Is it possible to teach literacy and reading through play? The presence of play in a first-grade classroom

Abstract

This article aims to share reflections on play and its interconnections with the appropriation of reading and writing, in the context of a first-grade class in the early years of elementary school at a public school located in the northeastern region of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Based on a qualitative approach and guided by a descriptive-exploratory method, a literature review on the theme of play, literacy, and reading comprehension is presented, whose theoretical bases dialogue with the fields of literacy and Social Studies of Childhood. As methodological procedures, action research was conducted considering the practices of a lead teacher and a group of scholarship recipients, who, amidst contradictions, struggles, and resistance, sought openings to enable a more sensitive and playful pedagogy. The results demonstrate that the right to play is an issue that deserves attention not only in the early years of elementary school, but that even in early childhood education it requires care when faced with the anticipation of schooling processes. Therefore, the research raises questions and prompts reflection on the didactization of play in the second stage of basic education.