Christie, J.F. (1985).
Training of symbolic play.
Early Child Development and Care, 19, 43-52.
Similansky (1968) worked with poor Israeli children who exhibited deficits in
sociodramatic play. She claimed mature sociodramatic play has 5 elements:
- role playing
- make-believe transformations
- social interaction
- verbal communication
- persistence
Mature play and training sociodramatic play is correlated with increases in IQ
scores, creativity, perspective-taking, language development (Burns & Brainerd,
1979; Dansky, 1980; Feitelson & Ross, 1973; Rosen, 1974; and Saltz, Dixon,
& Johnson, 1977).
Types of Training:
- Modeling = adult takes a role and joins the play then demonstrates behaviors
kids are not using. Children first imitate then mutate behaviors to fit own
needs. With mastery of behaviors, kids do not want adult interaction.
- Verbal Guidance = adult not playing a role but as an outsided makes comments
or suggestions within the specific play context so as not to disrupt play
- Thematic-Fantasy Training = children act out familiar fairy tales. Highly
structured
- Imaginative Play Training = focus on make-believe to increase creative expression
during play (e.g., practice facial expressions to convey emotions, finger
puppets, "Blow-Me-Up" - seems like drama class activities!)
