Scripted sequences of teacher interaction. A versatile, low-impact procedure for increasing appropriate behavior in a nursery school.

Five nursery-school children and their teacher joined a simple A-B-A-B experiment.

During baseline the teacher managed playtime as usual.

During intervention the teacher followed a short written script of calm managerial statements delivered at set moments.

The script stayed in the teacher’s pocket—kids never saw it.

Appropriate play rose every time the script was used and dropped when it was removed.

The teacher kept using the script after the study ended, and the gains held.

Charlop et al. (1992) tried the same idea five years earlier. They taught sociodramatic scripts directly to preschoolers with and without disabilities. K et al. moved the script to the teacher and kept it invisible, showing the trick works without child training.

Kocher et al. (2015), Johnson et al. (2009), and Beaumont et al. (2008) later gave children with autism script cards or audio lines. These studies extend the teacher-script logic into clinical populations and add visual or auditory cues.

Brown et al. (1988) used teacher praise and group points instead of scripts. Both packages raised peer play, but scripts give teachers exact words to stay calm and consistent.

You can lift appropriate play tomorrow by writing a 5-line script of neutral reminders—“Blocks stay on the rug,” “Share when you’re done.” No extra materials, no child training, no data sheets. Keep the card in your pocket, glance once a minute, and watch the room settle.