"The Wisdom Within" - Bringing Sound to Space

In the second entry of our Teaching Boys Initiative's quarterly blog series, "The Wisdom Within," Saint David's reflective practitioner and Master Teacher Cathy O'Neill explores the pedagogical power of play in the education of young boys.

BRINGING SOUND TO SPACE

It began with a mound of mangled metal and the vapor of a vision gleaned from recent comments and random fact-dropping by the Pre-K boys. Unsure of what exactly I was looking for, but fueled by the idea of a makeshift rocket to dovetail with our upcoming space unit, I gingerly picked through the scrap pile until my hands grazed an old VW control panel devoid of its dashboard. Eureka! An array of knobs, dials, and buttons - while in reality, dead as doornails - in the right small hands, would become the epicenter of our NASA-inspired dramatic play corner. With a couple of lawn chairs and some old CB radio microphones to round out the set, engines would be ignited by the power of imagination. All systems go. 

Upon entering the Pre-K classroom, the casual observer might view the dramatic play corner as simply a whimsical spot for the boys to enjoy some downtime from their “real learning” - yet, it is in this fanciful nook where their language development flourishes. Under the glossy surface of fun, the dramatic play corner is built on Vygotsky’s sturdy pedagogical ground that play is “a leading factor in development” as well as Bruner’s theory that “the most complicated grammatical and pragmatic forms of language appear first in play activity.”

Fast forward to launch day of our space unit in Pre-K. The boys are gathered on the carpet. Their mounting curiosity physically lifts them out of their criss-cross applesauce seats to a kneeling perch with necks craning to get a better look at what was being unveiled. As Faith McNulty’s If You Decide to Go to the Moon is read aloud, the reality of the eerie silence of space gives us all momentary pause. With the grand opening of a space-themed dramatic play corner, we plan to burst that scientific fact. Quiet be dashed - let the talking begin!

For it is in the playing, exploring, and embracing of this creative play set-up that the boys will stretch their understanding of new concepts, practice negotiating with classmates, and take new vocabulary out for a test drive. As the dramatic play unfolds, snippets of conversation can be heard reverberating through the classroom:

Astronaut #1:  “Can I be the one to talk to Mission Control? You can do the countdown!” 

Astronaut #2:  “Roger that! Let’s orbit the Moon before we land!”

Astronaut #1:  “OK, but if we go out, let’s bring rope for a tether. Remember, there’s not much gravity out there!” 

Mission Control:  “Attention! Attention! There’s a huge asteroid in space. 

Caution! Caution!”

Astronaut #2:  “If the Mission Control guys say yellow, we have to go slow. If they say green, we GO!”

Roles are inhabited, deals are struck, and language flows as new scenarios evolve each day. Play becomes, as Vygotsky said, “part of inner speech, logical memory, and abstract thought.” As that internal dialogue turns outward, the confidence emanating from that small corner of the classroom becomes palpable. 

As teachers, we hover nearby in the supporting role of the occasionally called upon facilitator, always letting the boys be in the driver’s seat with the plot. This is their ride…their mission…their exploration. Our role is to furnish the springboard, and then, when welcomed to, sprinkle in contextual conversation and offer guiding questions as the boys grapple with all of this rich, engaging, and newly-found language. Oh, and nothing compares to that moment when a coveted invitation is extended! Being enticed with a walkie-talkie and the promise of a lively exchange is irresistible and joyful.

Art, math, language arts, science, and Spanish easily take the ride with us. Thematic units from all other disciplines join forces with more opportunities for the boys to garner ideas, concepts, and terminology to bring to their play. The synergy is galvanizing! 

So, I heed Vygotsky’s words that “in play a child is always above his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself” and aim to create dynamic dramatic play corners as places where the boys can step into this curious world of adults and try it out for themselves - places that let them sink into the experience of feeling and sounding like a grown-up. Once they have laid the groundwork using sophisticated language while the stakes are low, it fuels their fortitude for folding it into their world in the here and now.

It will never cease to amaze me how a few thoughtfully curated props can have such an appreciable effect on language development. One minute, a boy is tussling with the astronaut costume as he tries to get his foot through the leg hole without taking his sneaker off first,  and the next moment, he is quoting Neil Armstrong, “Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.” The juxtaposition always leaves me gobsmacked. And, while a robust day full of animated storytelling about missions to the Moon, Mars, and other celestial spheres is the apex of success, there is also something to be said for that temporary suspension of the natural laws of the universe being lifted, and the blissfully silent vacuum being reinstated once again…until tomorrow.

Citations:

Berk, L. E. (1994). Vygotsky’s Theory: The Importance of Make-Believe Play. Young Children, 50(1), 30–38. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42...

Bruner, J. (1983). Play, Thought, and Language. Peabody Journal of Education, 60(3), 60–69. http://www.jstor.org/stable/14...

Vygotsky, L. S. (1967). Play and its role in the mental development of the child. Soviet Psychology, 5(3), 6–18.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). The Role of Play in Development. In M. Cole, V. Jolm-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman (Eds.), Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes (pp. 92–104). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvj...

Cathy O'Neill is a Pre-K teacher at Saint David's School.