Ingles360-what you need, where you are

Hi! My name is Ana.

I teach English as a foreign language for prek-12 kids in South America.

I also teach English to my sweetest student, my niece Catalina.

She is 3 years old and she lOvEs English.

I am also the author and designer of the books and games I sell here.

Scroll down the page to find different resources. I hope you can find something that fit your needs.

www.ingles360.net

What's in a name?

Research has shown that one of the first things children learn to read at school are their names. Children love playing games with their names and with the names of their friends.

We know how important is to have many alphabets and names displayed in the classroom in a meaningful way. Their names are used to label things, and are also used in such activities as taking attendance and lunch count, on name tags, on desks, on mailboxes and cubbies, and on papers and artwork hung up for display

Names can also be used for managing other activities. For example by having each child hang their name up at the centre, it is clear who is there and whether or not there is space for another child to work.

Names can also be written on smaller cards attached to clothes pins, or even written on the clothes pin itself, to make name clips. Children can then use their name clip to "sign in" to a centre, to record attendance, or to show (by attaching their name clip to a chart) if they are having school lunch or if they brought lunch from home. Name clips can also be used for voting and graphing.

Children are very interested in playing with names - their own and others'. You can use names to effectively guide children in focusing on print.

Here are just a few concepts that can be taught using names:

* Directionality: left-to-right progression of print across the line

* The difference between a letter and a word

* Letter recognition & letter formation

* Phonemic Awareness & sound-symbol relationships

* Consonants and vowels

* Initial, medial, and ending sounds

* Rhyming words

* Word chunks (those little words that are found in bigger words, like /at/ in /Pat/

Suggested activities:

Make sure your children learn each other�s name. The traditional ball game can be replaced for a balloon. When the ball is rolled to a child, the say his/her name, or a word that rhymes, or clap the name, spell the name, etc

Name beanbags

Gather the children in a circle and have them sit cross-legged on the floor. Begin by tossing a beanbag to one child in the group reciting the following rhyme:

Beanbag, beanbag

Beanbag, beanbag
goes to you.
This is what you
need to do.
Say your name so we
can hear.
(child says name)
Everybody give a cheer.
(Hooray child's name)
Now your turn is at an end.
Toss the beanbag to a friend.

Each time the beanbag is tossed to a new child, repeat the rhyme and have the child say his/her name followed by the group cheering. Repeat the game until all the children have a chance to participate.

Play a game, "a friendly puzzle" you have to write the students' names on a cardboard and then cut it out, then you give the students a part and they have to do the puzzle.

Name acronyms. The students write their names in a block letter vertically in the center of a the page, then they have to write words related to their personality beginning with each letter in their name.

You have to draw a big circle on yellow fine cardboard and cut it. Write the "grade, welcome or the teacher's name" in the circle. Then cut strips using the same paper to use them as sun rays. Ask each student to write his name on a strip and stick all the names around the circle to create the Sun. Use it to decorate the classroom.

We can ask students to say favourite food, favourite place, favourite object, film, etc that start with the same letter to the one his/her name starts. For example, My name is Patricia. My favourite food is pizza. My favourite place is Paris and my favourite object is paper.

We have our children Cheer their name. Here is how we do it.

Teacher picks a child name. I will use Lisa.

Here how it goes:

Give me a "L" the child says "L"

Give me a "i" the child says "i"
Give me a "s" the child says "s"

Give me a "a" the child says "a"

What does that spell? The child or children say the name that was spelled. Which would be "Lisa" When we first start this some of the name you have to help them with. After awhile the children will want to get in front of the class and actually cheer their name.

Songs

I am

Tune: Frere Jacques

I am _____

That's my name,

I am glad to be here,

At school today,

At school today.

Hickity, Pickity bumblebee
Won't you say your name for me?
Let's whisper it.
Let's clap it.
Let's shout it!

Round and round and round is a game
round and round and what's your name
(when you say "name", the teacher points to a child
usually I just moved around the circle)

(child says their name), then teacher says, "Let's say
hello to _____ in our _____ voice" (kids say hello)

Name that sound ("bingo")
What's the sound that starts these names:
Derek, Daniel, David?
/d/ /d/ /d/ /d/ /d/
/d/ /d/ /d/ /d/ /d/
/d/ /d/ /d/ /d/ /d/
Derek, Daniel, David.

What's the sound that ends these names:
Kenny, Katie, Kelsey?
/ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/
/ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/
/ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/ /ee/
Kenny, Katie, Kelsey.

Who's here today?

Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle

__________ came to school today.

We're so glad we'll shout

Hooray!

Let children can use different resources to write their names:

chalk and chalkboards

playdough or clay, cookie cutters

finger paints

shaving cream on a table top

letter sponges

letter stamps

noodles to make bracelets and necklaces

Take pictures of each child, print out 4'x6'. Then type each child's name 1 1/2" x 4". Place pictures in a pocket chart with the names at the bottom in a pack. This can be reversed with the names in the pockets and the pictures at the bottom in a pack. Go thru once or twice, placing the names with the children. Then separate them, mix them up. Before long the children are matching them .

Also take a using the pictures of the children, approx 2x2. Place on the upper right hand corner of a sentence strip, approximately 8" long. Have an 8 1/2" x 11 piece of cardstock with all the children's names and allow them to find the right name and print it on the strip.

Another idea is a poster board with a picture of a house (representing the child's home) then a car, then a bus, or other picture suitable to your situation. Have pictures with names or just the names alone and when the children arrive have them place the picture with name or just the name on the board for how they got to your classroom, or school.

For circle time, the familiar "Johnny, Johnny, jump up and down, Jump up and down and sit right down." Doing this with all children. Then finish with "Children, children jump up and down, Jump up and down and sit right down."

Printing out the letters in her name, and letting her work with playdough to form the letters. I'm also going to print out the letters in a highway format so that she can practice the letters by driving little cars on them.

First I type their first name using a font on the computer that very similar to the magnetic letters I use. I do this in strips so the name looks like a name plate. I also use red for upper case and blue for lower case because that is the color of the letters I use. Then they match the letters in their name. Once they can do that, I so the same thing but leave out one letter.

Another is to use the letters with a hole in them for lacing and have them put the letters on in order. I give them a template to follow.

Spell out their name in glue and have them sprinkle with colored glitter of their choice. Hang up on the wall in the class room. Use as a game....asks a child to find their name, find a classmates name etc.

When I introduce a new letter each week I show the children where that letter is in their name and the names of their classmates. I underline the letter in each name.

We love the chant songs with the beginning letter of their name such as who took the cookie from the cookie jar. Then we use the letters to count to see how many they have and learn our names

I like to use abc cookie cutters and let the children make their names out of plaster of Paris, and then paint them.

You can use your student's names to write sentences with superlatives and comparatives. I did it a they loved it!!

Write each child�s name on a piece of cardstock. During circle time, randomly spread the names out within the center of the circle. Each child then, one at a time, looks and finds his/her name, (given help if needed). Once found, he/she holds it up and as each letter is pointed to it is identified and the rest of the class repeats it. Depending on the level of ability of the class will certainly depend on the degree of help that the teacher helps.