“Baling Tin” is one of the traditional games popular among the kids in Malaysia. This game can be played by boys and girls. In one game, there will be two groups. First and foremost, the kids have to draw lots to divide themselves into two groups and decide which group is leading. Before we start the game, we will have to arrange the tin in pyramid. The leading team (Team A) will start off the game by throwing a ball towards the tin. Each individual is given three chances of throw to knock down all the tins. Once Team A has knocked down all the tins, Team B will start throwing balls towards the members in Team A as they try to arrange back the tins in pyramid style. Once a ball hits the member of Team A, he/she is considered “die” and knocked out of the game. As long as Team A succeed to arrange back the tins, they are considered winner of that round. Then, Team B will become the leading team the second round. So, basically this is how the game is played. However, we ought to innovate the game to ensure its requirement is aligned with the concepts and characteristics for play. But first of all, what is play? According to (Play Therapy United Kingdom, 2000), the definition of play is 'A physical or mental leisure activity that is undertaken purely for enjoyment or amusement and has no other objective. While (ParentingHealthyChildren.com, 2010) defines that play is learning that is interesting and fun. Let us take a look over another definition of play by (Shipley, 2008). Shipley describes
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Transcript
“Baling Tin” is one of the traditional games popular among the kids in Malaysia. This
game can be played by boys and girls. In one game, there will be two groups. First and
foremost, the kids have to draw lots to divide themselves into two groups and decide
which group is leading.
Before we start the game, we will have to arrange the tin in pyramid. The leading
team (Team A) will start off the game by throwing a ball towards the tin. Each individual
is given three chances of throw to knock down all the tins. Once Team A has knocked
down all the tins, Team B will start throwing balls towards the members in Team A as
they try to arrange back the tins in pyramid style. Once a ball hits the member of Team
A, he/she is considered “die” and knocked out of the game. As long as Team A succeed
to arrange back the tins, they are considered winner of that round. Then, Team B will
become the leading team the second round. So, basically this is how the game is
played.
However, we ought to innovate the game to ensure its requirement is aligned with
the concepts and characteristics for play. But first of all, what is play? According to (Play
Therapy United Kingdom, 2000), the definition of play is 'A physical or mental leisure
activity that is undertaken purely for enjoyment or amusement and has no other
objective. While (ParentingHealthyChildren.com, 2010) defines that play is learning that
is interesting and fun. Let us take a look over another definition of play by (Shipley,
2008). Shipley describes “play” is an enjoyable and pleasurable activity. Play
sometimes includes frustrations, challenges and fears; however enjoyment is a key
feature.
There are various forms of children plays. Symbolic-play is often pretend, it has a
'what if?' quality. The play has meaning to the player that is often not evident to the
educator. Active-play requires action, either physical, verbal or mental engagement with
materials, people, ideas or the environment. Voluntary-play is freely chosen. However,
players can also be invited or prompted to play. Process oriented-play is a means unto
itself and players may not have an end or goal in sight. Self motivating-play is
considered its own reward to the player.
Besides, “play” may assist learning and self development. It can be undertaken by
individuals or groups of children spontaneously or as part of a planned activity. Plus,
there is no need for clinical supervision, quality management, code of ethics or adult
training. The only concern is that it requires physically safe environment (Play Therapy
United Kingdom, 2000). So, later we will have to consider if the “play” is suitable to be
carried out in a classroom.
Next, for play to be meaningful, it must have some essential characteristics and.
(Seng, 2008) states that concept and characteristics of play include play needs to be
intrinsically motivated and it is done only for sheer personal satisfaction. It must also e
freely chosen by the participants and not being forced. It must be pleasurable and
enjoyable and must not be under pressure. It is nonliteral, that is play must have certain
fictitious element of make believe to accommodate the interests of player. It must be
actively engaged by the player, physically or psychologically or both.
Now that we know the concepts of the play, do we know the importance of it? If one
does not even know the importance of a play, then one does not even bother if play is
necessary for his or her kids. As teachers, we can never overlook the importance of
play. According to H. Spencer (1973), the main reason of the play is to discharge the
energy of the body. Sigmund Freud (1986) viewed plays as a means to reduce anxiety
by giving children a sense of control and an acceptable way to express forbidden
impulse, in which it is vital for emotional and social development. In own opinion, I think
what Sigmund tried to imply is that students can vent on their feeling such as anger in
an appropriate way through games.
The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many practitioners and
parents, and yet there are still prejudices surrounding the importance of children's play.
Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no
useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising
considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment
empowers children with so many aspects (NICHED, 2008). First, children approach
tasks readily and willingly. Secondly, children are open and responsive to the learning
within the play activity. Children are willing to "try", and feel that they can "have a go"
without fear of failure. Working as an effective group, children learn easily from their
peers. In play, children also establish constructive and positive relationships with those
involved. Lastly, children are able to offer their own input into the activity, feeling
involved and listened to.
Jean Piaget (1962) believed that the reason for play is to facilitate general cognitive
development, and to consolidate previous learning, while allowing new learning to
proceed in a relaxed atmosphere. In other words, the greatest benefit derived from play
brings along intellectual and social development. L. Vygotsky (1976) considered that the
function of play is to reconstruct reality without situational influences or restraints, and
thus indirectly stimulated intellectual development. From my point of view, Vygotsky is
saying that through games we are exposed ourselves to tangible senses in learning
without any restraints or situational influences like we face when we are reading an
unfathomable text.
Now, we will elucidate how we are going to innovate the game based on the original
game called “Baling Tin”. First thing is that we prepare six bottles and line the bottle up
in one line. So, we actually replace the “tins” with empty bottles. The bottles are labeled
with six different alphabets which are: a, b, c, d, e, f. Next, we need a ball. We plan to
make papered ball by wrapping a bunch papers with plastic this game. Papered ball is
safer because it does not hurt when it hits other people. After discussion, we decide that
we name the game we have innovated “Throw the Words”.
How are they going to play the game? Two groups of pupils will compete with each
other in this game. One of the two groups is going to start first. In each groups, we will
only allow 5 members. Each member will get a chance to throw the ball towards the
bottles, one by one. The distance between the thrower and the bottles is two meter
away.
First, the thrower gets to decide the word he wants, and tries to hit the ball with, say,
he decides to hit the bottle with the alphabet “a”. Once the bottle is hit, he or she will
have to make a word of the alphabet, such as apple, athletics, air, atmosphere,
attractive, affection. Be it nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs or conjunctions. Then the
thrower has to enunciate the word and write it on the board. If he or she writes it
correctly, then he will be rewarded with 1 mark.
Now, here is the catch. If the thrower decides to hit bottle “a”, but he or she
accidentally hits the bottle with labeled “b” instead, he or she will have to receive
penalty. In penalty, he or she has to make three words out of “b” and pronounce it
correctly followed by writing the words on the board. Sounds very exciting? Since the
game is played in group, the other members can also help the thrower to think of the
words if the thrower runs out of ideas. If the thrower fails to provide three words, then he
or she will obtain no mark from the game.
After the first thrower completes the task required, it goes on with the other members
in the group until all the members finish the game. Later, the game will be proceeded
with the second group. We will obtain the result by comparing the marks obtained by
two groups.
In the end, the winner of the group will be the “thowers” and the defeated teams will
be the “builders”. The game will eventually turn out this way. The “Throwers” each will
have one paper ball in their hands. They will aim and throw at the “builders” after 20
seconds time. 20 seconds time will be allocated for the “builders” to replace all the
bottles on the central circular point as later the bottles will be scattered around a bigger
circle which ranges 3 meters from the central circular point. And guess what, when the
game begins, “War” begins! If the “builders” succeed to put all the bottles in the circular
point, they are considered the winner, even only 1 builder survives the game. When a
“builder” is hit by the paper bag from the “attacking” team, he is knocked out from the
game (big circle).
Because the game will be carried out in the classroom, we should have a
comprehensive knowledge about classroom management. What is classroom
management, According to (Seng, 2008), classroom management is a multifaceted
matter, which concerns all aspects of life in school especially pupils’ personalities and
teachers’ craft and attitude, including all aspects of physical facilities in the classroom.
In general, classroom management is an art of practice of managing pupils, physical
facilities, and activities; so as to create an optimal learning environment and climate
conducive to teaching and learning.
So, in order to carry out this activity in the classroom, the teacher must choose a
spacious classroom. If the classroom is too small, the teacher must figure out some
ways to increase the capacity of the class. For example, the teacher can move away the
tables and chairs out of the class to ensure the pupils can move about freely so that the
game can be carried out perfectly. According to Guy R. Lefrancois (1999), author of
Psychology for Teaching, classroom management is “a comprehensive term for a
variety of teacher actions designed to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom,
including disciplinary actions, daily routines, seating arrangements, and the scheduling
of lessons.” Thus, it is obvious for us, the teachers, to change the arrangement of the
classroom depending on the needs of the lesson.
In our opinion, learning through play is a teaching and learning activity suitable for
primary school children. It can also be a teaching technique that is interesting and is
able to pique students’ interests through learning. At the same times, it motivates them
because learning is not as stressful as they seem to be. Vygotsky (1967) said that “Play
is helpful in the development of language and thought. Mental structures are formed
through the use of signs and tools and play helps in this formation. Play also frees the
child from the constraints of the real world that surround the child. In this way, play gives
children greater control over situation than they would have in reality. Children play with
meanings as well as with objects as a result of being freed from reality. They are thus
allowed to engage in higher-order thinking process through play.”
From our game, we use bottles labeled with alphabets as signs and tools for mental
structures, as stated by Vygotsky. Through the game, the child is free to demonstrate
how he wants to throw the ball as long as it is one foot away from the bottles. In short, it
gives the children more freedom to create their own learning process. It is different from
reading from a monotonous text as it is boring and they are restrained from the
creativity of learning.
According to Rubin, Fein, and Vendenberg (1995) : The characteristic of play is
intrinsically motivated and is done only for sheer satisfaction of doing it. Play can only
be meaningful if it is freely chosen by the participants. While Jerome Singer (1973)
considered that children use their physical and mental abilities in imaginative plays to
construct their new experiences. By exploring the environment through play, it will not
only enable them to solve daily problems but also make them more creative.
Children can achieve optimal learning experience through the game by following
three basic criteria. First, it will be their first hand direct learning experience. This is
because the students they have never played the game which we have innovated
before. Next, children must be actively involved in the learning process. As the game
begins, the learning process begins and students are prone to absorbing the latest
information given. For instance, they can learn new words of vocabulary from the other
students who play the game as well. The third criterion is that the learning must be
based on children’s own thinking and learning style, learning interest and having
sufficient time. Thus, the pupils are given ample time to think and respond. We are not
setting any time limits for the students so that they can play in a relaxing way and find
the game enjoyable.
The play “Throw the Words” is categorized in co-operative play. What is co-operative
play? (Seng, 2008) considers co-operative play as the highest level of social play. It
usually occurs when two or more children are engaged in a certain play that has
common goal. For example, when the student fails to provide three words as in the
penalty, the rest of his group members can help him or her to think of the three words.
Such game requires co-operation within the group members themselves. It builds up
teamwork and friendship bonds as well. According to Parten’s observation, this kind of
co-operation occurs when children are at the age of four, but more commonly at the age
of five. So, our target group for this game is standard 3 students who are at the age of
nine-year-olds. Besides, the students in a group have a common goal which is that they
have to compete with the other groups to achieve higher marks.
In addition, “Throw the Words” is also in the category of Game-with-Rules. Games-
with-Rules as defined in the book by (Seng, 2008) are games of primary school children
involve competition between two or more players, and are governed by a set of
regulations agreed in advance by the players themselves. This type of games can be
played indoor or outdoor. “Throw the Words” is considered Game-with-Rules because
there are instructions to be followed in playing the game, including the presence of
penalty as well.
Piaget (1962) described such game-with-rules as a kind of logical and systematic
play activity of the civilized beings. According to Piaget, they are two criteria required to
play the game. Firstly, the players must have the ability to engage in following the rules
agreed. Secondly, there must have participations of two or more potential players who
have sufficient logical thinking.
Now we move on to the importance of learning through play. One vital fact we must
remember when working with children is that their learning style is completely different
to that of an adult, so in order to maximize learning potential and at the same time,
make the experience more enjoyable, we must enter their world with the eyes of a child.
It is through play that children begin to formulate an idea of their place in the world
and develop their physical, cognitive, emotional and social skills. What may seem like
“silly” or “cute” activities to adults are actually the ways in which young people explore
the world around them. Every game or activity has its own rules for the way it needs to
be conducted and the child needs to use many different skills in order to participate in it
successfully.
One of the first individuals to explore and develop the method of learning through play
was Lev Vygostky, a pioneering psychologist of the early 1990s, often called “The
Mozart of psychology”. Vygotsky believed that the development of a child occurred
spontaneously and was the result of the child’s immediate social environment, in which
they are an active participant, rather than an observer. As children grow, they learn
about everything that surrounds them and who interacts with them. When they play in
these surroundings, children begin to gain more understanding of the world in which
they live (Play Therapy United Kingdom, 2000).
One of the greatest attributes of play is the opportunities it affords for learning to live
with not knowing: we all learn more effectively through trial and error, and play is a non-
threatening way to cope with new learning and still retain self-esteem and self-image
(NICHED, 2008).
To support children's learning and development through play the following conditions
are vital. Adult Involvement is one of the utmost factor as in our game “Throw the
Words”, teacher as adult will not participate the game but acts as facilitator, to correct to
students when they commit mistakes such as wrong pronunciation, wrong spelling. To
support the children’s learning through play, we must also allow children to share the
initiatives about what is to be learnt. For example, after the game, the teacher should
ask the students to reflect as what they have learnt, perhaps they will learn something
new such as the importance of teamwork, or new vocabulary.
Next, enabling children to take risks, be creative and playful in their ideas also
supports children’s learning through play. There are also ways we can initiate activities
that encourage our children to “think outside the box.” “Throw the Words” is one of the
word games we can play in the course of our everyday activities that are not only fun for
us and our children, but also encourage curiosity, creativity, and imagination. Despite
the rules, students can be creative to mend the rules without breaking it, be creative
when they can think of new ways to play the game such as in which position they
should throw the ball.
The role of the adult in supporting children's learning and development through the
use of play is one of proactivity and interaction. Adults have the power to make a major
difference to children's lives and their development by what they offer children and by
how they behave towards them. Adults can offer support, sometimes described as
"scaffolding", for the child's learning and development. For instance, the teacher
provides a structure or series of steps for the child to explore a new experience
successfully and add to his or her initial learning. The key for the adult is to know how to
provide steps which are small enough for the child to gain success, but challenging
enough to motivate and take the child's learning forward (NICHED, 2008).
It is through interaction with adults that children's development and learning is
extended. If a child is left to explore something new on his or her own, the child's play
remains at the stage of the child's actual level of development (NICHED, 2008). So, if
the teacher skillfully interacts with the child's, the child will be involved in more complex
play, therefore, extending the child's development and learning within the play activity.
Emerging evidence on the neuro-physiological development of the brain also
indicates the importance of children making connections between areas of learning and
experience through their play activities, through their exploration and experimentation,
through their collaborative and reciprocal relationships (Play Therapy United Kingdom,
2000). A considerable body of neurobiological evidence supports the importance of
enriched, stimulating childhood environments. Thus, “Throw the Words” is meant to be
played joyfully by the students, if they truly enjoy the game, it will certainly influence the
brain's growth and development including positive emotional support, stimulation of all
the senses, presenting novel challenges, encouraging social interaction and an active
style of learning. On the contrary side, impoverished and stressful early environments
can be damaging to brain development (NICHED, 2008). Play is therefore essential for
children's development and learning. Skillful adult involvement within children's play
supports and extends children's learning and development.
Now, we will look into the importance of play in several aspects. First, physical
development, how does play contribute to physical development of a child? Let us look
into meaning of physical development. Physical development refers to physical
changes, rate of growth of the different body parts, the functions of the body parts and
human features (Woolfolk and Margetts, 2007). These changes influences a child’s
behavior both directly and indirectly (Hurlock, 1978). The child’s physical development
will determine his capability to do something, for example the ability to compete with his
peers group in games and activities. If he cannot compete, he will feel left out. Indirectly,
physical development influences the child’s self-confidence. Children, who feel left out
from the main stream will have some effects in their personality development.
For many, play is epitomized by children running, climbing, jumping, and moving. The
pure joy of these simple physical activities is warmly remembered. Children using their
large muscles in these activities are strengthening their gross motor development
(Gallahue, 1982). Beginning in infancy, children improve neuromuscular coordination
through repeated use of their large muscles. Batting at a mobile as an infant, walking
during early toddlerhood, running and climbing at the preschool level, and swinging and
skipping in the primary years are all examples of how play enhances gross motor
development.
Play activities also include use of smaller muscles for a variety of tasks. Fine motor
development is refined through cutting, lacing, buttoning, painting, and writing
experiences in play (Henniger). Building with Legos, putting together puzzles, sand and
water play, woodworking projects, play dough, and dressing dolls are additional
examples of play activities that promote fine motor development.
As children mature, they use their muscles in continually more complex ways,
integrating large and fine muscle movements with visual perception. Play allows
frequent practice of these complicated actions. Hitting and catching a ball, jumping rope,
playing hopscotch, and using the monkey bars are all examples of these more difficult
coordinated movements. So, in the game “Throw the Words”, students are required to
run, jump, skip, dodge, break, hoop around to avoid being hit by the ball, in this case,
the students are apparently involved in all kinds of physical movement that requires the
use of gross motor skills and muscles. By doing this, play allows children to develop a
better awareness of body, space, and direction (Henniger). As they move their bodies,
children learn about up, down, in, out, over, under, left, right, and more as they climb,
swing, crawl, and run.
At the same time, “Throw the Words” also aids in developing both gross and fine
motor skills. What are gross and fine motor skills? Gross motor skills refer to the skills
and abilities your child gains as she attempts to move her body through space. Large
muscles, such as the ones in her legs, arms and torso help her achieve her goals of
crawling, walking, running, jumping and other large motor skills (Hughes, 2011).
According to The University of Minnesota, the development of gross motor skills builds
as your child learns to hold her head up, then push herself up, crawl, stand, walk and
run. Fine motor skills are the abilities he has to use his small muscles in his fingers and
toes, mouth and wrists (Hughes, 2011). As your child develops, he will be able to pick
up cereal or little pieces of food, scribble with a pencil or dress himself. Small motor
skills are those skills that use small movements and precision. In “Throw the Words”,
students are required to write down the words on the board, therefore, this requires the
use of their fine motor skill.
Besides that, children need to combine hand-eye coordination to master their fine
motor skills. In the game “Throw the words” the students will be required to use hand-
eye coordination because the students have to find a good position and take an aim
before they throw the ball towards the bottles. These are all complex physical tasks that
require strength, coordination and perception. They also are developmental moments,
those windows of time when teachers can see the ways in which a young child is
growing and developing new skills and abilities.
Since “Throw the Words” is a physical game, it helps a child to develop connections
between the nerve cells and the brain. As these connections develop, a child's fine and
gross motor skills, socialization, personal awareness, language, creativity and problem
solving are improved (Wonderly, 2010 ). The ideal physical play incorporates play with
social interactions and problem solving. For instance, the students not only have to work
together to think of new words, they are also engaging with each other in conversation
during the discussion, thus strengthening communication skills.
Physical play provides various health benefits. According to the North Carolina Child
Care Health and Safety Resource Center, physically activity promotes early brain
development and learning in infants and young children. It also decreases the risk of
developing health conditions like coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes
mellitus, obesity and many other chronic health conditions. As our game “Throw the
Words” involves physical movements, the students will invariably perspire, releasing the
toxin in their body through sweating. According to (Miller, 2009), Sweating is the way
our bodies keep themselves from overheating, and when we perspire, we expel toxins
and even disease from our system. Many viruses and bacteria can’t live in temperatures
above 98.6, so in many cases, sweating literally burns away illness. There are two types
of sweat glands: eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands. Eccrine glands are
distributed over the entire body. They are particularly concentrated on the palms, soles
of feet, and on the forehead. Apocrine sweat glands are located on the scalp, armpits
and the genital area, and produce sweat containing fatty materials.
So much form the aspects of physical development in play. Now, we will move on to
the cognitive aspect. According to (Health Encyclopedia of Children, 2005), Cognitive
development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem
solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. (Haliza
Hamzah, 2008). Cognitive skills are individuals’ ability to think, give opinion,
comprehend, and memorize events that occur in the surrounding. It involves mental
activities like memorizing, categorizing, planning, reasoning, problem solving, recalling,
creating, and imagining etc. children’s cognitive development give emphasis on
developing a child’s mind. It focuses on the changes in thinking that takes place from
one stage to the next.
Children gain knowledge indirectly through their play. They exercise their abilities to
think, remember, and solve problems. In “Throw the Words”, students have to recall the
name of the objects or any words that related to the alphabet they hit. Language skill is
strengthened as the children model others’ way of pronouncing. It also happens when
they organize their thoughts to communicate.
Cognitive domain is taken into account in thinking when a person use their common
sense in solving problems. According to the dictionary of ‘kamus dewan ‘of fourth
edition, cognitive is every aspect of cognition as the process of learning, understanding
and knowledge acquisition in reasoning or thinking through the senses. Based on the
traditional game that has been selected, it is very popular among children because this
game involves many kids at a time thus making the game more lively and fun.. This
game looks simple but when examined it covers the important aspects for the
development of cognitive. Apart from using physical use such as running and jumping,
this game actually requires us to utilize our mind to plan a masterminded strategy. Take
“attacking” for example, in the game, the students have to set about their position to
attack so that the probability of the ball hitting the opponent is maximized.
The most suitable teaching models to be used in the game are the information
processing model and social model. Social model is a model that stimulates children's
social and intellectual while the information processing model is a model that student
who prefers analyzing relevant information for a decision (Ali-Hassan, 2005). The
results of the combination of these two models have a positive impact in the
performance of teaching and learning in schools. Through the chosen game “Throw the
Words”, children also widen their knowledge of vocabulary. Take for example when one
of the student utter a new word, much to others’ disbelief, the other members of the
group will ask the meaning of the new word. Then, the student will have to explain to
them. This will stimulate learning between peers. The Learning perspective argues that
children imitate what they see and hear, and that children learn from punishment and