Doctors Role-Play Dialogue
2 and half years old
Nursery Nurse: Shall we go and play over here?
Child: Yes
Nursery Nurse: Chloe, when you are poorly where does your mammy or daddy take you?
Child: To opital
Nursery Nurse: At the hospital, who made you better?
Child: Man
Nursery Nurse: You know what the man was called?
Child: Silence
Nursery Nurse: He’s called a doctor.
Child: Doctor
Nursery Nurse: What did the doctor do?
Child: Look ear.
Nursery Nurse: Oh, he looked in your ear. Now let’s pretend you have a poorly dolly. Let’s go and choose one from the box. Which one would you like?
Child: This one.
Nursery Nurse: What are you going to call your dolly?
Child: Annie
Nursery Nurse: OK, why is Annie poorly? What is the matter with her?
Child: Ear hurting
Nursery Nurse: Aww well we’d better take Annie to the doctors. First though we have to ring up and make an appointment.
Child: Phone
Nursery Nurse: Do you know the number?
Child: No
Nursery Nurse: Can we look it up in the book?
Child: Yes, 1,2,3,4,5,10, 4….3.
Nursery Nurse: OK you ring them up and say, ‘I’d like to see the doctor please’ and say why Annie is poorly.
Child: See doctor….poorly.
Nursery Nurse: Tell them the dolly’s name.
Child: Dolly’s name Annie. Annie ear hurting.
Nursery Nurse: Good, now get a coat and gloves from the dressing up box and let’s go to the doctors.
Nursery Nurse and Child arrive at the doctors.
Nursery Nurse: OK, go to the desk and tell the receptionist your dolly’s name.
Child: Annie. Annie poorly belly.
Receptionist: OK, take a seat and I’ll call you when it’s your turn.
Nursery Nurse: Good, now let’s sit down and wait for our name to be called. Let’s do these activity sheets while we wait. You have to tick off the picture which what is wrong with Annie.
Child: OK
Nursery Nurse: Why is Annie poorly?
Child: Ear hurting.
Nursery Nurse: OK where’s the picture of an ear?
Child: Points to the picture.
Nursery Nurse: OK tick the box.
Receptionist: Chloe, the doctor is ready to see Annie now.
Nursery Nurse: Come on, it’s our turn.
Arrive in doctors’ room.
Doctor: Hello Chloe. Now what is wrong with your dolly?
Nursery Nurse: Give the doctor the activity sheet Chloe.
Child: Hands the activity sheet to the doctor.
Doctor: So Annie’s ear is hurting her?
Child: Yes
Doctor: How long has it been hurting her for?
Child: Long, long time.
Doctor: OK, let’s have a look in dolly’s ear. OK everything seems fine. Just let Annie rest and give her lots of juice. Would Chloe like a sweet for being a good girl and caring for her dolly?
Child: Yes please.
This first role play looks at how a 2 and a half year old might become involved in this activity ‘At the doctors’ which I have described in the first part of this assignment. It tries to show how the child might become involved in the role play, use the props, interact with the staff and younger children and do some early pretend writing and mark-making which the activity is partly designed to encourage.
The nursery nurse uses motherese (care giver language) when talking to the child. When using motherese, it repeats and reinforces a word correctly. For example, in this role play the child says ‘opital’, then the nursery nurse repeats what the child has said but in the correct way by saying ‘hospital’. Some features of motherese are exaggerated emotion and high and low tones. The child cannot say the word ‘hospital’ because it is a consonant cluster which means two consonants are together. A two and a half year old child will respond rather than initiate and the nursery nurse will be more active. Also the child will give one word answers, use simple structures and will leave out articles such as ‘a, the, same, these and those’.
5 years old
Nursery Nurse: Shall we go and play over here?
Child: Yes, OK, but what are we going to play? Oh, are we going to play hide and go seek or chases...what are we going to play?
Nursery Nurse: We are going to play doctors.
Child: OK, am I going to pretend to be poorly? My sisters poorly.
Nursery Nurse: No you are going to pick a dolly from the box which one do you want?
Child: This one. It looks like my baby sister, Emily. Do you have a baby sister?
Nursery Nurse: No, I have a younger brother. What you going to call her?
Child: Leanne. My best friends called Leanne. What’s your best friend called?
Nursery Nurse: My best friend is called Emma. OK, well what is wrong with Leanne?
Child: She has a bad stomach. It’s hurting her.
Nursery Nurse: OK, well we’d better take Leanne to the doctors. Do you know the number?
Child: No, but I can find it in the phone book. Looks through phone book. Found it. Its 01642 245869.
Nursery Nurse: OK you ring them up and say, ‘I’d like to see the doctor please’ and say why Leanne is poorly.
Child: Hello doctor. I’m Sophie Smith and my dolly, Leanne is poorly. Her stomach is hurting her and I’d like to see a doctor please.
Nursery Nurse: Good, now pick a coat and hat from the dressing up box and we’ll take Leanne to the doctors.
Nursery Nurse and Child arrive at doctors.
Nursery Nurse: OK, go to the desk and tell the receptionist your dolly’s name.
Child: Hello, I’ve brought my dolly, Leanne in to see the doctor because her stomach is hurting her.
Receptionist: OK, take a seat and I’ll call you when it’s your turn.
Nursery Nurse: Good, now let’s sit down and wait for our name to be called. Let’s do these activity sheets while we wait. You have to tick off the picture which what is wrong with Leanne.
Child: OK, Leanne has a poorly stomach.
Nursery Nurse: Where’s the picture of a stomach?
Child: There it is!! Do I tick the box?
Nursery Nurse: Yes.
Receptionist: Sophie, the doctor is ready to see Leanne now.
Nursery Nurse: Come on, it’s our turn.
Child: Are we going to see the doctor now? Will he make Leanne better?
Nursery Nurse: Yes we are going to see the doctor and he’ll try and make Leanne better.
Arrive in doctors’ room.
Doctor: Hello Chloe. Now what is wrong with Leanne?
Child: Leanne’s stomach is hurting her.
Doctor: How long has it been hurting her for?
Child: Ages!!!!
Doctor: OK, I’m going to look in Leanne’s mouth and ears.
Child: Will you make her better?
Doctor: I’ll do my best. OK, Leanne should be fine if you take good care of her, let her have plenty of rest and don’t let her eat loads of sweets. Would you like a lollipop for being a good girl and caring for your dolly?
Child: Yes please. Thank you.
This second scenario looks at how a five year old may get involved in the doctor role play. It will be very similar to that off a two and a half year old but the five year old will get more involved in the role play and mark making. The child will understand more and be curious about the role play. A five year old has a broader, active vocabulary, more accurate grammar and more complex structure. Articles such as ‘a, the, same, these and those’ are included because the child has a wider experience and knows more technical words. For example, a five year old will say stomach instead of belly or tummy. The child takes the conversational initiative and understands the questions and conversational structure straight away.