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Sara Smilansky (1922 - )

Smilansky developed three stages of play. She initially based her work on Piaget’s work but expanded
and developed these theories to:
 functional play
 constructive play
 dramatic play

Functional play – This occurs in the first two years of life. Infants are involved in exploring objects
using their body (sucking and touching) and progressing to other physical activities such as throwing.

Constructive play – This occurs when children begin to manipulate materials to create objects and
patterns. They may not be representational initially but are the child’s attempts at working with the
materials to produce an effect.

Dramatic play – Here children are imitating the world around them through their role play. This leads
to cooperative dramatic play around agreed-upon themes (Nixon and Gould 1999).

Look at the description of Smilansky's functional play. When babies throw their toys over the side of
the cot time after time, or bang their spoon on the table for hours, would you normally recognise this
as play? Older children and adults also use functional play when faced with new or different objects to
explore. Once the new objects are mastered, such as the workings of a new music machine, the 'real'
play can begin. Symbolic play is when the child can use objects to symbolise other objects, and follows
on from the earlier functional play. This stage goes together with the beginnings of speech, another
important use of symbols in the development of thinking. The emergence of imagination and speech in
the toddler years heralds an important time of growth in children's thinking skills.

Simlansky’s characteristics of dramatic and sociodramatic play

Play Characteristics Examples Levels/Ages


Behaviour

Imitative Role Child assumes a make- Child places doll Beginning: Role relates to
Play believe role of a person over shoulder and the familiar world (e.g.
or object and expresses pats the back mommy, daddy, bubba)
it in imitation and/or (burbing) Advanced: role relates to
verbalisation world outside the family
(e.g. doctor, teacher)

Make-believe Child substitutes Uses spoon as a Beginning: Real objects or


with regard to movements, verbal phone. Places plastic replicas used (e.g. real toy
objects declarations, and/or plates and cups in car)
materials or toys that swing and pushes it Advanced: uses prop as
are not replicas of the back and forth. part of play scenario (e.g.
object itself or real uses tea towel as wrap for
objects the doll)

Verbal make Child substitutes Uses blocks to build Beginning: imitates simple
believe with descriptions or a house and says actions of adult (e.g. grabs
regard to actions declarations for actions “this is where a kitchen sponge from the
and situations and situations Mummy and Bubba cupboard and begins to
live” wipe the furniture)
Advanced: child’s actions
are integral to the play
episode (e.g. “I’m cleaning
so sissy can play”

Persistence in Child stays within a role Plays role of Beginning: short, sporadic
role play of play theme for at mother, father and involvement (e.g. chid
least 10 minutes daughter within a enters area, picks up the
family play theme doll and leaves)
for 10 minutes Advanced: child stays
involved in area and the
theme for more than 10
minutes

Interaction At least 2 players Preschoolers Beginning: plays alone


interact within the building a castle with no obvious awareness
context of a play from blocks and of others nearby
episode wooden people. Advanced:Cooperative
Sharing the effort to work together
equipment and around a common theme
discussing where
specific people
should be situated.

Verbal There is some verbal Older preschoolers Beginning: Simple dialogue


Communication interaction related to playing in the around the use of toys
the play episode dramatic play area, (e.g. “there, there sissy”)
discussing how to Advanced: Dialogue about
redesign the bed the roles, props, plot of
and dolls cot to play scenario
accommodate the
arrival of “Nanny
and Poppy”.

This table is adapted from Smilansky (1968) & Dodge and Colker (1992) citied in Isenberg and Jalongo
(2001, p.75)
These categories are generally viewed as age-related with functional play appearing first in infancy and
games with rules appearing last around age six or seven. Smilansky’s work highlights the importance of
considering cognitive development (particularly the inspirational work of Jean Piaget) when we look at
the levels of play.

Functional play has been described as the first play of children. Beginning in infancy, as a child learns to control his
actions and make things happen, he finds enjoyment in shaking a rattle, splashing in the bath, and dropping objects
repeatedly from his high chair. These repetitive actions are slowly replaced by more complex forms of play, but
functional play is enjoyed by children throughout their childhood as they discover new actions to master.1

Infants first learn to exercise their “wired-in” behaviors with simple actions, and as they discover how things work,
they develop their motor responses. Repeating a behavior leads to mastery and that gives the child pleasure. Play
begins when the child deliberately engages in the activity for pleasure.2
Any repetitive action that the child finds enjoyable is considered functional play. Throwing objects, opening and
closing things, stacking blocks and then knocking them over, filling and dumping containers, pushing a toy back and
forth, and banging objects together are all examples of functional play. The repetitive nature of this play is how
children learn about their world. They learn about the properties of physical objects and cause and effect. These
simple discoveries prepare them for learning more complex skills later on. Children also develop their gross and
finemotor skills through practice and gain confidence as they develop new skills.3

Jean Piaget was a pioneer in the study of cognitive development in children. He defined functional play as primarily
happening during the sensorimotor period of cognitive development between birth and 24 months, where
development is observed from simple reflex motions to more repetitive and coordinated responses.4 Piaget
determined that play is described in three stages: the first being functional play followed by symbolic play, which
adds constructive concepts as well as pretend play, and finally games with rules, which build social skills.5

Psychologist Sara Smilansky described functional play as the child using repetition in physical actions, language, and
manipulation of objects, based on the child’s need for physical activity. She differed in Piaget’s levels of cognitive play
by adding constructive play that follows in the sensorimotor period when the child moves to constructing or building
with objects with a preconceived plan rather than just playing in a random repetitive manner.6

Some elements of playing on a playground can be seen as functional play. Repeatedly sliding down the slide, playing
on a seesaw, pushing a merry-go-round, and swinging on a swing can all be considered functional play, since these
actions are repetitive.7

Importance of Play
Play is an essential part of life for young children. Just a few quick reasons why play is important:

Play promotes:
 Physical development
 Intellectual development
 Social development
 Creativity
Play also helps to develop emotional values.

Sara Smilansky did research to determine how children learn through play and how this affects their future academic
success. She has distinguished four types of play: functional, constructive, dramatic or pretend, and games with
rules.
Functional play. Functional play is a form of play in which children use their senses and muscles to experiment with
materials and learn how things go together. It satisfies children's need to be active and to explore. Typically, in
functional play, children repeat their actions over and over while talking to themselves about what they are doing.
Constructive play. Constructive play also involves handling materials, but with an important new dimension. In
constructive play, children learn the different uses of play materials. They start putting things together based on a
plan, becoming a creator and organizing their materials and sustaining their attention for longer periods of time than
in functional play. At this stage children's actions are purposeful and directed toward a goal. They make
constructions, such as roads or houses, and delight in seeing that what they have made will last even when they are
finished playing.
Dramatic or pretend play. Dramatic or pretend play can develop alongside functional and constructive play and is
often seen in toddlers. When one child pretends alone, his behavior is referred to as dramatic play; when two or
more children are involved in a sustained make-believe play episode, their activity is called sociodramatic play.
In dramatic play, children typically take on a role, pretend to be someone else, and use real or pretend objects to play
out the role. Children often re-enact something they have experienced or watched.
Sociodramatic play is often guided by rules children have learned through their own experiences and requires
children to adapt to their peers. For example, if a child is pretending to iron and her playmates say that little children
aren't allowed to handle irons, the child may have to modify her role and become a grown-up in the play
scenario. Sociodramatic play is a high-level cognitive and social task, requiring feats of imagination, reasoning, and
negotiations with other children.

Games with rules. Games with rules involve planning. There are two broad types of games with rules - table games
and physical or movement games. Both require children to control their behavior, both physically and verbally, to
conform to a structure of present rules.
Each child will pass through these stages at his/her own pace. Free play gives teachers the opportunity to observe
children and determine different stages of development. There is a lot of thinking going on while they are playing.

Dramatic play is a form of symbolic play where a child pretends to take on a role of someone else, imitating actions
and speech from earlier observed situations. When another person becomes involved in the play, it is called
sociodramatic play. The elements of reality and make-believe are involved as children imitate real-life people and
situations they have experienced, but because they are unable to imitate exactly what they have observed, make-
believe enters their play.1

In the Effects of Sociodramatic Play on Disadvantaged Preschool Children, Sara Smilansky identified six criteria of
dramatic play that evolve into sociodramatic play. The first four criteria can be played by a single child, while the last
two involve interaction with others:

1. Imitative role play - The child undertakes a make-believe role and expresses it in an imitative action and/or
verbalization. Example: “I am the teacher, and you are my students.”
2. Make-believe with regard to objects - Actions or verbal descriptions and/or materials or toys that are not replicas of
the object itself are substituted for real objects. Example: “I am riding my pony” when the child is sitting on a barrel.
3. Verbal make-believe with regard to actions and situations - Verbal dialog takes the place of body movements.
Example: “Let’s pretend I cooked the dinner, and now I am setting the table” when only the last activity is actually
imitated.
4. Persistence in role play - The pretend play episode lasts for at least 10 minutes.
5. Interaction - At least two players interact within the context of a play episode.
6. Verbal communication - There is some verbal interaction with others related to the play episode.2

Children’s ability to engage in dramatic play is encouraged with toys that have more than one purpose, such as
building blocks, containers, tools, costumes, and other props. Costumes and themed settings, such as play houses
and play grocery stores, set the stage for dramatic play.3

Outdoor play on playgrounds allows for fuller expression and freedom through active movement and loud talk. The
outdoor environment offers greater availability of low-structured, low-realistic, natural materials, and spaciousness
that encourage dramatic play. When playing outdoors, boys engage in more dramatic play and girls are more
assertive.4

New innovative playgrounds are being designed that greatly encourage dramatic play. Old West towns, forts, castles,
pirate ships, rescue fire trucks, trains, and space ships are some of the themes built into today’s
playgrounds.5 Slides, fire poles, overhead ladders, climbers, bridges, and spring rockers all promote dramatic play as
well as decks, roofs, tunnels, talk tubes, and bubble panels. Platforms with window and door cutouts create places
for children to engage in dramatic play.6

With experience and exposure to play with different children, the child’s dramatic play becomes more varied with
new ideas and interpretations.7 Sociodramatic play aids the development of social skills, creativity, and intellectual
growth. Children learn skills in negotiation, listening, sharing, taking turns, and respecting others’ feelings, thoughts,
ideas, and physical space through sociodramatic play.8

Children are often unable to verbally express their feelings, due to their limited vocabularies and understanding of
emotions. However, dramatic play allows them the opportunity to verbalize, through toys and play, feelings that they
might not be able to express in other contexts. Children’s play is their natural form of communication. Sigmund Freud
proposed that play for a child works as an emotional cathartic release, a means of reducing anxiety and stress, and a
way to understand traumatic experiences. He suggested that once negative feelings, such as fear and aggression,
have been expressed, that children are then able to move on to more positive feelings, such as joy and contentment
in their play.9

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