In this study, built upon a Vygotskian perspective, play is considered an optimal context for young children's literacy learning. The study sought to gain more understanding of the process of collaboration, or assisted learning, in order to promote literacy learning within the context of young children's social pretend play. Subjects were seven 4-year-olds who chose to play in the housekeeping center of their preschool classroom. Children were videotaped during play on five consecutive days, and focus groups were conducted with the children and teacher to discuss their videotaped play. Four questions guided the research: (1) What themes are articulated or inferred to help clarify children's "sense of story?"; (2) What purposes (meanings and motivations) do children and their teachers identify with in the process of classroom story construction?; (3) How do teachers' conversations and actions contribute to children's ability to play collaboratively?; and (4) What are practical implications for responsive teaching to build upon children's emergent literacy? Results indicated that as children played and then viewed their own videotapes, they learned to appreciate the drama they had created as they reconstructed the story anew in discussion. (Includes a table of the steps in thematic analysis of focus group data, a list of recommendations for other studies of this type, and the script of one focus group.) (EV)