Climate Literacy in Education

Play-ifying Shaun Tan’s Tales from the Inner City:

Facilitating Elementary-aged Children’s Understanding of and Emotional Interaction with Tan’s Stories

Magdalena Puczyńska

Urszula Żoczek

Keywords: mulmultisensory arts and crafts, ecological community, animal welfare, empathy

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Abstract

This article explores the use of play-based learning to foster children’s emotional engagement with Shaun Tan’s Tales from the Inner City to promote empathy toward animals and reflection on environmental issues. Building on research highlighting the cognitive and emotional benefits of interactive, multisensory activities for children, we propose two creative classroom activities connected to Tan’s stories “Crocodiles” and “Butterflies.” Both activities are designed to strengthen emotional intelligence, empathy, and discussion skills, while also providing sensory engagement particularly beneficial for neurodivergent learners. We argue that integrating literary discussions with arts and crafts provides a rich, inclusive learning environment that supports emotional and intellectual development.