The "Getting to Know You" Activity 

The "Getting to Know You" Activity provides Kindergarten and First Grade students a chance to:

• Learn letter-sound relationships
• Learn something about each other
• A chance to be a featured individual in the classroom

Procedure for "Getting to Know You"

1. Select Student
2. Write and say letters of name on a card for pocket chart
3. Cheer letters
4. What does it Spell? (several times)
5. Tell us about yourself
   • What is you favorite color?
   • What do you like?
   • Who is a good buddy?
   • ETC.
6. Write name on another card and then cut up into individual letters.
7. Have student match letters up with the name in the pocket chart.
8. Focus children's minds, preparing them to draw a picture of of the student.
9. Students write the featured name on paper, coached by teacher one letter at a time.
10. After first 6-10 days you start counting the number of letters in the name. Focus in on beginning letter after awhile.
11. Everyone draw a picture of the featured student.
12. The featured student’s picture goes in the class book. The other students’ picture are given to the featured student to go home.

Sue Massey’s a Kindergarten teacher at Lafayette Primary Center in Kankakee does the following variation when she reaches steps 6 & 7 of the "Getting to Know You Activity."

• Put cut up letters in the pocket chart in a mixed up manner. Pronounce the silly word the silly that was created. 
• Have student correct it.
• Follow up by pointing out the letters and the word and signing the following song:

  These are the letters,

  These are the letters,

  This is the word, (say or sing word).

 Environmental Print 

Commercial phonics programs tell what words they are to connect to. Children may have no experience to link the initial sound to the forced word selected in the phonics program, but may have an Environmental Print word to connect to.

Procedure for Environmental Print activities

1. Students and/or teacher brings in samples of boxes, labels, wrappers, etc., which belong to an announced category.  These categories could include:
   • Fast Food Restaurants
   • Candy Bars
   • Cereals
   • Road Signs
   • Stores and Supermarkets
2. Each day one word(s) is featured 
3. Spell and cheer the word(s)
4. Students be the word(s)
   • Students are given the letters to spell out the word
5. Ask the question "What did you notice?"
6. Write the word(s) on paper and draw a picture.
7. Words and pictures can be placed in an individual book for each child with an appropriate cover.

Nursery Rhymes – the rhyme helps build phonemic awareness. First they memorize the rhyme. Then track print. Then use letters and picture clues.

Some children just read books and there is no interaction. That interaction is important and in the Kindergarten classroom we need to create.

Informational books were and powerful they provide experiences for children that don’t have experiences.

If you want to have children to read the room, you have to model it routinely. One day read the color words. Another day you might want to do the environmental print. Etc.

Take a clipboard with you where ever you go. Take on field trips and to assemblies. Have children write questions before the experience.

What you do before is far more powerful than what comes after.

Writing the room is another possible classroom center.

What we do with the routine activities like Morning Message, in Kindergarten will change as students learn.

Modeling is important. Show and tell them what we want them to do.

Kids even though the same age - - develop differently. No one ever called a child who walked at an older age, walking retarded. We want everybody to make progress – multilevel.