Types of play experiences

Professor Andrea Nolan; Dr Natalie Robertson; Naomi David; Kat Cain; Professor Louise Paatch; Associate Professor Liz Rouse; Dr Virginia Kinnear; Associate Professor Anne-Marie Morrissey; Dr Deb Moore

17 Types of play experiences

There are different types of play experiences that teachers can use to structure their play-based and inquiry learning approach. Each type of play has a purposeful role to engage students in meaningful exploration, investigation and imaginative experiences. Different types of play offer multiple opportunities to encounter, engage with, and elaborate on new knowledge and skills with peers and teachers.

Each type of play has a role in supporting student’s learning processes, and knowledges in different curriculum areas as well as personal and social capabilities.

Read, look, or listen

Let’s look closely at different types of play and possibilities for the classroom. This interactive slideshow below provides a description and visualisation for some common types of play you can foster through play-based learning approaches.

Clicking on the icons below to explore the different types of play. Investigate all eight types or just one depending on your interest and individual need.

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Types of play experiences – interactive poster

This interactive poster provides a short description of eight types of play and visual images to reinforce your understanding.

The interactivity

This poster scene has eight different graphics displayed in two rows of four. These graphics represent the eight types of play. Each graphic is clickable and leads to the description and visual images of the associated type of play.

Graphic 1 (toy rocket): Pretend Play

Play type: Pretend play.
Description: Exploration of experiences through the creation of an imaginary world where children take on roles and substitute the meaning of objects and actions.
Image 1 description: Child playing with a toy torch, like a doctor, who is peering into an adult’s ear.
Image 2 description: Micro-habitat farm with fabric, toy animals, blocks and toy cars.
Image 3 description: Child wearing an apron and holding toy wooden pizza on a tray, pretending to be a cook delivering the meal.
Image 4 description: An outdoor table setting in a pretend kitchen.
Image 5 description: A child filling up a toy truck, pretending to move like a construction vehicle.
Image 6 description: A child with painted hands pretending to be an angry animal, snarling and curling fingers.
Image 7 description: A child with a sheet around their neck holding a cardboard cylinder pretending to be a superhero.

Graphic 2 (building blocks in the shape of houses): Constructive Play

Play type: Constructive play.
Description: Building of structures and/or objects using blocks, sticks, logs, recyclable materials or other loose parts.
Image 1 description: Child building a construction with sticks.
Image 2 description: Plastic crates used to build a tower in a play area.
Image 3 description: Child constructing with small rectangular wooden blocks.
Image 4 description: Child kneeling on concrete path and looking through piles of electronic bits, plastic parts and other materials. The child is holding a partially built object with a microchip base.
Image 5 description: Child constructing an outdoor workspace with natural materials, toys trucks and plastic figurines.
Image 6 description: Child interacting with a wooden object, hammering in a nail, while an adult and other child hold the object steady.

Graphic 3 (aprons and cooking tools): Physical Play

Play type: Physical play.
Description: Active exploration of movement using gross and fine motor skills.
Image 1 description: Children playing a movement game with a large parachute game together.
Image 2 description: Child using fine motor skills to cut-out dough, their hands gripped around a glass jar to stamp out the dough on a flat surface. The child has also placed the round shapes on the back of a muffin tray.
Image 3 description: Two children climbing in trees, stretched across multiple branches and in extended positions.
Image 4 description: Group of children doing full-body stretches in an outdoor space.
Image 5 description: Child riding a trike through a puddle of water, with their legs stretched out and balancing in the air.
Image 6 description: Group of children in a green outdoor space, the ball has been thrown up high and the children are leaping to be first to catch it.

Graphic 4 (swingset in a garden): Outdoor Play

Play type: Outdoor play.
Description: Imaginative, physical, and social explorations of places, objects and experiences in an outside space.
Image 1 description: Child playing with woodchips in an outdoor space, scooping up dirt and woodchips with a shovel and tipping it into a toy truck.
Image 2 description: Child climbing a tree by carefully stretching and placing feet and hands.
Image 3 description: Child sitting high in a tree, holding on with hands on different branches and looking off into the distance.
Image 4 description: Child running on grass, reaching out for a red balloon floating in front of them. Another child runs behind then with arms wide to also catch the balloon.
Image 5 description: Close-up of child’s feet in sneakers as they walk across, balancing carefully, on a tree trunk.
Image 6 description: Child playing in a puddle, reaching down with one hand and reaching out for balance with the other.

Graphic 5 (instruments and shells in discovery baskets): Discovery Play

Play type: Discovery play.
Description: Investigation of the world and the concepts, objects, and experiences within it.
Image 1 description: An open shelving unit full of natural materials presented in different shape baskets.
Image 2 description: Close-up of a bubble balanced on the bubble wand, being held out for viewing by the child.
Image 3 description: Child crawling and climbing in the outdoor space, looking for natural materials like leaves and bark.
Image 4 description: Tabletop play experiences set up, with torches and globe to simulate the sun orbiting the earth.
Image 5 description: Child intensely peering into a microscope and making adjustments to the settings.

Graphic 6 (dice and rule book): Games with Rules

Play type: Games with rules.
Description: Experiences that follow a set of rules to reach a shared objective.
Image 1 description: Children on a grass field, walking on the lines of a floor game. They are in a row and jumping one after the other.
Image 2 description: Children playing a creative board game with a board, board pieces, moving parts and using a digital tablet.
Image 3 description: Children playing chess.
Image 4 description: Child and adult playing the floor game ‘Twister’, stretching and balancing.
Image 5 description: Child playing hopscotch on concrete, having drawn the hopscotch game with blue chalk.

Graphic 7 (laptop screen and tablet): Digital Play

Play type: Digital play.
Description: Experiences that involve the exploration and use of a digital tool.
Image 1 description: Child seated next to an adult while playing a digital game on a tablet and holding a block creature on their lap.
Image 2 description: Child playing with remote controlled robots with a remote screen pad.
Image 3 description: Child taking a picture with an instant camera (“Polaroid”), they have their eye looking through the view finder and a ready to take the shot.
Image 4 description: Child using digital tablet as a communication tool.
Image 5 description: Child wearing virtual reality (VR) headset with their arms held out before them as they explore a digital space.
Image 6 description: Child on couch reaching forward to work with a touch screen.

Graphic 8 (painting easel): Creative Play

Play type: Digital play.
Description: Self-expressive experiences that engage with the multiple art forms.
Image 1 description: Child drawing an insect on concrete with chalk.
Image 2 description: Artworks made by children using leaves and other natural materials.
Image 3 description: Child playing percussion drums with their hands.
Image 4 description: Children creating through drawing and colouring onto paper.
Image 5 description: Child decorating rocks with paints, crayons, and stickers.
Image 6 description: Child tearing different coloured paper to make a picture of a rainbow.

Engage and extend

Consider some types of play you might introduce into your classroom.

Create a list of potential play experiences to support you with your planning.

We also suggest you reflect on the types of play that children gravitate towards in your class. What are some extensions to those activities or areas you could plan for in the future?

License

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