Facilitate Play (E3.1.12)
Sub Category: Planning Framework: Environmental Design, Equipment, Materials, Routines, Schedules, and Learning Formats
Credential Level: Level 2 •
Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Pre-K
COMPETENCY STATEMENT
Moves around the room assisting children working with materials (demonstrates function, provides descriptions and labels, encourages critical thinking about a child’s activity)
DEFINITIONS
Teachers support learning by walking around the room and helping children as they play and explore. They show how materials work, describe what children are doing, and ask questions to help them think more deeply. This helps children stay engaged and learn through hands-on experiences.
EXAMPLES
Facilitate Play
Age Group: Pre-K
Age Group: Pre-K
In this exemplar video, a teacher moves between learning centers to support children working with materials. Notice how the teacher assists children during a sink-and-float activity and then joins children in dramatic play, where she labels their activity, introduces the word “bouquet,” and demonstrates how to arrange flowers in a vase. This is an example of assisting children working with materials by providing descriptions and labels, demonstrating function, and extending children’s thinking.
Facilitate Play
Age Group: Toddler
Age Group: Toddler
In this exemplar video, a teacher assists children working in different learning centers. Notice how the teacher models how to use blocks to build a tower and encourages children to try. She then moves to the library center, where she asks open-ended questions about the children’s books and uses language such as “turn the page”—an example of moving around the room assisting children working with materials.