Star Names-- Where Everyone Shines Brightly

Another bright spot in our morning Skills Block is a segment called, "Star Names." Each morning a child's name is picked out of a bucket and his/her name is the focus of our activity. The name of the child is written on a sentence strip. The name is written largely on the board and students have the opportunity to notice attic (b,d,f, etc.), basement (g,j,p, etc.), and letters on the line (a,c,e, etc.). They stand and move as each letter is called out. For example, for Victor (a star this week) arms were in the air for "V" and on their hips for "i", "c", "t", "o", and "r". Then another sentence strip with his name was cut into separate letters. These letters were mixed up and Victor had to put his name back in order. Then he mixed it up and called on a friend to put his name back correctly. Next, students are asked to look at the previous names on the chart and asked what they noticed about the other names and the new name. Some say, "I see the word "is", or "Those two names have the same amount of letters." Finally, the star student tells us a little about him/her self. It may be,"I have two dogs"; "I have an older sister"; or "I love the beach". Students then go back to their seats and draw a picture of the star with something he/she has mentioned. Students write the stars name and their name on the drawing. A book of all these pictures is made and given to the child at the end of the day. This activity teaches many skills including phonics and phonemic awareness. Children learn a lot from their friends names and a lot about their friends by doing this daily activity. It is a favorite part of our day!