- name cards
MA Standards:
English Language Arts/Speaking and Listening/SL.PK.MA.1a: Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (e.g., taking turns in talking, listening to peers, waiting to speak until another person is finished talking, asking questions and waiting for an answer, gaining the floor in appropriate ways).
English Language Arts/Foundational Skills/RF.PK.MA.3.c: Recognize one’s own name and familiar common signs and labels (e.g., STOP).
Head Start Outcomes:
Social Emotional Development/Self-Regulation: Follows simple rules, routines, and directions.
Language Development/Receptive Language: Attends to language during conversations, songs, stories, or other learning experiences.
Literacy Knowledge/Print Concepts and Conventions: Recognizes print in everyday life, such as numbers, letters, one’s name, words, and familiar logos and signs.
PreK Learning Guidelines:
English Language Arts/Language 1: Observe and use appropriate ways of interacting in a group (taking turns in talking; listening to peers; waiting until someone is finished; asking questions and waiting for an answer; gaining the floor in appropriate ways).
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 12: Listen to, recite, sing, and dramatize a variety of age-appropriate literature.
Greeting Song: “Yes, I Can!” #2
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Follow Directions, Name Recognition, Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary
Have children sit in a circle. Tell children you are going to hold up one child’s name card and you will sing a song about what that child can do.
- Demonstrate by singing, I can. Then demonstrate an action and finish the line. (I can sound like a duck, “Quack!”) Finish singing the song.
- Then hold up a child’s name card and have that child name something she or he can do. If the child has trouble coming up with an idea, prompt by saying something such as, What is something you can do with your hands?
- As the child does the action, sing a verse. Encourage the rest of the class to sing along. Repeat for each child.
Yes, I Can!
(sung to the tune of “Skip to My Lou”)
James can (count to 10).
James can (count to 10).
James can (count to 10).
Let’s all cheer for James now! Hoorah!
Adaptation: Add photos or stickers to help very young children recognize their name cards.
Social Emotional Tip: Recognizing their names, both spoken and in print, helps children become aware of their own uniqueness and that of others.