How to Use These Web Pages

These WebPages aim to support students and practitioners in being skilful observers and interpreters of play and learning. They also aim to focus discussions on the links with the Foundation Stage Curriculum and with Profiling learning and progression - important issues for early years' practitioners.

Within 'Resources', the first resource is a blank copy of The Social Play Continuum for repeated printing and photocopying for supporting your observations, assessments and the development of Areas of Provision (see chapter 1 in the book and resource 5).

Resource 1 follows on from The Social Play Continuum to summarise discussions in chapter two of the book. The explanations for each domain of the Social Play Continuum are reproduced here (in abbreviated form) to support group discussions. Some discussion points to accompany Resource 1 would be:

• Read the descriptors of each domain in turn and identify what for you are the distinguishing features of that domain.
• Look at the discussions around 'self-talk' in the associative domain - which view is closest to your own understanding?
• How is language use in the social domain more complex than its use in the associative domain?
• How do eye contact, play noise and facial expressions manifest themselves across the four domains?
• How does the offering and receiving of objects/resources manifest itself across the four domains?
• What for you are the key features relating to language use across the four domains?