Emma’s restaurant: Early literacy and social practices during play in a pre-K classroom

The study examines how Emma, a focal child in a larger qualitative study on young children’s play activities and multimodal practices, used restaurant-themed play for social and literacy-learning purposes in her prekindergarten classroom. Naturalistic data discussed in this article was collected during free play in a prekindergarten classroom over a five-month period using video recorded observations and field notes. Analysis focused on Emma’s words and actions as she engaged in restaurant-themed play. We constructed two findings: Emma used the resources of the playframe to (1) negotiate positions of directorial authority, and (2) demonstrate academic competence as a reader and writer. The findings demonstrate how one preschooler used play to explore literacy practices and negotiate social roles, leveraging a bidirectional relationship between play and literacy. In addition, the findings have implications for the role of play as a space for academic risk-taking. Findings also have implications for the role of material resources and adult participation in children’s play spaces in order to promote and sustain child-directed learning and play narratives.