My Animal Dramatic Play

Activity Overview

Building empathy is an important part of early childhood experiences. When children participate in imaginary play they are asked to think about the wants and needs of others. Dramatic play is a powerful place for young learners to explore personas and learn awareness of others through play.

What You Need

• Stuffed animals or animal figurines

• Open-ended dramatic play materials

• Ideas for dramatic play scenarios: getting ready for bed, eating a meal, visiting a relative’s home, cooking in the kitchen, going to the doctor’s office, buying groceries

• Optional: paper and writing utensils

Steps

1. With the student, gather some stuffed animals or animal figurines to use to tell a story. Tell the student to pick one animal for themselves, and another for you.

2. Invite students to join you in a dramatic play scenario. If the student does not initiate the play with their own idea, guide them by using an open-ended idea and one that the students are familiar with such as eating a meal or getting ready for bed.

3. As you and your student play, document what is happening by typing or writing down the story you are creating together.

4. After taking a break from dramatic play, revisit it with your student. Read the words you wrote and think of ways you can expand your story. For example, encourage animal sounds, add more characters, or work to explore a variety of dramatic play situations. Add details to your space such as a home for the animal, a place they can rest, food they can eat, or other environmental details.

5. Retell and reenact the story with the student using the new elements. Continue to iterate as many times as you’d like, and consider switching roles while playing.

Guiding Questions

• What is it like to be an animal?

• What does an animal need?

• What does [your animal] eat? Where does it live? Where does it sleep?

• How can we work together while we play?

Extensions

• Create labels for different parts of the dramatic play center. Pick simple words such as “home” and “nest” and label them using paper. Write the words out yourself, and help students trace or copy the letters. Attach the labels to places in dramatic play.