How to Write My Name

Some of the students cannot connect the dots to why we have letters and how we will use them. Some even cannot comprehend that these letters actually signify their name when put together in a particular sequence.

Armed with boxes of play dough I took myself to a class and demonstrated with my own little box and we wrote a series of letters together with strings of rolled and manipulated play dough to form the word STOP.  Everyone understood what they had done and could even sound out the word when finished. Happy smiling faces with this accomplishment moved us to spelling their own names. I had initially had them write their names on the boxes so I had something to follow. The names here are not familiar to me, so I would have no idea how to spell them if the child told me verbally.  Their teach assisted with that operation.

Now with the boxes in front of them, and not knowing what those letters were, the children began play dough writing their names on their desks.  You can only imagine how pleased they all were when they realized they had written their names and they looked just like the ones on their own little play dough boxes before them.  Now they also realized they had a gift from me - a box of play dough to take home!

Last one was lucky - 3 letter name!  All were delighted - and some tried to peel the name off the desk to take home to show their parents.