Prekinder kids love activities that involve themselves and their friends, especially when it includes their photos. Photo activities make very high-interest activities. Here are some activities to teach syllables using children’s photos.
Prepare the Syllable Photo Activity
Use a digital camera to take a head shot of each child in your class, print the pictures on cardstock, and laminate the photo cards. Make larger photo cards (about index card size) to use in pocket charts and mini photo cards to use in center or small group activities.
Teaching the Syllable Photo Activity
As a large group activity, show a photo card to the class, clap the syllables in the child’s name, and have that child come up to the board to place the card in the correct column on the pocket chart. Leave this activity out during center time for your prekinders to practice. If you don’t have a pocket chart, you could attach magnets on the back of each photo, and attach them to a magnetic white board.
Another lesson which gives children repetition is to clap, snap, slap the syllables. You say and repeat the word three times while you clap your hands, snap your fingers, slap your knees. The repetition helps children learn.
For example, for the name “Patrick”, you would say:
“Pat-rick” (clap, clap hands)
“Pat-rick” (snap, snap fingers)
“Pat-rick” (slap, slap knees)
(You clap or snap or slap at the same time you are saying each syllable.)
For the name “Madison”, you would say:
“Mad-i-son” (clap, clap, clap hands)
“Mad-i-son” (snap, snap, snap fingers)
“Mad-i-son” (slap, slap, slap knees)
If you wanted to make posters to hang on the walls of your classroom, you could use 4 pieces of colorful 12×18 construction paper. Label each paper with a different number. As a group activity, sort and glue the children’s photos to the charts.
After your prekinders have had lots of practice with syllables, you can do this small group or center activity using mini photos of the children. You can either print and laminate photos to be sorted and used again and again, or photocopy class photos in black and white for children to sort and glue onto paper.
You can use a table top pocket chart (mine is a mini dollar pocket chart) and have children sort the photos in it.
You can cut 3 sheets of colored construction paper in half for children to sort the photos. Label the sheets with numbers.
You can make dividing lines on a piece of construction paper and label with numbers for children to sort and glue the photos.
These are sample lessons from my big pack of Syllables lessons and activities, available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
{Camera graphic in title image by Ashley Hughes}
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