This measure examines how the teacher allows children to interact socially in different situations throughout the day, whether the children are working alone or with others in small or large groups. It also considers how the teacher facilitates social interactions between the children and their peers while playing. An example is when a preschool teacher sets up a large group activity within different centers where children can choose what to play independently and in small group activities and interact with each other, versus allowing the children to interact as part of large group activities yet the children can only sit at the tables.
Category: Category 2: Teacher-Child Interactions
Subcategory: Play-Based Interactions and Guidance
Examples
In this section you will find videos, images, and/or documents that can be used to better understand this measure. These examples can also be used in conversations between mentors, directors, and/or teachers to discuss how the program's current practices compare to these examples.
Video Example
In this exemplar video segment, a teacher shows how to create a positive classroom community by facilitating social interactions with children. As the teacher in the video helps the children in a small group complete an activity, he also encourages the other children to celebrate one of their peers’ successes during the lesson.
Age(s): Preschool
Video Example
Teachers have many opportunities during the day to promote peer interaction between children. In this exemplar video segment, a teacher helps facilitate an activity where infants are taking turns playing back and forth with a toy.
Age(s): Infant
Video Example
Teachers have many opportunities during the day to promote peer interaction between children. In this exemplar video segment, teachers help facilitate an outdoor game with toddlers where they model social interactions. During the activity the teachers show the children how to include everyone in the game and how to wait patiently for peers as they finish up the game.
Age(s): Toddler
Video Example
In this series of exemplar video segments, teachers provide social opportunities for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and after school children throughout the day. In the video teachers give children opportunities to interact with each other during mealtimes, centers, and outdoor time all while facilitating how the children interact as they play together.
Age(s): Infant, Toddler, Preschool, School-age
Video Example
In this exemplar video segment, Support Turn Taking, a toddler teacher provides many opportunities for children to work together in a large group during a music activity. The teacher uses turn taking to facilitate how the children engage in play with each other during music time.
Age(s): Toddler
Practice Opportunities
These resources include tips, strategies, activities, or specific tools related to this measure that programs can put into practice.
Activity
Teaching children how to make friends is important for their social development. In this activity, the teacher provides opportunities for children to act out ways to ask others to play. Children can use the strategies in small groups, in centers, or outside.
Age(s): Preschool, School-age
Activity
Teaching children how to play cooperatively is important for their social development. In this activity, the teacher provides opportunities for children to act out ways to play together, including what to say when a child doesn’t want to play with others.
Age(s): Preschool, School-age
Activity
Children can play “Roll to a Friend” with one friend or many! As children play, the teacher can facilitate how children interact by encouraging them to say each other’s names and play cooperatively.
Age(s): Toddler
Activity
In this activity, the teacher provides opportunities for children to share with a partner. Teaching children how to share with a friend is one way to facilitate positive peer interactions.
Age(s): Preschool, School-age
