Teachers set up the learning environment and schedule free-choice time to encourage cooperative play among children. While children progress through stages of solitary play, parallel play, and cooperative play, research has found that parallel play still makes up a substantial amount of kindergarteners' playtime and is important for their development. The teacher's role is to accommodate small groups, observe social skills, and help children progress through social skills without forcing them.

2. Teachers set up
the learning
environment to
encourage
cooperative play.

4. Anderson and Robinson
(2006)
Have found that although
children do progress through
these stages, it is parallel
play that plays an important
and unsuspected role in this
progression. They noted:

5. “even though the amount of
time kindergarten children
engaged in cooperative play
increased, the amount of
time they engaged in parallel
play was still substantial and
was not significantly less
than that of the pre-school
children.”

6. YOUR ROLE AS A TEACHER
IS TO:
• Set up the physical
arrangement of the
classroom to accommodate
small-group activities.
• Schedule enough free-
choice time for children to
become deeply involved in
their play.

7. • Accept children wherever
they are in this
developmental sequence.
• Observe and record the
social skills being
demonstrated by each of the
children.
• Help (but not force) them to
progress through this
sequence of social skill