Rocking Those Rocks!: Geology Dramatic Play Center

My class is really going to be digging the newest dramatic play center I've created during our Earth/Environment unit: A Geologists Office.

Dramatic play is not just play, but a journey that helps foster children's use of scientific thinking such as cause and effect and scientific language, critical thinking skills, early communication (language arts) and social skills such as turn taking, mathematical concepts (more/less etc.), imaginative thought and insight into our community and occupational roles (social studies).

Our little geologists will delve into the rocky world of geology by:

• examining rock types
• using magnifying glasses to take a closer look at items such as fossils and shark's teeth,
• feel recreated fossils made from a hardened clay
• try on dinosaur mitts and view toy dinosaurs
• See a paper mache dinosaur bone/egg (paleontology is a form of geology) 
• Type on a make believe computer created from a small box that was painted black and a screen made from an old calendar. 

Other items that will appear in the center include pieces of bark, pine cones, and other items that relate to the earth due to the ecological/Arbor Day influence of our unit. 

Remember to explain to students what a geologist is before having them play within the center so they can better understand and create role-playing situations based on this scientific career. 

In my next post, I will explain how to create an Ecology Discovery Jar!