I can confidently say that Kindergarten teachers love free resources, especially when they are versatile and editable to fit the needs of their classroom and students. Resources that can be used multiple times in a variety of ways is just the efficiency that we, as Kindergarten teachers, need. This resource, the Picture Template Card, can be used in many ways but here are 3 of my favorites.
Editable Picture Template Cards
So what is this resource? This resource is the templates for picture and name cards. These cards are EDITABLE. You can edit this resource to include YOUR students’ names. I start by by taking pictures of each of my students on the first or second day of school. This picture can be used for many different things during the school year, but the first can be the Picture Template Cards. After you take the pictures, you can insert them each onto one of the cards and add the name of the student.
How To Use These Cards
There are three ways that I use these cards every year: attendance, writing station and with a pocket chart.
Attendance
The way that I take attendance is to start with all of the picture and name cards laid picture/name up on a table. Students would find the card with their name and picture on it, then place it in the pocket chart according to their lunch preference.
This helps with a few different things. First, attendance is taken for me, lunch is accounted for and students are learning to identify their names and have a picture support if needed. This also helps start a routine for my kiddos.
Halfway through the school year, near January, I will put their last name on the back of the card. I then have the cards with their last name facing up so they can begin to recognize and use their last name. I want them to start using their last name to do the attendance procedure, at least attempt to. If they need support, though, they can turn it over and use their picture and first name.
Writing Station
In this name activity, we can count how many letters are in their names and compare with the other names. This also begins to familiarize the students with columns, lists and comparisons. We use a pocket chart for the name cards and an anchor chart for writing and comparing.
For this writing station activity, I will take a whole class set of the picture cards and place them on a binder ring. Students can use these cards to help them make a list of their classmates’ names. This is excellent for writing practice and building stamina…plus it is a lot of fun writing a list of their friends!
Pocket Chart & Poem
Using these picture cards in conjunction with a poem on a pocket chart is an interactive and engaging activity for the whole class. As you can see, we insert one picture card into the pocket chart so that a student’s name is part of the poem.
This poem says:
Everybody has a name.
Some are different.
Some are the same.
Some are long.
Some are short.
All are right.
None are wrong.
My name is {Insert Picture Card Here}.
It is special to me.
It’s exactly what I want to be.
Please feel free to use it in your classroom.
Here is another cute poem I use in the winter. This is used in conjunction with Alphabet Letter Picture Cards for Anchor Charts & Sorting or CVC Picture & Word Cards | Segmenting Blending Phonics Activity.
As you can see these picture card templates are super easy to use and can be used multiple times in a variety of ways! Isn’t this a dream for a Kindergarten teacher? I sure think so!
Download & Editing Instructions
To make sure that you understand how to edit the product, I’m going to include instructions here:
- Once you download the file, it will open up in a Google Doc.
- Click File in the top and a drop down menu will appear.
- Near the bottom of the menu, click download, then click the carrot and choose Microsoft Powerpoint. This will download the resource into Microsoft Powerpoint, which is where you can then edit and add your students’ names and picture to the cards. (Please follow the directions included on pages 3-4 of product for adding student pictures.)
This is perfect for morning meeting!