After Guided Play: Reflecting and Adapting Through Assessment
During closing circle, Ms. Hall notices most children can compare lengths but struggle to explain why one design worked better than another. The next morning, she adds a recording sheet to the block area and pulls aside one of the small groups.
“ Can you walk me through what you did?” she asks.
“ We wanted to fit more cars across the bridge,” one of the children explains.“ We measured how wide the cars were and then added more blocks that way.” She indicates width with her hands.
The group demonstrates what they observed to Ms. Hall. What began as block play had shown their teacher exactly where the students were and where they needed to go next.
Teachers use observation, documentation, and conversation to help children make sense of what they discovered and to inform what comes next( NAEYC 2022). Ms. Hall used what she observed during bridge building to plan her next steps, adding a recording sheet and pulling a small group aside to extend the conversation. These responsive adjustments to the environment keep each child working at the edge of their growing understanding and emerging skills( Weisberg et al. 2013, 2016).
Guided Play as Intentional Teaching
Guided play is not an optional extra. It is an evidence-based, developmentally appropriate approach that belongs in every kindergarten through third-grade classroom( Weisberg et al. 2013, 2016; James & Iruka 2018; NAEYC
2022). By balancing children’ s agency with purposeful guidance, educators support children’ s development across domains and in their academic learning( Masterson 2019; Schmidtke 2025).
Guided play is also a pathway to access and opportunity. When classrooms build on children’ s experiences, languages, and strengths, more learners can participate fully in challenging academic work( NAEYC 2019). Sustaining these opportunities requires supportive school conditions: Protecting time for open-ended exploration, resisting pressure to narrow the curriculum, and ensuring professional learning support teachers in designing guided play experiences that are responsive, rigorous, and joyful( NAEYC 2022; Schmidtke 2023).
About the Author
Amy Schmidtke, EdD, is director of educational practice at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, where she leads birth – grade 3 initiatives focused on guided play, intentional teaching, and joyful, developmentally grounded learning experiences for young children. aschmidtke @ nebraska. edu
References
Bassok, D., S. Latham, & A. Rorem. 2016.“ Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?” AERA Open 2( 1): 1 – 31. doi. org / 10.1177 / 2332858415616358.
Cavanaugh, D. M., K. J. Clemence, M. M. Teale, A. C. Rule, & S. E. Montgomery. 2017.“ Kindergarten Scores, Storytelling, Executive Function, and Motivation Improved Through Literacy-Rich Guided Play.” Early Childhood Education Journal 45: 831 – 43. doi. org / 10.1007 / s10643-016-0832-8.
Clements, D. H., & J. Sarama. 2016.“ Math, Science, and Technology in the Early Grades.” The Future of Children 26( 2): 75 – 94. doi. org / 10.1353 / foc. 2016.0013.
Clements, D. H., & J. Sarama. 2025.“ Systematic Review of Learning Trajectories in Early Mathematics.” ZDM – Mathematics Education 57: 637 – 50. doi. org / 10.1007 / s11858-024-01644-1.
Dombro, A. L., J. Jablon, & C. Stetson. 2020. Powerful Interactions: How to Connect with Children to Extend Their Learning. 2nd ed. NAEYC.
Fromberg, D. P., & D. Bergen, eds. 2009. Play from Birth to Twelve: Contexts, Perspectives, and Meanings. 2nd ed. Routledge.
Hassinger-Das, B., K. Hirsh-Pasek, & R. M. Golinkoff. 2017.“ The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story.” Young Children 72( 2): 45 – 50.
Hirsh-Pasek, K., H. S. Hadani, E. Blinkoff, & R. M. Golinkoff. 2020.“ A New Path to Education Reform: Playful Learning Promotes 21st Century Skills in School and Beyond.” Policy brief. The Brookings
18 Young Children
Fall 2026