Caitie is sharing tips for using the preschool song “What’s Your Name?” in the classroom and at home for lots of fun learning with little ones. She has lots of great ideas! And she’ll lead us through the song using gestures – an excellent way to introduce a song to children. “What’s Your Name?” is a simple and fun song all about meeting someone for the first time and asking their name that is great for the classroom.
Try these ideas in the classroom or at home!
- This is a great song to sing at the beginning of the day. Try singing without the music and go around the circle so each student can have a turn to sing, “my name is ___” and say their name. Then everybody can sing “nice to meet you.”
- If your students are hearing this vocabulary and phrases for the first time, introduce the words before you start to sing by speaking slowly and acting it out with them. Say hello, and do the waving gesture. Encourage them to repeat after you. Say “my name is __” and introduce yourself, then encourage them to do the same but using their name. Once they are familiar with the vocabulary and phrases a bit, they’ll be ready to practice and sing the song.
- Once your class is familiar with the song, try making two lines with your students facing each other and have them sing the song together. One line can go first and sing to the student facing them, “hello hello, what’s your name”. Then the second line can respond with the same, “hello hello, what’s your name?” The first line can say “my name is __”, and introduce themselves, then the second line can introduce themselves. Then they shake hands! After each verse the music is a bit different, so sometimes they will shake their hands fast, or slow depending on the music. You can have one of the lines shift in one direction after each verse so your students are facing someone new each time.
- Have your students bring in a stuffed animal that has a special name, and encourage your students to answer as the stuffed animal.
- Independently, students can act out the song using two stuffed animals or dolls. They can use the language and move the dolls as they sing, and have the two dolls introduce themselves to each other.
- For a fun active activity, have your students walk around the room while you play some music in the background. When you stop the music, each student should find a partner, say hello, introduce themselves, shake hands, and say, “Nice to meet you.” When you start the music again, the students should resume walking around the classroom. When the music stops, they need to find a new partner. Continue until the students have had the chance to “meet” several of their classmates. To make this activity a little fun and silly, your students can make up and use funny names.
More resources for this song (1)
