Week 5 is upon us! This week we will be finishing up Chapter 5, reading pages 48-65. It will guide you through the rest of the Play Checklist. We have really appreciated all the comments and insights as you started to consider using the Checklist. When I did this book study once before, participants actually were considering using data from the Checklist to do an SLO (Student Learning Objective) for  Educator Effectiveness. Imagine the message having an SLO around PLAY sends!! Keep in mind that this checklist is part of a continuous cycle of improvement. As pointed out in PLAY The Pathway from Theory to Practice a companion book to When Play Isn't Easy by the same authors there are several steps to this cycle:
1. Observe and assess
2. Evaluate play skills
3. Write a goal
4. Plan and implement activities
5. Repeat the process.
As we move on in the book it will help us with steps beyond evaluating. The authors also caution that this checklist "is not intended to diagnose developmental delays. Instead, it should be used to assess, evaluate, plan, and assist in monitoring growth. "

More about assessing play can be found in an article from NAEYC "Assessing and Scaffolding Make-Believe Play" which I have given the link below. The article describes five stages in play: Plan, Roles, Props, Extended Time Frame, Language and Scenario. https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201201/Leong_Make_Believe_Play_Jan2012.pdf