The Importance of Childrenâs Play IELTS Reading Passage with Answers
READING PASSAGE 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 1-13 which are based on Reading Passage 1 below.
The Importance of Childrenâs Play
Brick by brick, six-year-old Alice is building a magical kingdom. Imagining fairy-tale turrets and fire-breathing dragons, wicked witches and gallant heroes, sheâs creating an enchanting world. Although she isnât aware of it, this fantasy is helping her take her first steps towards her capacity for creativity and so it will have important repercussions in her adult life.
Minutes later, Alice has abandoned the kingdom in favour of playing schools with her younger brother. When she bosses him around as his âteacherâ, sheâs practising how to regulate her emotions through pretence. Later on, when they tire of this and settle down with a board game, sheâs learning about the need to follow rules and take turns with a partner.
âPlay in all its rich variety is one of the highest achievements of the human species,â says Dr David Whitebread from the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge, UK. âIt underpins how we develop as intellectual, problem-solving adults and is crucial to our success as a highly adaptable species.â
Recognizing the importance of play is not new: over two millennia ago, the Greek philosopher Plato extolled its virtues as a means of developing skills for adult life, and ideas about play-based learning have been developing since the 19th century.
But we live in changing times, and Whitebread is mindful of a worldwide decline in play, pointing out that over half the people in the world now live in cities. âThe opportunities for free play, which I experienced almost every day of my childhood, are becoming increasingly scarce,â he says. Outdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crime, and by the emphasis on âearlier is betterâ which is leading to greater competition in academic learning and schools.
International bodies like the United Nations and the European Union have begun to develop policies concerned with childrenâs right to play, and to consider implications for leisure facilities and educational programmes. But what they often lack is the evidence to base policies on.
âThe type of play we are interested in is child-initiated, spontaneous and unpredictable â but, as soon as you ask a five-year-old âto playâ, then you as the researcher have intervened,â explains Dr Sara Baker. âAnd we want to know what the long-term impact of play is. Itâs a real challenge.â
Dr Jenny Gibson agrees, pointing out that although some of the steps in the puzzle of how and why play is important have been looked at, there is very little data on the impact it has on the childâs later life.
Now, thanks to the universityâs new Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), Whitebread, Baker, Gibson and a team of researchers hope to provide evidence on the role played by play in how a child develops.
âA strong possibility is that play supports the early development of childrenâs self-control,â explains Baker. âThis is our ability to develop awareness of our own thinking progresses â it influences how effectively we go about undertaking challenging activities.â
In a study carried out by Baker with toddlers and young pre-schoolers, she found that children with greater self-control solved problems more quickly when exploring an unfamiliar set-up requiring scientific reasoning. âThis sort of evidence makes up think that giving children the chance to play will make them more successful problem-solvers in the long run.â
If playful experiences do facilitate this aspect of development, say the researchers, it could be extremely significant for educational practices, because the ability to self-regulate has been shown to be a key predictor of academic performance.
Gibson adds: âPlayful behavior is also an important indicator of healthy social and emotional development. In my previous research, I investigated how observing children at play can give us important clues about their well-being and can even be useful in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.â
Whitebreadâs recent research has involved developing a play-based approach to supporting childrenâs writing. âMany primary school children find writing difficult, but we showed in a previous study that a playful stimulus was far more effective than an instructional one.â Children wrote longer and better-structured stories when they first played with dolls representing characters in the story. In the latest study, children first created their story with Lego*, with similar results. âMany teachers commented that they had always previously had children saying they didnât know what to write about. With the Lego building, however, not a single child said this through the whole year of the project.â
Whitebread, who directs PEDAL, trained as a primary school teacher in the early 1970s, when, as he describes, âthe teaching of young children was largely a quiet backwater, untroubled by any serious intellectual debate or controversy.â Now, the landscape is very different, with hotly debated topics such as school starting age.
âSomehow the importance of play has been lost in recent decades. Itâs regarded as something trivial, or even as something negative that contrasts with âworkâ. Letâs not lose sight of its benefits, and the fundamental contributions it makes to human achievements in the arts, sciences and technology. Letâs make sure children have a rich diet of play experiences.â
âââââââââââ-
* Lego: coloured plastic building blocks and other pieces that can be joined together
Questions 1-8
Complete the notes below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.
Childrenâs play
Uses of childrenâs play
â˘Â   building a âmagical kingdomâ may help develop 1 ____________
â˘Â   board games involve 2 ____________ and turn-taking
Recent changes affecting childrenâs play
â˘Â   population of 3 ____________ have grown
â˘Â   opportunities for free play are limited due to
â fear of 4 ____________
â fear of 5 ____________
â increased 6 ____________in schools
International policies on childrenâs play
â˘Â   it is difficult to find 7 ____________to support new policies
â˘Â   research needs to study the impact of play on the rest of the childâs 8 ____________
Questions 9-13
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 9-13 on your answer sheet, write
TRUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â if the statement agrees with the information
FALSEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVENÂ Â if there is no information on this
9Â Â Children with good self-control are known to be likely to do well at school later on.
10Â The way a child plays may provide information about possible medical problems.
11Â Playing with dolls was found to benefit girlsâ writing more than boysâ writing.
12Â Children had problems thinking up ideas when they first created the story with Lego.
13Â People nowadays regard childrenâs play as less significant than they did in the past.
The Importance of Childrenâs Play IELTS Reading Passage Answers
Practice with Expert IELTS Tutors Online
Apply Code "IELTSXPRESS20" To Get 20% off on IELTS Mock Test
1. creativity
2. rules
3. cities
4. traffic
5. crime
6. competition
7. evidence
8. life
9. TRUE
10. TRUE
11. NOT GIVEN
12. FALSE
13. TRUE
Also Check: Homeopathy IELTS Reading Passage with Answers
The Importance of Childrenâs Play IELTS Reading Answers Explanation
Question 1
Answer: Creativity
Supporting Sentence: âAlthough she isnât aware of it, this fantasy is helping her take her first steps towards her capacity for creativity and so it will have important repercussions in her adult life.â
Keywords: this fantasy, helping, take her first steps, creativity
Explanation: : Consider the first paragraph. Here we find the word âmagical kingdomâ but nothing related to âdevelop. But we do find that the author is talking about âtaking first steps towards her capacityâ which means she is developing. Now that we have deduced the word âdevelopâ, we find what follows after is the word âcreativityâ. Hence the answer is creativity.
Reference: : Para 1, last 2 lines
Question 2
Answer: Rules
Supporting Sentence: âLater on, when they tire of this and settle down with a board game, sheâs learning about the need to follow rules and take turns with a partner.â
Keywords: sheâs learning about the need to follow rules
Explanation: : The word âboard gamesâ occur in the second paragraph. âsettle down with a board game, sheâs learning about the need to follow rules and take turns with a partnerâ. We can clearly see that the âboard gamesâ is succeded with a closely related word ârulesâ which is succeded by âturn-takingâ. Hence, rules is the correct answer.
Reference: : Para 2, last line
Question 3
Answer: cities
Supporting Sentence: âBut we live in changing times, and Whitebread is mindful of a worldwide decline in play, pointing out that over half the people in the world now live in cities.â
Keywords: Whitebread, mindful, worldwide decline in play, half the people in the world, live in cities
Explanation: : We find a reference for this in paragraph 5. âworldwide decline in play, pointing out that over half the people in the world now live in citiesâ. We can clearly see that it is summarised as the population in cities is growing every year hence there is a decrease in childrenâs play. Hence the correct answer is cities.
Reference: : Paragraph 5, first 2 lines
Question 4
Answer: Traffic
Supporting Sentence: âOutdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crime, and by the emphasis on âearlier is betterâ which is leading to greater competition in academic learning and schoolsâ
Keywords: Outdoor play, curtailed, perceptions of risk, traffic
Explanation: : We can find a reference for this sentence in paragraph 5. âOutdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crimeâ. Here âperceptions of riskâ is summarised in âfear ofâ and there are two risks/fears mentioned, i.e., traffic and crime. Hence the correct answer is traffic and crime.
Reference: : Paragraph 5, line 4
Question 5
Answer: Crime
Supporting Sentence: âOutdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crime, and by the emphasis on âearlier is betterâ which is leading to greater competition in academic learning and schools.â
Keywords: protect their children from being the victims of crime
Explanation: : the explanation is similar to
Question 4.
We can find a reference for this sentence in paragraph 5. âOutdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crimeâ. Here âperceptions of riskâ are summarised in âfear ofâ and there are two risks/fears mentioned, i.e., traffic and crime. Hence the correct answer is traffic and crime.
Reference: : Paragraph 5, line 5
Question 6
Answer: Competition
Supporting Sentence: âOutdoor play is curtailed by perceptions of risk to do with traffic, as well as parentsâ increased wish to protect their children from being the victims of crime, and by the emphasis on âearlier is betterâ which is leading to greater competition in academic learning and schools.â
Keywords: earlier is better, greater competition, academic learning
Explanation: : In paragraph 5, it is mentioned that âemphasis on âearlier is betterâ which is leading to greater competition in academic learning and schoolsâ. Here âemphasis on âearlier is betterâ clearly points to the increase, and then it is succeded by âcompetitionâ. Hence the correct answer is competition.
Reference: : Paragraph 5, last 2 lines
Question 7
Answer: Evidence
Supporting Sentence: âBut what they often lack is the evidence to base policies on.â
Keywords: But what they often lack, evidence, base policies on
Explanation: : Reference for this found in paragraph 6. âwhat they often lack is the evidence to base policies onâ. Here âoften lackâ clear points to difficulty and is succeeded by âpoliciesâ which is preceded by âevidence to baseâ which clearly points to âsupport ne policiesâ in the sentence. Hence the correct answer is policies.
Reference: : Paragraph 6, last line
Question 8
Answer: life
Supporting Sentence: âDr Jenny Gibson agrees, pointing out that although some of the steps in the puzzle of how and why play is important to have been looked at, there is very little data on the impact it has on the childâs later life.
Keywords: very little data, impact, childâs later life
Explanation: : In paragraph 8, the author mentions that âthere is very little data on the impact it has on the childâs later lifeâ. We see the word âimpactâ matches which is followed by the word âchildâs laterâ which clearly points to ârest of the childâsâ. Now only one word is left that completes the sentence which is âlifeâ and thus it is the right answer.
Reference: : Paragraph 8, lines 2 â 3
Question 9:
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: âNow, thanks to the universityâs new Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), Whitebread, Baker, Gibson and a team of researchers hope to provide evidence on the role played by play in how a child develops.â
Keywords: she found that children with greater self-control solved problems more quickly
Explanation: : We find a reference for this statement in paragraphs 11 and 12. âshe found that children with greater self-control solved problems more quickly when exploring an unfamiliar set-up requiring scientific reasoning. If playful experiences do facilitate this aspect of development, say the researchers, it could be extremely significant for educational practicesâ. From these statements we can clearly deduce that children with greater self-control, does significantly well in educational practices which is very much in sync with the given statement, hence the answer is true.
Reference: : Para 11, first 2 lines
Question 10:
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: âGibson adds: âPlayful behaviour is also an important indicator of healthy social and emotional development. In my previous research, I investigated how observing children at play can give us important clues about their well-being and can even be useful in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.â
Keywords: observing children, play, important clues, well-being, useful, diagnosis, neurodevelopmental disorders, autism
Explanation: : We can find the reference for this statement in paragraph 13 stating, âobserving children at play can give us important clues about their well-being and can even be useful in the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders like autismâ. It can be clearly deduced from this statement alone that the way a child plays helps in medical problems as well which clearly makes the given statement true.
Reference: : Paragraph 13, lines 2 â 4
Question: 11:
Answer: NOT GIVEN
Question 12:
Answer: False
Supporting Sentence: âChildren wrote longer and better-structured stories when they first played with dolls representing characters in the story. In the latest study, children first created their story with Lego, with similar results. âMany teachers commented that they had always previously had children saying they didnât know what to write about. With the Lego building, however, not a single child said this through the whole year of the project.â
Keywords: Children, longer, better-structured stories when played with dolls representing characters, the latest study, children, created, Lego
Explanation: : We find the reference for this statement in paragraph 14 which states that âChildren wrote longer and better-structured stories when they first played with dolls representing characters in the story. In the latest study, children first created their story with Lego, with similar resultsâ. It can be clearly seen that the children wrote better-structured stories when they played with dolls as well as lego, producing similar results which are in contrast to the given statement, hence the answer is false.
Reference: : Paragraph 14, lines 3 â 5
Question 13:
Answer: True
Supporting Sentence: ââSomehow the importance of play has been lost in recent decades. Itâs regarded as something trivial, or even as something negative that contrasts with âworkâ.â
Keywords: Somehow, importance of play, lost, recent decades
Explanation: : We can find the reference for this statement in paragraph 16, stating that, âSomehow the importance of play has been lost in recent decades. Itâs regarded as something trivial, or even as something negative that contrasts with âworkââ. Words âimportance of play has been lostâ clearly points towards the âregard childrenâs play as less significantâ and ârecent decadesâ points towards the âpastâ. Hence the given statement is valid, hence true.
Reference: : Paragraph 16, line 1
Also Check: Space Flight Tourism IELTS Reading Passage