The Zoo dramatic play

Available in English and Irish

Visiting the zoo is always an exciting day out with lots of things to explore, and animals to see and of course, it makes a fantastic dramatic play theme.

Our free Zoo printable pdf compliments our authentic Zookeeper costume and it provides everything you need to set up a Zoo at home or as part of an Aistear theme in the early year’s classroom.

Our large format poster is designed to introduce the vocabulary around the theme of The Zoo. The flashcards can be added to the poster to encourage children to think about and identify the roles and responsibilities that they expect from a zookeeper. You can use all the A4 posters, habitat signs, and feeding station posters to create a print-rich environment where children can learn through play, exploring the important job of a zookeeper. They can wear their own name badges and proudly display their qualifications.

There are lots of roles children can play at the zoo. They can be a visitor, learning about the animals and their habitats or they can take on the role of the zookeeper caring for the animals, building habitats, and feeding the animals. They can be a guide giving tours or talks. The Zoo is one of those themes that you can keep on extending. A zoo vet, a restaurant or a gift shop can all build on the core theme. The possibilities are endless and a lot of fun.

What is included

* Welcome to the zoo poster
* Large Zookeeper poster
* Character trait cards
* Flashcards
* Ticket desk signage
* Admission tickets
* Animal Habitat posters
* “Do not feed the animals” poster
* Direction signage
* Food preparation area
* Zookeeper checklist
* Name badges
* Qualification certificate

44 pages of printable resources

Dramatic play in the early years

Dramatic play is an important part of early childhood development. It helps children learn about themselves, their community, and how things work. Dramatic play also supports the development of communication and social skills, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

This Zoo dramatic play pack is aligned with the Aistear framework. It includes lots of posters and signs for creating a print-rich learning environment whilst introducing theme-specific vocabulary, strengthening language and literacy skills.

The Zoo pdf

The Zoo resource pack is free to download for our newsletter subscribers. The pack is a digital resource and will be emailed to you. If you do not receive an email please check your spam/junk mail.