Early Childhood Education: Experience Plan for Dramatic Play Activity

This assignment presents a detailed experience plan designed for preschool children aged 4-5 years. The plan focuses on a dramatic play activity centered around a 'Going on a Bear Hunt' theme, incorporating puppetry and music to enhance literacy skills. The plan outlines the activity's implementation, materials required, and a rationale that links the experience to developmental skills, ensuring it meets the children's capabilities, interests, and cultural contexts. It also connects the activity to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) principles and specifies measurable learning outcomes, including cognitive, emotional, and motor skill development. Teaching strategies involve singing songs, using puppets, and posing questions to encourage problem-solving and active participation. The plan references relevant research and provides a framework for evaluating the learning experience's effectiveness. The assignment also briefly mentions a second experience plan about Lego bridge construction, demonstrating a range of activities for preschool children. The assignment provides a comprehensive guide for educators to facilitate engaging and educational experiences for young children.

Experience plan
(pre-schoolers / 4 to 5 years)
Date of implementation: 5. 08. 2019
Dramatic Play literacy (Music and puppetry):
Each child will be showed a music and puppetry drama related to ‘Going on a bear hunt puppetry’.
A music and song activity will be arranged along with use of puppets to demonstrate going on a
hunt for a bear and encounter things during the hunting. The bear hunt song will increase
children’s interest by asking them to sing along and think what to do if they encounter a river or
muddy area on the way. It will introduce children to new words in the form of songs and
puppetry. While singing the going on a bear hunt song, children will be asked to repeat the songs.
They will be individually invited to move the puppets in between the activity.
Materials required and a diagram or photo of set up:
Puppets, cardboard box, music, scissors, pictures of forest, trees and rivers, gums, scissors and
markers.
A rationale linking the justification of the learning experience to the skills identified in the
observation and ensuring the plan meets both the capabilities, interests and cultural contexts
of the child: (why and how relates to maths/ benefits)
This experience will develop creativity and imagination of children and develop their awareness of
the community. It will help them to engage in problem solving through dramatic play activity. It
can also promote emotional development and use of motor skills during the song and puppetry
activity. By encouraging children to move the puppets in the hand, they will learn brain-hand
coordination too. It will also facilitate group participation and social activity in toddlers (Roskos,
2017).
The activity will start by a bear hunt song using puppets and the pictures will be changed as per
the songs to see how children react to problems during the play activity. By inquiring children
regarding the action they should take when they see a river while going on a bear hunt or while

encountering a muddy area, their problem solving skills will be developed. The use of puppet and
music is likely to engage the children. The children will be encouraged to move the puppets too to
develop their motor skills. Goldstein and Lerner (2018) states that dramatic play is a type of
symbolic play that helps children to use objects and engage in role play to make meaning
of who they are or learn about others.
A link to an EYLF principle which relates to the underpinning philosophy of the experience plan:
Ongoing learning and reflective practicies
 The experience is linked to the above principle as by this activity, the educators will
become co-learners with children and community. Reflective practice involves examining
what is happening in the setting and reflecting on the changes. It will help to examine all
aspects of events starting from review of child’s understanding, understanding of who is
advantaged and who is disadvantaged in the way (Australian Government Department of
Education and Training, 2018).
A list of developmental learning outcomes that are specific and can be evaluated and
demonstrate developmental progression from the skills identified in the original
documentation:
The list of learning outcomes that can be evaluated through this learning experiences are as
follows:
 Develop cognitive, emotional and intellectual development of children
 Strengthen fine and gross motor skills
 Develop creativity and problem solving skills
 Increase awareness of the community and the environment (Cho, Yang & Kim, 2015).
A link to an EYLF outcome:
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
 Children develops disposition for learning like development of curiosity, enthusiasm,
commitment, creativity and imagination
 Children develop skills like investigation, experimentation and research
 Children transfers and adapts the lessons learn from one social context to other
 Children resource their learning through connection with people, space, materials and
natural space (Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2018).
A list of the teaching strategies (pedagogical practices) identifying how you will help the child
meet each of the learning outcomes you have planned
 Singing the going on a bear hunt songs and using puppets during the songs. Encouraging
children to move puppets and sing along.
 During the dramatic play activity, ask children like ‘How would cross a river?’ and ‘What to
do now if you see a muddy area on the way to the jungle?’. The children will be praised
during their responses too and they will be asked to give other options to cross the river
too
 Ask children questions like ‘Have they seen a river?’ or ‘have they ever visited a jungle?’
This activity will help in transfer of learning from one context to another
 Along with puppets, display pictures of forest, birds, rivers, mountain, bear and valleys to

develop connection with the nature space.
References:

Australian Government Department of Education and Training. (2018). BELONGING, BEING &
BECOMING: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Retrieved from:
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_e
arly_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
Cho, H. S., Yang, S. Y., & Kim, Y. J. (2015). The Effect of Dramatic Play Activity on 3-Year-Old Children’s
Pro-Social Behavior. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 21(1), 123-141.
Goldstein, T. R., & Lerner, M. D. (2018). Dramatic pretend play games uniquely improve emotional
control in young children. Developmental science, 21(4), e12603.
Roskos, K. A. (Ed.). (2017). Play and literacy in early childhood: Research from multiple perspectives.
Routledge.