Responding to concerns that play is at risk in the early years of education, this article investigates teachers' current use of play in language and literacy instruction in Grade 1 and 2 Alberta classrooms. It addresses what teachers say they need to make play part of school-based language and literacy education. Survey findings show a recognition of contested views on the role of play in instruction yet a press for play as a meaningful pedagogy in the early elementary grades. The article contributes teachers' perspectives on play in literacy teaching beyond preschool and kindergarten. It offers recommendations for conceptual, pragmatic, and research-focused supports that would allow teachers to leverage play in the development of children's literacies.