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Guided Play: Intentional Interactions

This is the last in the resources around guided play. The earlier posts can be found here with the other resource posts.

Educators guide play by carefully observing children and being reflective and then creating environments, schedules, and interactions that promote learning. How do you use interactions with children to make strategic comments and asking open-ended questions that expand children's knowledge or deepen learning?


One way to think about higher level thinking in play is to use Bloom’s Revised taxonomy which defines 6 levels of thinking: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, creating, and evaluating. Teachers can use this framework to develop questions and prompts that help children deepen their understanding and thinking about concepts. 


In order for children to reach these higher levels of thinking about new concepts, they need teachers who strategically guide play experiences including making strategic comments and asking open-ended questions that expand children's knowledge or deepen learning.


Consider:

  • How do I interact with children during play without interrupting it? What is my role and when?

  • What skill comes next in this child's development? How can I connect this play to learning standards? What would help this child’s understanding mature and deepen into application or creation?

  • What do I need to draw children’s attention to in this play experience? How can I help them notice their learning?

  • How can I intentionally use open-ended questions or language to prompt deeper thinking and understanding of concepts? How do I listen and respond to children’s learning?

  • How can I connect this to the child's life or prior knowledge? What would help them to remember, think about, or apply that knowledge? How can I help children plan their play?

  • How do children learn from one another? What opportunities do I have for children to share their learning?

  • What vocabulary or concepts do I want children to learn? How can I help children to express their own learning? 

  • How can I introduce a new problem, information, or material into this play? How can I help the child to think of this differently?

  • What questions or suggestions would help this child to apply prior knowledge or consider a new hypothesis?

  • How can I document children's learning with work samples, photos, or intentional observations? Can children help document their own learning?

  • What high level questions do I already use in my class? How can I use question stems in my environment to help me and my team remember how to deepen thinking? What questions do I need to ask and in which areas of my classroom or parts of my day?


Families can also support their children at play. Help them connect their child's play to what they are learning with articles like Play and Learning Go Hand in Hand by Laurel Bongiorno and How to Support Children’s Approaches to Learning? Play with Them! by Gaye Gronlund. Share videos and tips from Vroom about how families can support learning through play and everyday interactions.


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