PLAY AND DEVELOPMENTALLLY

APPROPRIATE PRACTICES IN ECED

KATHLYN A. OCAMPO
LECTURER
AT THE END OF THE
WEEK, PSTs can:
a. Explain the benefits of play;
b. discuss about using play as a
teaching strategy;
c. Identify and create
appropriate materials for play
WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO
TO MAKE THE
CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMENT MORE
CONDUCIVE TO
CHILDREN’S LEARNING
AND DEVELOPMENT
The Social Environment:
The term social environment
refers to the way that a
classroom environment
influences or supports the
interactions that occur among
young learners, teachers, and
family members.
The Social Environment:
A well-designed social
environment helps foster
positive peer relationships,
creates positive interactions
between adults and children,
and provides opportunities for
for adults to support children to
achieve their social goals.
HOW CAN A TEACHER
CREATE CLASROOM AS
A SOCIAL-LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT?
GROUP SIZE AND COMPOSITION:
• Groups of various sizes open up
different opportunities for social
interaction and learning.
• Activities suited for large groups
include opening group circle time,
story time, meal time, and outside time.
• Small groups allow more time for
interaction with individual children and
are ideal for teaching new skills and
providing feedback.
GROUP SIZE AND COMPOSITION:
• Homogenous groups are ideal for
teaching targeted skills or skills that
meet the particular needs of a subset
of children.
• Groups that include children with
diverse skills and abilities provide
opportunities for all children to
learn positive social skills and
communication skills from their
peers.
When considering group size and composition teachers should:

• Make sure children have

opportunities to get to know each
other.
• Create activities that require
children to work together and
share materials.
• Provide visual support to
promote social interaction and
independence.
When considering group size and composition teachers should:

• Model, encourage, and teach

positive social-interaction skills.
• Consider limiting the number of
children allowed in a given area
at one time.
TEACHER VS CHILD-INITIATED
ACTIVITIES:
• A learning environment’s daily
routine should include both teacher-
initiated and child-initiated activities.
• Teacher-initiated activities are those
that the teacher plans and leads.
• A child-initiated activity is one that
allows children to follow their
interests and explore their passions.
When planning activities for the
social environment, teachers should:
• Take note of children’s preferred activities
when they have the opportunity to choose
their own.
• Recognize that children may demonstrate
challenging behavior during teacher-led
activities that they find difficult, uninteresting
or overwhelming.
• Assign classroom jobs or responsibilities to
help children feel a sense of belonging.
• Make sure that every child has frequent
opportunities to answer questions, make
choices, or offer comments in a verbal or non-
verbal way.
MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES THAT
PROMOTE INTERACTION:
• Activities, games, and toys that
require two or more children to
participate have been shown to
promote social interaction.
• Different types of materials
promote different types of play
and social interaction.
When teachers think about what materials and activities
should be included in their classrooms, they should:

• Limit the amount of materials so

that children have to share to
promote social interaction.
• Plan projects that can be done as
groups or in pairs.
• Provide toys-such as dolls and
building blocks-that are likely to
encourage social interaction.
GROUP SIZE AND COMPOSITION:
• Homogenous groups are ideal for
teaching targeted skills or skills that
meet the particular needs of a subset
of children.
• Groups that include children with
diverse skills and abilities provide
opportunities for all children to
learn positive social skills and
communication skills from their
peers.
SELECTING PLAY
MATERIALS:
• Simplicity of Design
• Involve child in play
• Versatile in use
• Easily comprehended and manipulated
• Encourage cooperative play
• Material that is warm and pleasant to touch
• Durable
• Work as intended
• Safe
• Generous in proportion and quantity
• Price based on durability and design
DESIGN
• A young child’s playthings
should be as free from detail as
possible, allowing them to
express themselves by creating
their own childlike world.
• The more versatile and and
unspecialized playthings are, the
more creative and absorbing the
play.
CHILD INVOLVEMENT
• A good plaything should involve the
whole child- body, mind, and spirit.
• Play equipment should encourage
children to explore and create, or
offer the opportunity for dramatic
play.
• Materials which allow a child only a
passive role are not tools of play, but
objects of diversion.
VERSATILITY
• Some equipment in the classroom
must be provided to satisfy the
need of growing muscles to push,
climb, run, bend, and lift.
COOPERATIVE PLAY
• “Will the equipment encourage
cooperative play?”
• A child’s play experiences are
foundational for every area of his
adult life, and we should provide
the opportunity for it to take
place.
FUNCTIONALITY
• The play materials must
also ensure that the toys
really “work.”
• Realia- real materials/ tools
SAFETY
• Safety should be utmost
concern when choosing
items for children’s use.
GENEROSITY
• Play equipment should offer
sufficient rominess or
quantity to fulfill children’s
intentions in play.
• Having a generous enough
supply of equipment helps
children play together
harmoniously.
PRICE
• The play value and durability of
a plaything should be taken into
account when comparing prices.
• The durable, well-designed
plaything not only outlasts
cheaper toys, but also fulfills
the above-mentioned criteria for
good play equipment.
GROUP ACTIVITY:
LEARNING
GROUP ACTIVITIES MATERIALS
COMPETENCY
Natutukoy ang
magagandang bagay na
Group 1
nakikita sa paligid
(SKPK-00-1)
Create own patterns
Group 2
(MKSC-00-21)
Name the five senses
and their corresponding
Group 3
body parts (PNEKBS-
Ic-5)
Tell which two letters,
numbers or words in a
Group 4
group are the same
(LLKVPD-Ie-4)
Naipapakita ang
wastong pangangalaga
sa pansariling
Group 5 kagamitan sa paglilinis
at pag-aayos ng
katawan
(KPKPKK-00-2)