North Carolina Early Learning and Development Progressions: Birth to Five

Domain: NC Foundations for Early Learning: Cognitive Development (CD)

Subdomain: Creative Expression

Goal: Children demonstrate self-expression and creativity in a variety of forms and contexts, including play, visual arts, music, drama, and dance.

Skill Progression: Drama

Age: 27-30 Months

Click here to go to all skills for ages 27-30 Months.

Begins fantasy dramatic play; uses dolls or action figures to “perform” sequences and talk to each other and interact

Situations for Observation of Skill

Observe the child with several small doll or action figures and related toys, such as doll furniture cars, etc.

Elicitation Strategy

No elicitation needed if the child dramatizes spontaneously. If not, the adult can become a play partner to get the child started. Begin a scenario and entice the child’s character into the play.

Behavior Observed

The child should be able to have his character talk and move around to perform actions.

Routines-based Intervention (Embedded Instruction)

Dramatic play with small dolls requires the child to play more than one role. Encourage early childhood educators and parents to have several of the child’s favorite character figures in the play area. Small figures also encourage children to combine other materials like blocks, cars, etc., creating opportunities for more complex play.

 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2015

©2015 by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.