Pretending
Overview
Through this kind of play, learners naturally take on different roles to act out multiple perspectives and possibilities.
Example: Use This Strategy In in the Classroom
Design It into Your Product
Use It in the Classroom
Watch a preschool classroom that supports student learning through dramatic play. By exploring pretend situations, students learn how to communicate with peers and develop their Social Awareness and Relationship Skills.
Design It into Your Product
Learn about an educational game, Dr. Panda Town, that allows users to roleplay daily interactions in an imaginative town. By acting out different social interactions amongst characters, users practice and explore their own Social Awareness and Relationship Skills.
Learn More
- Explore the Academic Emotions subtopic on Digital Promise's Research Map.
- Explore the Emotion & Cognition subtopic on Digital Promise's Research Map.
- Explore the Identity, Behavior, and Relationships topic on Digital Promise's Research Map.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Active Learning Strategies
Students activate more cognitive processes by exploring and representing their understandings in visual form.
Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to deepen understanding through firsthand experiences.
Free play supports learner interests and allows more complex social interactions to develop.
Reading aloud helps students to hear and practice reading and fluency skills.
Response devices boost engagement by encouraging all students to answer every question.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
Actively manipulating word parts deepens a student's understanding of the way words are formed.
