Supported Dramatic Play
Building Vocabulary and Oral Language in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 0: Foundation for LiteracyStage 1: Beginning Literacy
Ages:
3-7
Grade Range:
PreK KFood Groups:
Primary:
Vocabulary, Oral Language & ELL
Secondary:
Motivation for Literacy, Knowledge Building
Transcript
After a lot of discussion the children really wanted to turn our home center into a pizza parlor, because pizza's something that they all love. So before we did this, we talked about what we would need in a pizza parlor. We talked about the food we would need, we talked about the furniture, we talked about the equipment, and we talked about the different roles the children would have in the pizza parlor. And so we made a list of all the food, so the children could practice the words and identify with the picture. We made a menu, and we practiced the conversation that the children would have in the center, we practiced the various roles, the waiter's role, we practiced the roles of the customer, and we practiced the roles of the chef as well. Every few weeks we like to change the theme of the dramatic play center. So, it could be a hospital, it could be a garden center, it could be a flower store, there's an endless variety of things that it could be. With every theme the children are learning a whole new repertoire of vocabulary and getting a chance to practice it in a real setting.
Activity Objective
The goal of Supported Dramatic Play: Building Vocabulary and Oral Language in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour) is to create activities and purposes for students to use complex oral language structure and build their vocabulary.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Changing the theme of the drama center throughout the school year will keep students engaged and provide them with opportunities to practice new vocabulary.
- Model appropriate behavior at different centers to ensure that students understand the expectations.
- Provide opportunities for students to discuss the various objects to include at the drama center. For example, students may want to include menus for a pizza parlor.
- Keep track of the roles students may wish to play at the drama center by making a list and displaying it close by.
Other Recipes by this Teacher
Picky Puppet: Promoting Phonemic Awareness
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Making Apple Sauce: Learning Procedure Writing in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
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Personal Browsing Bins: Building Interest in Reading in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
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StarFall Center: Learning and Applying Letter-Sounds in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
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Interactive to Independent Writing: Learning and Applying Concepts of Print (Virtual Tour)
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