PLAY IT UP! Curriculum-Connected Dramatic Play GROWING Bundle-10 Resources

What if dramatic play could help you teach the content you're already required to teach?

THIS IS A GROWING BUNDLE. EACH RESOURCE WILL BE ADDED AS IT IS COMPLETED. THERE WILL BE A TOTAL OF 10 RESOURCES INCLUDED. AGAIN, THIS IS A GROWING BUNDLE AND RESOURCES WILL BE ADDED TO THE FILE AS THEY ARE COMPLETED. RESOURCES WILL BE COMPLETED IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Take the content you're required to teach and turn it into a world kids get to play in.

That's the idea behind PLAY IT UP! Curriculum-Connected Dramatic Play!

Instead of dramatic play being something separate from your curriculum, PLAY IT UP! brings science, social studies, math, literacy, vocabulary, and oral language into meaningful, hands-on play.

Students aren't just pretending. They're becoming scientists, meteorologists, paleontologists, farmers, explorers, astronauts, researchers, and more!

They'll take on roles, solve problems, count and sort, read and write for authentic purposes, use content vocabulary, ask questions, make observations, communicate with classmates, and explore the topics they're already learning about.

And most importantly? They're PLAYING.

10 WORLDS TO EXPLORE! Each dramatic play center connects purposeful play to meaningful elementary content:

LIFE SCIENCE

Farm Animal Nursery — farm animals, animal needs, life on a farm

Wildlife Station — animals, habitats, adaptations, animal needs

Plant Nursery — plants, plant parts, plant needs, growth

Bug Research Lab — insects, characteristics, observation, life cycles

EARTH & PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Popcorn Stand — Five Senses, observation, describing, and comparing

Weather Station — weather, seasons, weather observations, and data

Dinosaur Dig — fossils, paleontology, long ago, observation, measurement, and classification

SOCIAL STUDIES & GEOGRAPHY

Travel Agency — continents, maps, geography, and our world

Royal Castle — kings and queens, castles, long ago, and traditional tales

SPACE SCIENCE

Mission Control — space, Earth, moon, stars, planets, and space exploration

PURPOSEFUL PLAY. REAL LEARNING. The academics aren't added on top of the dramatic play. They're built INTO the play.

A paleontologist measures a fossil because that's what paleontologists do.

A meteorologist records the weather because that's part of the job.

A popcorn maker counts an order because the customer ordered six pieces.

An astronaut counts supplies because there's a mission to complete.

A researcher observes an insect because they've discovered a new specimen.

The learning has a purpose because the play gives it a purpose.

USE IT WITH ANY CURRICULUM! PLAY IT UP! isn't another curriculum to squeeze into your day. These dramatic play centers are designed to work alongside any curriculum and make required reading, math, science, and social studies content more engaging, memorable, and meaningful. Use the themes that connect to the topics you're already teaching and give students opportunities to apply literacy, math, science, social studies, vocabulary, and communication skills through play.

Whether you're using a published curriculum or district-created units, PLAY IT UP! gives students a hands-on way to experience the content instead of just hearing about it.

BECAUSE KIDS SHOULD STILL HAVE PLAY. We can teach standards. We can build knowledge. We can develop vocabulary. We can practice literacy and math.

And kids can still pretend to be astronauts, dig for dinosaur fossils, run a popcorn stand, rescue animals, investigate bugs, and live in a castle. Those things don't have to compete with each other. That's what PLAY IT UP! is all about.

They're playing. They're learning. That's the point.

Copyright © The Kindergarten Smorgasboard

Permission to copy for single classroom use only.

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Thank you!

Greg & Jason Warren

contact@tkslearning.com