ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on how role play is gaining new school territories by penetrating into the very heart of teaching: introducing new concepts. Role play is universally allowed as a means of motivating the learning effort. There are many play-mode methods for developing academic skills, and role play has become an indispensable tool in making learning meaningful, avoiding the toil of drilling. Learning and conceptual plays form the scaffolding which the adult builds to mold the system of concepts in the zone of proximal development of the child entering school. The author draws on his experience of creating educational role plays and their testing when teaching 5-to 8- years-old children to read and write at home, in kindergarten and in school. Play comprises multiple activities of children, such as making pies in the sandbox or running around and fussing across the lawn, dressing dolls or online shooting games, checkers or mother-and-daughter play.
