ABSTRACT
When young children are asked to write, they often respond by saying, 'I don' t know what to write'. On the other hand, it is extremely rare for children to say, 'I don't know what to play'. If you leave a couple of children together, they start playing. If there are a few props lying around they utilise them in constructing their play. At first sight it appears that writing and playing are different kinds of activities. Clearly one is done with a pencil or other marker and is manifested by putting words on paper so that they seem relatively permanent. The other seems relatively free flowing, formless and ephemeral. There is, however, one very important and fundamental similarity between the two activities. Both are about creating texts. In this chapter we want to explore the extent to which composing a text during play is similar to composing a text with written language.
