I need an explanation for this Social Science question to help me study.

Question 1
List one different social play activity that is suitable for each of the following groups (one activity per group, not a whole program):
a) Girls 6-10 years old
b) Boys 5-7 years old
c) Boys 8-12 years old
d) Teenagers mixed gender 13-16 years old
e) Children with physical handicaps or limitations (e.g. recovering from serious illness)
f) Children with cognitive disabilities
g) A mixed group of children ranging from 2–10 years old
h) A mixed culture/language group of any age you choose
Question 2
Report on the fourth part of the set task. Write about one page or 500 words.
Question 3
a) What did you learn from talking to children in the second part of the set task? 
b) Were you comfortable talking with the children? 
c) Do you think they were comfortable, and why or why not? 
d) Do you think they communicated their thoughts and feelings well? Honestly? 
e) How much influence do you think you had on how and what they communicated?
f) What did you learn from the experience about your ability to communicate with children? 
g) What did you learn from the experience about the children’s social skills?
Write a paragraph for each of parts a) to g) above.
Play Leadership
Lesson 7
This is just a cover sheet, turn to the next page to continue.
Social Play
Lesson Aim
Determine options for social play activities, in a supervised play program.
Children are continually learning from their experiences in the world, and one of the main areas of learning is
social learning. Children learn from and about the world around them by learning who they are in relation to
others, what others want or expect of them, what their role is, and which kinds of attitudes, behaviours, beliefs
and values are accepted and approved, and which will result in disapproval. Though continual and varied social
interaction, children come to form a perception of ‘self’ as an entity that is separate from the ‘other’, and this
process of knowing the self continues throughout a person’s life.
Most great philosophers have stated that this self-knowing is the greatest task of the human being. The
psychologist Erik Erikson believes that each stage of a person’s psychological development involves an aspect of
relating to others – our social being. He identified stages of a child’s psychological development in terms of
social goals with each stage presenting a different key social challenge that the child or emerging adult must
resolve in order to continue a healthy pattern of development. Key issues in the child’s social development are
the development of trust, autonomy, feeling safe to take initiative, a sense of competence or industry, a sense
of identity, and ability to form intimate relations. Other issues are faced by adults. If social skills are so very
crucial to a child’s psychological wellbeing and growth, it is no wonder children are entranced by, and drawn to
experiences that help them form perceptions of who they are and how they relate to others.
INFLUENCES ON SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
Social interaction is an essential component of the developmental processes, as the feedback that we receive
from others (whether it be approval, disapproval, criticism, praise, like or dislike) is central to our socialisation
(see below). William James (1890) argued that our sense of self includes inner values, interests, traits, and our
friends, possessions and intimate relationships. He argued that a person growing up alone on a desert island
could not develop a “self” because a self requires social experienced and feedback.
Socialisation is the process by which an individual learns how to live and function in a society. This usually
encompasses the primary socialization provided by parents and schools as you grow up, and the developmental
socialization provided by new experiences and relationships. Socialisation includes processes and experiences
that teach us our gender roles, our values, our expectations and beliefs, including how to perceive other
societies and other groups. It has a continuing and profound effect on our behaviour, though humanist
psychologists stress that we are not just products of social influences; that we can and often do make conscious
choices.
Perhaps the most basic form of socialisation is modelling, which refers to learning by imitating the behaviour of
others. Much of what a child learns is acquired by imitating the behaviour of a parent or significant other whom
they love or admire. Children learn their social and gender roles through modelling, and will generally acquire
their basic belief and value system through modelling and conformity (which is modelling behaviour on the
behaviour of others in order to be accepted by them). For example, it is common for a little girl to imitate her
mother, turning the backyard into an imaginary kitchen and making mud pies instead of muffins. Little boys
quickly learn to imitate their father’s attitudes and behaviour, and if these imitations are approved or somehow
rewarded (with smiles or praise) they will be adopted as part of the child’s behaviour patterns. Although
modelling is a very simple process of learning, we cannot underestimate the profound effects it has upon an
individual’s behaviour for the rest of his or her life.
Much research has demonstrated a clear correlation between what children observe in their families or
immediate environment, and how they behave. Take the aggression, for example. Aggressive behaviour
patterns tend to develop quite early in a person’s development, and are much more likely to develop where the
child is exposed to aggressive behaviour, either as an observer or a recipient. As many parents have discovered,
children imitate what they see, even if they are told to do the opposite. Boys who see their father acting
aggressively toward their mother are much more likely to act aggressively towards females; girls who observe
the same behaviour are more likely to accept or permit aggressive behaviour towards themselves later, from
the men in their lives. Similarly, children whose parents behave aggressively towards them are more likely to
behave aggressively towards their own children.
Older children are often more influenced by their peers (though this is not always the case, by any means), and
will often model the behaviour of their peers, and may take on the opinions and attitudes of their peers. The
drive to affiliate with others can cause them to adopt beliefs and ideas held by their peer groups, even where
they would not, individually, think in these ways.
Other influences on social behaviour
Aside from the feedback and examples we receive from family and peers, there are other influences that affect
not only our ability to socialise effectively with others, but also, our perceptions of others, ourselves, our social
group, individuals and behaviours. Some of these influences are:
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Our biological and cognitive development
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Social expectations and norms
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Age
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Gender identify
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Our socioeconomic situation
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Education
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Cultural or ethnic identity
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Personal experience
SOCIAL PLAY
This is a very broad term that can encompass many aspects of play, but for our purposes, we will consider social
play to include any play activities or behaviours that involve meaningful interaction with others. It can also be
taken to include play that involved responses to, or reflection on social interactions, as when a little boy playing
by himself talks imitates or mirrors his parent’s behaviours or talks to his toys about his friends. However, in this
lesson, we will focus on play that involves social interaction.
Play areas and activities may be designed to be used by multiple users at the same time, but this may not be
enough to stimulate social interaction. Children – especially young children – may prefer to play alone,
regardless of how many children are nearby, while other children may not feel comfortable or able to initiate
interaction with a stranger, no matter how much they may want to. On the other hand, some children are very
comfortable initiating social interaction, and one sees them at playgrounds quickly turning solitary activities into
social play as they strike up conversations or invite others to participate.
The play leader need to be aware of these differences in order to integrate activities that promote social play
into a program or an activity, and thereby give participants more opportunities and options for engaging in
play. Children should not be compelled to participate only or mostly in social play if they prefer not to.
However, they can be encouraged to engage in more social activities, and children who lack social skills or many
opportunities for socialising with others of their age group can benefit enormously. Social play adds a dimension
that cannot be gained from solitary play – an affective dimension (affective refers to the emotional aspect).
Children do not always live in the safe, happy world that we would like for them. Many are lonely, anxious,
deprived of social stimulation, or worse – neglected or abused.
Changing social patterns or other socioeconomic pressures leave many children without nearby friends, without
parents for most of the day, lonely, under stimulated, or ignored by the adults in their lives who are too busy or
stressed to give much attention to the child. Many children lack siblings with whom to play; others are not
allowed to play without mother nearby and mother is usually busy with other things; while others are kept
occupied with television, computer games or other solitary activities. Many children are not provided with an in
which they can develop social skills or friendships, and some have not built a foundation of trust or autonomy
(which Erikson, if you recall, cited as key social skills) that gives them the courage or confidence to interact with
others or create relationships. For these and other reasons, social play is a valuable and important element of
play, whether it is free play or a formal program. For many children, it occurs naturally, without adult
intervention, but for others, a little intervention can be most beneficial.
Benefits of social play
Social play also stimulates the child in different ways to solitary play, and a combination of both will probably
provide the most benefits overall. Children tend to vary their activities, if given the choice, anyway so that both
social and solitary play is part of their experience. Below are some benefits from incorporating social play in any
play program.
Children tend to apply themselves more in a social situation.
This phenomenon is called social facilitation, and it was first investigated by two researchers, Triplett (1897)
and later, Zajonc (1965). Triplett found that when others were present, people performed tasks more
energetically, for longer, and with apparently greater concentration. Other research has also shown the
converse, that we can be distracted by the presence of others, and our performance can drop.
That said the opposite can also occur. According to Zajonc, when the task is simple and we feel capable of
performing it well, our performance improves in the presence of others, whereas if we feel less capable or the
task is challenging, our performance declines in the presence of others. This is due to the arousal caused by the
presence of others, resulting in either better performance, or increased anxiety. Later studies have supported
this. Studies by Sanna and Shotland (1990) also found that our perception of how the other people would
evaluate us either stimulated us to perform well in expectation of approval, or to perform poorly in expectation
of negative evaluation.
Children can develop social skills.
For one thing, as children with poor social skills see others children socialising easily, they might begin to model
the behaviours that they perceive as rewarding. For children with little experience with social situations, the
experience of social play can be an education in itself, opening their eyes to different possibilities of behaviour
and interaction. In the presence of children, they might try out new skills that they do not feel comfortable
trying out with adults, and will learn from the trial and error which behaviours bring them the kinds of rewards
that motivate them, and which don’t. Other children will naturally reinforce (reward or encourage) behaviours
that they like with smiles, by giving approval, by agreeing and supporting, and with attention, which creates an
ongoing learning situation.
Adults are able to observe the children in social play and identify factors that can be limiting a child’s ability to
socialise to play in a way that is rewarding to them. This allows the adult to sensitively intervene by creating
opportunities for the child to develop new skills, and even to engage the child in thinking and talking about
options that might not otherwise occur to them.
The richness of stimulation offered by social play can be highly motivating.
Social play provides many levels of stimulation – physical, psychological, cognitive, social, affective,
communicative and so on. Human beings are complex creatures, and they communicate in many different ways.
They are not predictable, and can respond differently to different situations, people and moods. All this makes
interacting with other children a rich and stimulating experience, even if it may be a little scary. Timid children
often gaze wistfully at a group of children, wanting to be part of all this excitement and complexity, feeling the
excitement of it, but afraid to venture. Yet this richness of stimulation with other children can often be a prime
motivator in getting shy or timid children to risk reaching out and making contact. Naturally social children can
be highly motivated to participate for the thrill of interacting with others.
Some impediments to social play
We should also keep in mind that each of the benefits mentioned also presents a possible impediment or
barrier to the less social child. Children who lack confidence or do not feel competent will tend to avoid
activities that they think may make them look bad, or do them half-heartedly, at best. Perceived failure to keep
up with, or match others’ performance can reinforce feelings of helplessness and low self-esteem. Children
who feel uncomfortable in social situations may feel uncomfortable, left out, or rejected in situations of social
play, and their negative attitudes to social situations might lead them to feel that others are making fun of them
or dislike them, even if that is not communicated in any way. They may end up feeling even less socially
competent, and become resentful or hostile. Also, the richness of social interaction can be too much for a quite,
solitary child and lead to distress or further withdrawal. If others in the group express irritation, impatience or
lack of acceptance, which they might, this can further reinforce the child’s sense of isolation.
A wise play leader will be aware of these potential problems, and be ready to address them as they arise in
ways that do not unintentionally make a child feel even more different or isolated.
STRATEGIES FOR FACILITATING SOCIAL INTERACTION IN PLAY
Below are some simple ways to help children interact more smoothly and enjoyably with others.
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Encourage interaction between pairs or small groups first, then build to larger groups (e.g. team
sports) once some initial peer relationships have started to develop.
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Provide activities that require some cooperation with others, but not intensive interaction. For
instance, allow shy or timid children to dress up in one corner of a room while more social
children can plan a short play.
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Have an adult near shy or timid children as an added reassurance, perhaps just in the next room
where they can check on the children now and then.
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Introduce children to each other, one to one, and direct them to a shared activity, as making the
first move can often be the most difficult part of social interaction.
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Never refer to a child as shy, timid or whatever.
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Encourage older, more socially competent children to become mentors for shy or timid
children.
SOCIAL PLAY ACTIVITIES
Below are just a few ideas that may be included in a play program.
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Creating something – assign specific tasks that require some interaction to pairs of children or
small groups (e.g. Building something with lego, doing a puzzle, doing a jig saw, crafts, building a
cubby)
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Performance activities (singing, making music, acting, writing a story)
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Games (e.g. board games, party games etc)
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Individual sports (e.g. two, three or more individuals playing or learning archery, darts, quoits,
tennis or some other game together)
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Team sports (e.g. football, soccer, cricket, netball, basketball)
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Trails (e.g. create a cryptic trail, a treasure hunt or a fun and fitness trail, and get a pair of
individuals or small group to work together to follow it).
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Races
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Competitions (e.g. knowledge quizzes, spelling bees, etc)
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Collecting (pairs or small teams doing a collection of insects, rocks, pressed plants, stamps, coins
or anything else).
SET TASK
Activity 1
Plan and implement a social play activity for a small group of children. The activity can be of short duration or
might be done over more than one session (e.g. a 2 hour activity, or 2 hours a day over three days).
If you are not able to get a small group of children, plan the activity and explain who you have designed it for
(the target group). The children can be of any age you wish.
Activity 2
Talk to the target group to see what interests them, what they like to do with others, how they feel about
friends, how they form friendships, what social skills they possess, how comfortable they feel in social
situations. Don’t just ask questions, but rather, engage them in conversation, and make notes later (you might
ask their permission or parents’ permission to record the conversation, if you wish).
Activity 3
After you design your planned play activity, discuss the plan with adults who regularly deal with children and
record their opinions and suggestions. If you adjust your plan as a result, be sure to record the changes you
made.
Activity 4
Implement the plan, then write up an evaluation of the activity (what worked, what didn’t, what you would do
differently next time, how the participants felt about the activity, and what they actually did – which may or
may not be what you planned).