MODEL

Reading PK-3

Systems Change
Reading PK-3 > Strategies > Free Choice

Free Choice

Add to Workspace

Overview

Free choice supports learner interests and allows more complex social interactions to develop. Scheduling at least 30 minutes of free choice or collaborative play time allows learners to have the opportunity to engage in activities that make learning feel meaningful and supports the development of a broad array of cognitive and social and emotional skills.

Use It in the Classroom

Watch how preschoolers play and listen to them explain their perspectives on free play. By allowing learners to have agency in how they play, they participate in authentic social interactions and develop their Motivation for exploration.

  • Having free choice as part of centers is one way to encourage exploration and choice. Teachers can provide different materials that encourage free play, such as clay, sand, or art materials. Recess is another way for students to have unstructured time to explore their interests and develop Social Awareness & Relationships Skills by trying out ways to communicate, negotiate conflict, and solve problems.

    • Design It into Your Product

    Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

    With 38 games and counting, Toca Boca empowers students to play for the sake of play. By engaging in free play through open-ended interactions, student Motivation can increase, and students can practice their Emotion and Self-regulation skills.

  • By intentionally selecting objects or materials with open-ended interaction capabilities, developers and teachers can indirectly promote free choice, play, and exploration.
    • View References

    Resources

    Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
    Examples

    Building Language and Literacy through Play

    Ideas of using play to practice language and literacy skills

    Examples

    Encouraging Free Play

    Suggestions for encouraging free play in school

    Professional Development

    Play and Children's Learning

    Selection of NAEYC articles on the importance of play-based learning

    Professional Development

    Recess: Joy and Learning

    Responsive Classroom chapter on the importance of recess

    Research

    Identity, Behavior, and Relationships

    Topic that includes research on the development of social and emotional skills on Digital Promise's Research Map

    Research

    Importance of Play

    Research on the importance of play in early childhood classrooms, including implementation tips

    Factors Supported by this Strategy

    Language and Literacy
    Narrative Skills
    Syntax
    Verbal Reasoning
    Vocabulary
    Cognition
    Attention
    Inhibition
    Long-term Memory
    Sensory Integration
    Short-term Memory
    Speed of Processing
    Social and Emotional Learning
    Emotion
    Motivation
    Self-Regulation
    Social Awareness & Relationship Skills
    Student Background
    Adverse Experiences
    Hearing
    Physical Fitness
    Primary Language
    Safety
    Sleep
    Social Supports
    Socioeconomic Status

    More Active Learning Strategies

    Creating Visuals

    Students activate more cognitive processes by exploring and representing their understandings in visual form.

    Explaining Their Thinking

    When students explain their thinking process aloud, they recognize the strategies they use and solidify their understanding.

    Field Trips

    Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to deepen understanding through firsthand experiences.

    Games

    Games help students visualize how to connect one fact to another.

    Imagining

    Imagining allows students to step back from a problem or task and think about it from multiple angles.

    Participatory & Partner Read-alouds

    Reading aloud allows students to hear and practice reading and fluency skills.

    Response Devices

    Response devices boost engagement by encouraging all students to answer every question.

    Visit

    Explore

    Stay Up to Date

    © Copyright Digital Promise     |     Digital Promise Home     |     Contact Us     |     Terms of Use
    Creative Commons LicenseExcept where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License