- beans
- name cards
- plastic flowerpot(s)
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.2: With guidance and support, demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
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/Phonological Awareness: Identifies and discriminates between separate syllables in words.
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.
English Language Arts/Reading and Literature 8: Listen to, identify, and manipulate language sounds to develop auditory discrimination and phonemic awareness.
Greeting Song: “Clap a Friend’s Name” #4
© Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Early Education and Care (Jennifer Waddell photographer). All rights reserved.
ELA Focus Skills: Listening and Speaking, Name Recognition, Phonological Awareness (Segmenting)
Educator Prep: Fill the flowerpot(s) with beans. Bury the name cards, leaving about two inches of the card poking out of the beans.
Tell children they are going to pull names from the flowerpots. Say, Each child will take turns pulling a name out of the pot. Then we will all clap out the parts of the name as we chant “Clap a Friend’s Name.”
- Demonstrate by pulling the first name and clapping the syllables. Point out the number of syllables in the name. Say, I clapped Martin’s name. Mar-tin. How many times did I clap? You may need to count the claps with children for them to gain an understanding of how many parts.
- Have the child whose name was pulled put his or her name card in a pile to the side and pull another name from the pot. Continue until every child has pulled a name from the flowerpot.
Clap a Friend’s Name
Clap a friend’s name.
Follow me.
One clap, two claps,
Or maybe three.
Copy, copy, copy me!
Social Emotional Tip: Help children understand their own uniqueness and that of others by recognizing their names, both spoken and in print.
Adaptation: If very young children have trouble counting and clapping syllables, hold their hands and clap with them as you count the word parts aloud.