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Role play ideas and green careers
Role play encourages imagination and creativity – learners grow socially and emotionally by putting themselves in someone else's shoes, whilst improving their speech and problem-solving skills.
By setting up a role play area, learners can role play different green careers and solve imaginary environmental problems. Once designed, the space can be played in repeatedly with little adult input. An area of trees could be a perfect setting for a role play area, but there is always the possibility to bring nature into your indoor setting for learners to interact with.
Preparation
What you need
- an area to set up for role play
- optional: nature-themed story books, such as these from our EYFS book list
- optional: natural materials or loose parts
Location
Indoors or outdoors
Useful guidance
Resources
Role play ideas
Occupational role play
- Rangers station: Learners can role play taking care of woodlands by planting new trees, axing down dead plant life, building log piles for bugs to thrive and keeping a look out for and protecting deer, foxes, hedgehogs, badgers and birds
- Arctic explorer: Learners can practise walking across the ‘snow’ pulling their sledges with food, tool and look out equipment. Make a ‘fire’ to stay warm and stay on guard to look out and protect polar bears or practise sawing a whole in the ice to fish for survival
- Landscape architect or gardener: Learners can practise designing a new wildlife area for their setting, plotting which green intervention to put where and practise using gardening tools either in the earth or in a soil filled tuff tray – – conduct this role play alongside planning your green future or imagining your space
- Archaeologist: Learners can use old toothbrushes, tiny trowels and play hammers to dig for historical artefacts – your dig pit could be used for this
- Inventor: This lab could work well both indoors and out. Learners can enter the lab in their safety goggles and white coats to invent the next biodegradable plastic made from plants, seaweed or soil. They can put their materials through tough testing including melting point, time it takes to turn back into soil, how much weight it can hold and whether it is waterproof
Fictional role play
Many books in your book corner will be set in a woodland or natural environment. Setting up a role play in your outdoor area can encourage learners to explore the narrative further whilst also connecting to nature.
Real life role play
This can be based in your construction or loose parts zone or with a pile of natural resources collected from a green space. Each week a new environmental scenario can be set, and learners can use the provided materials to work on it. Some scenarios could be:
- A storm has blown away the local hedgehogs’ homes and we need to create a new safe space for the hedgehog family to live, be dry and explore from
- Worms eat dead things in nature and poo out soil. How can we encourage more worms to live in our setting and make more good soil for us?
Curriculum links
Speaking
- participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary
- offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary from stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems when appropriate
- express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including use of past, present and future tenses and making use of conjunctions, with modelling and support from their teacher
Self-regulation
- set and work towards simple goals, being able to wait for what they want and control their immediate impulses when appropriate
Managing self
- be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge
Building relationships
- work and play cooperatively and take turns with others
What to try next
Points of view for younger learners
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Design a plant
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Planting and growing food
Begin activityThumbnail image: © RHS, Credit: RHS / Jason Ingram