15 Pretend Play Activities

Pretend play is a great way for kids to practice making friends, working together and communicating. These fun pretend play ideas are great for girls and boys alike. They’re the perfect complement to our print and play Pretend Play Pack!

Want more fun ideas just like this one? Become a VIP Plato Pack member so you can get all of the tools, strategies and support you need to reach ALL of your learners.

First on the list are our free veterinarian’s office set. In just a couple of minutes, you can create an imaginary vet’s office your little animal lovers will be crazy about.

Veterinarian’s Office Pretend Play by Playdough to Plato

Homemade Mermaid Costume by Mama. Papa. Bubba.

Airport Pretend Play Set by Playdough to Plato

DIY Dino Tail by Andrea’s Notebook

Pretend Play Beauty Salon by Imagination Soup

Open a Paper Sandwich Shop by Kids Activities Blog

DIY Plaster Casts for Doctor Role Play by The Imagination Tree

Free Pretend Play Bakery Printables by Playdough to Plato

Fingerprint Detective by Coffee Cups and Crayons

Pretend Play Science Lab by No Time for Flashcards

DIY Backyard Explorer Kit by A Mom with a Lesson Plan

Pete’s A Pizza by Playdough to Plato

DIY Fireman Air Tank by Crayon Chronicles

Pretend Play Post Office by Buggy and Buddy

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Playdough to Plato

20 hours ago

For years, I thought the best way to build students' reading comprehension was simply asking follow up questions:

📕Who was the main character?

📒What happened in the beginning, middle, and end?

📗What was the problem and solution?...

But now I know that reading comprehension actually involves FOUR different brain processing systems! And if a student has holes in any one of them, their comprehension can be compromised:

🧠 ORTHOGRAPHIC PROCESSING involves translating words on a page to spoken language. Although you may not have noticed it before, when you’re reading, your brain actually reads the words you see out loud in your head like an audiobook narrator so you can use your natural human superpower for spoken language to understand what you are reading.

🧠PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS means listening for and producing speech sounds. When your brain is “hearing” the story being read aloud in your head, it is separating sentences into individual words, noticing the difference between similar sounding words so you can process each word being spoken, etc. Without solid phonological processing, your brain wouldn’t recognize the difference between the words “cat” and “bat” because they would sound the same.

🧠MEANING PROCESSING is retrieving every meaning your brain has stored for a word. If you hear the word “bat”, for instance, your brain will pull pictures of the nocturnal animal, baseball equipment, and someone hitting a ball.

🧠That’s when CONTEXT PROCESSING kicks in! You use background knowledge and larger context to decide which meaning fits best. In our bat example above, if you’re reading a book about caves, your brain will throw out all of the baseball options and keep the nocturnal animal.

The key to reading comprehension success is ensuring that all FOUR brain processing systems are solid and strong…

I know it can be hard to know where to start, but you'll get simple, brain-friendly ways to strengthen them inside my brand new book, The Science of Reading in Action.

👉Comment BRAIN below and I'll send you the pre-order info.

🖊️: @paper.samosa

#scienceofreadinginaction #scienceofreading #readingcomprehension #elementaryteacher ... See MoreSee Less

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2 days ago

Literacy is not just a teaching issue, it’s a social justice issue. United Nations' Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon describes it as "a foundation for human rights, gender equality, and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote wellbeing for all people."

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn how to read so it’s absolutely critical that students receive the instruction and support they need to stop the generational cycle of low literacy once and for all.

When we add up the effects associated with low literacy levels, it is incredibly costly, not only for that person but also for the global economy. The World Literacy Foundation calculates that it consumes more than $1.19 trillion annually.😳

But the great news is that it doesn’t have to be this way! Research shows that with the right tools and strategies, 95 percent of neurotypical students can learn to read by the end of first grade. That means you can be successful, your teaching partner can be successful, your school can be successful… we can all be successful because students CAN learn to read. We just need to use proven, brain-friendly strategies to create a teaching movement that empowers our learners for life.

And that is exactly why I wrote this book! Not only will you discover how brains learn to read in an easy to understand way, but you’ll also get the tools and strategies to immediately start implementing the changes right away…

No late night google searches or early morning lesson planning required.👏

The Science of Reading in Action comes out on April 1 but I’m so excited to get it in your hands that I pulled together some epic bonuses you can only get when you order early.

👉 Just comment BRAIN below and I’ll send you the pre-order invite!

📸 @smithco.photo

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BRAIN

3 days ago

Did you know that phonemic awareness includes SIX different skills? And we can make it easier for kids to learn all of them by introducing those skills in a specific order??

You’ll get two free weeks of no-prep 5 minute warm ups that make it shockingly easy to teach all of these parts inside my brand new book called The Science of Reading in Action. (It’s coming out on April 1st!)

👉 Comment BRAIN below and I’ll send you the pre-order info.

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Excited to get my book!!

I can't wait for this book!!!

6 days ago

Teacher confession! 🫣 Since walking into my first classroom back in 2003, I have experienced more failures than I can count: students who left my room reading below grade level, late nights spent worrying someone was slipping through the cracks, lesson plans I spent hours prepping only to have them flop…

Many of the strategies and tools I used during those first years of teaching have been proven to be ineffective and unhelpful. In some cases, I now know that those methods were actually holding students back from learning rather than helping them progress.

But all of that failure drove me to become hyper-focused (some might even called obsessed!) with studying, testing, tweaking and sharing the best research-based teaching strategies. My goal is to help teachers like you skip all of the stress and worry and get right to the good stuff - helping your students become *thriving* readers.

My book, The Science of Reading in Action, comes out on April 1. 👏 I’m excited for you to pre-order so Amazon knows it’s worth stocking, so I pulled together a mega pack of bonuses.

👉Comment BRAIN and I’ll send you the pre-order invite.

P.S. I will forever be indebted to Simmi Patel, the book’s illustrator, for sharing her brilliant gift with the world. She found a way to make potentially complicated concepts like this one a whole lot easier to understand. I’m a @paper.samosa super fan for life! 💗 ... See MoreSee Less

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Jessica Walker

Brain

7 days ago

It’s hard to believe I’m even typing these words, but today I officially became a published author. 😭 My first-ever book is called The Science of Reading in Action and every page is packed with brain-friendly strategies teachers need to know in order to help EVERY student have reading success.

That word action was really important to me – I wanted to make it easy for you to understand how brains learn to read and then go one critical step further by giving you the tools you need to actually start implementing those things in your classroom right away.

This book has the potential to help THOUSANDS of teachers, get the tools, training, and support they need to become more successful, which is a big deal…

You and I both know how ineffective traditional literacy curriculums can be, *especially* when students are struggling.

It feels like I’ve learned a million new things about publishing a book in the last year and a half 🤪 but one of the most important is that getting pre-orders tells stores a book is worth stocking. So to help make your pre-order decision a no-brainer YES, I shamelessly pulled together a pile of free bonuses you’ll get when you order your copy before April 1st:

🔥Exclusive ticket to the ultimate LIVE masterclass with me plus two of my teaching besties, @thekindergartenconnection and @circle_time_success_kids on March 28th so you can get expert answers to your biggest teaching questions. ($97 value)

🔥Free entry to my live VIP training on April 12th showing you how to supercharge your small groups the science of reading way. ($97 value)

🔥Cheat sheets, checklists, & sample activities that make it easy to start using brain-friendly teaching tools & strategies in your classroom right away. You’ll just hit "print"! ($97 value)

🔥Plus surprise bonuses & treats to thank you for your support!

I can’t wait for you to see what’s coming your way…

This is not just a book, it’s a teaching movement.

👉 Comment BRAIN and I’ll send you the pre-order info!

#scienceofreading #scienceofreadinginaction #readingteacher ... See MoreSee Less

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I LOVE THIS! I work with 2 schools in Haiti & after I read this, I will appraise. If needed, is it available in French?

Blair Diggle…Alex talks about her…wonder if it’s some good support to The Complete reading Series. The preorder perks look good!

Congratulations Malia! I worked with you many years ago when we were both blogging kid’s activities and you always had the most wonderful ideas. I’d love to read a copy of your book as I have absolutely no doubt it will help with our home education journey, now that my children are older! Congratulations once again; every success you have is so well deserved

Brain! I’ve been looking for practical ways to apply SOR in my classroom! Thank you!

Would this be good for homeschool/virtual schools moms too? Or just teachers?

What if I preordered from your prior posting??

BRAIN! So excited for you!

BRAIN! I would love a copy of your book!

BRAIN starting out on my SoR journey. Came from middle to elem. it’s so hard and confusing

Hi Malia! Congratulations! I have been following you for a long time. I want to thank you for helping me grow my students. Your ideas have helped me grow my students. My students are such amazing readers and writers. I would love to purchase your book! Hope to meet you soon! -Elliot

So proud of you!💜

Brain - I’ve been waiting for this book! 😀 Congrats!

Just ordered, can’t wait to read this! Congratulations!

Brain. This is just what I need!

I can’t wait to read it!

Brain. Looking forward to learning more!

THRILLED for you, Malia!! I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!!

Brain! I have a dyslexic daughter, so am hoping this may have some ideas to help me help her more.

Brain. Congratulations!! Just preordered on Amazon ☺️

BRAIN! Congratulations! 🎉

Brain! Congratulations🎉

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2 weeks ago

It’s empowering to realize that we have DECADES of research, brain scans, and case studies that pinpoint what teaching tools & strategies actually help brains learn to read so we can keep doing them…

And (more importantly!) what DOESN’T work so we can stop wasting precious time and energy. 🛑

But we have to be willing to keep an open mind and continue learning!

Read a book, take a course, find a science of reading expert you know and trust and soak up everything you can from them…

In order for kids to reach THEIR fullest reading potential, they need us to reach OUR fullest teaching potential.❤️ ... See MoreSee Less

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💗TEACHER GIVEAWAY 💗including “teacher essentials” AND $500 cash for an amazing teacher to use anyway you’d like!

Here’s how to enter:

✏️ Like this post
🍏 Follow this page
🖍️ Go to @theeducatorsummitgiveaways and follow ALL of the pages it follows!
💵Tell us what you’ll buy if you win!

❗ We do not ask for credit card information. Be aware there are many scam pages.

🍎 This giveaway runs until March 6th, midnight Central time zone. Winners outside of US territory may have a modified prize. This giveaway is in no way affiliated or sponsored by Instagram. Must be following ALL accounts to be eligible to win. Must be 18 years or older.

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Spring break is coming......🤔

Wobble chairs for my classroom.

Craft materials for my Kindergarten students. What a wonderful giveaway!

Use at DISNEY!

Quick!!!

👀 You have to take a look at this kid-approved way to memorize words!

Sound mapping!

Teachers may already know it’s a fantastic way for kids to practice hearing the sounds in words, so they can successfully spell them..

And they may also know that it’s a faster and more effective way to learn sight words…

But what do kids know?

A lot!

They know that with themes like LEGO bricks, slime, bubble gum, and rockets, they’ll want to run over to your literacy center and practice again and again.

This magnificent bundle of sound mapping mats contains over 100 pages that’ll set you and your students up for the entire year.

That’s over 100 pages of word cards for 3, 4, or 5 sound words PLUS 27 different sound mapping sets of themes your students will love…

And all YOU have to do is hit PRINT!

So, if you’re ready to motivate your struggling readers with hands-on, playful learning…

Just comment below or DM us the words “Sound Mapping” and our friendly Plato-Bot will send you the link to grab it.

#SOR #soundmapping #orthographicmapping ... See MoreSee Less

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It’s great to have these.

Sound mapping

I thought it was free😁🤭

Sound mapping! Thank you!

Sound Mapping

sound mapping! Thanks!!

Sound Mapping. Thanks!

3 weeks ago

✨Have you been hearing all the BUZZ about sound mapping? 🐝

It’s a more effective and science of reading-aligned way to teach kids to read. 👍

It helps struggling readers memorize words more quickly by focusing their attention on HEARING each sound in a word and then attaching those sounds to their SPELLING.

And with this fabulous sound mapping MEGA pack, you’ll find everything you need in one easy download!

Your students just pick a mat and then:

✅ TAP the sounds
✅ SLIDE a manipulative for each sound
✅ GRAPH (write) the sounds
✅ WRITE the word
✅ READ the word

And with engaging themes like matchbox cars, leprechaun pots, and bunny rabbits, they’ll also be sounding out the word /f/ /u/ /n/!)

Don’t miss this opportunity to quickly memorize words all year round.

➡️Just comment below or DM us the words: “Sound Mapping” and our friendly Plato-Bot will send you the link.

#SOR #soundmapping #orthographicmapping ... See MoreSee Less

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Would love more info please.

Yes please

1 month ago

In case we haven’t met before, hi there! I’m Malia Hollowell and I’m the science of reading BFF you probably didn’t know you needed. Here’s why…

Thanks to decades of research, brain scans, and case studies, scientists have pinpointed how brains learn to read. They know what tools and strategies work and (more importantly!) what does NOT work so you and your students can stop spinning your wheels once and for all.

But here’s the crazy part….

Until very recently, that information hasn’t been easily accessible to the people who need it most: the educators who are actually teaching children to read day in and day out. YOU!

And that’s where I come in.

Making the science of reading easy and fun is my “thing”. I L-O-V-E sharing brain-friendly tools and strategies you need to confidently give your students big reading growth.

So if you’re brand new here, I hope you click follow!

And whether this is the first time we’re meeting or you’ve been following my account for awhile, please introduce yourself in the comments and let me know what grade you teach. I’m excited to say “hi” to you!

#scienceofreading ... See MoreSee Less

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Love your work. Can’t wait to see it aligned with SOR!

Hi! I see you and know you even though we’ve never met in person! You’re my hero! ❤️ I’m Jen, a kindergarten teacher of 22 years :)

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