell.
What am I noticing? How do I respond?
Your students will integrate story making strategies at their own pace in their own way. Some kids may not try the strategy you have introduced. Be curious about what that means.
I’m noticing that kids are not using the strategy I modeled!
- Sometimes kids take a while to work up to trying something new. Often, the group waits for one of their peers to model integrating the strategy, and then the approach takes off for the whole group.
I’m noticing that kids are using strategies other than the one I modelled.
- They’re choosing to draw on their own play expertise! What can you learn about them as storymakers from this observation? How can this inform what you choose to offer them next? How can you amplify what students already know and facilitate peer to peer learning?
I’m noticing that they need more explicit modelling of the strategy.
- While observing kids play, you may realize that you didn’t model some crucial step or element. In the next play session re-introduce the strategy with the missing step or element. Be transparent with the kids about what you learned from watching them. For example, “I was watching you play last week and I noticed that some kids used character voices and some didn’t! I didn’t change MY voice when I showed you my puppet dialogue last week. Can you help me choose a character voice for my puppet?”
I’m noticing that the kids are struggling to move their story forward
- Remind them about what they did in the warm up, what they noticed when you modelled the play strategy. Refer them back to the idea charts that the class has generated.
- Think about how you can use Step 3 (kids reflect and share) to prompt kids to reflect on how they are and how they could use the strategy.
Why is it important to let the kids drive their play?
- Time for children to problem solve and discover how they like to make stories. Give the kids time to discover strategies and solutions on their own. Notice when you have the urge to intervene and direct the puppet play and push against this impulse. By witnessing the discovery process that is natural to our students, we can learn more about how they learn.
- Time for adults to learn about their students through observation and playful interaction. Educators are highly pressured to move children toward goals, and are rarely afforded the time to observe and learn about their kids. Observing children at play can be particularly revelatory if you have a certain student or students who you are struggling to understand and support.