Writing as Play

Although I am more traditionally trained to use “centers” in my classroom, I find that if I consider them more like provocations, and less like a “center”, I have more students willing to engage in writing. So I am always trying to sneak writing into “play” time. In my latest unit about how “Transportation systems help people stay connected and are used for different purposes”, I have put in 2 different writing stations, in which they can engage in pretend play. One has been the “Travel Agent” role play area and now I have introduced the “Postcard” writing area so that students can write pretend postcards to their friends and families after their pretend travels.

I love seeing them create little tickets, discussing whether it is for a train or an airplane, a bus or a boat. We also discussed how we need money to travel, and some students enjoy “printing” money as well, using it to buy their tickets. It’s been interesting to see them tune into different examples of money, and  a few students are quite sophisticated enough to pick up nuances in the different kinds of patterns, shapes and colors.  Although I don’t have any pictures of the money, the till is behind the counter there. I added some examples of real tickets from different kinds of transportation, some travel brochures and a passenger list of all the students which has encouraged them in making these tickets.

In the postcard area, I placed in there pencils, scissors, colored pencils and magazines, along with a model of a postcard and some exemplars. I have noticed that they prefer drawing pictures on the front of the postcard, rather than cutting out pictures.  I appreciate all the color and details they put into these pictures. It’s going to be great to see how it evolves but already it is becoming a hub for many students during playtime.

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