What's In A Name?

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"A child's name has singular importance as he embarks on learning about literacy, both for the child's management of his own learning about print and for the observant teacher trying to understand his pattern of progress ...

"Teachers write the child's name on his work, and this labeling of his drawing, of his coat peg, of his lunch, calls attention to the distinctiveness of a name which distinguishes him from other children. This means that there is a need to choose between names by some means. It enhances his security and his self-image, giving him a feeling of importance.

"In more than one place in the class he should have his own name on a card with big black print. He can hold it, run his finger along it -- from right to left, preferably -- trace over it, try to copy it, and contrast it with other children's names."
~ Marie M. Clay, Becoming Literate

One of the first words a child learns is her own name. Children love playing games with their names and with the names of their friends, and they love putting their names in nonsense rhymes and their favorite poem or song whenever possible.. Research has shown that one of the first things children learn to read at school are their friends' names -- on name tags, on desks, on mailboxes and cubbies, and on papers and artwork hung up for display.

Just as good educators know it's important to have not one, but many, alphabets displayed in the classroom, we also know it's important to have multiple copies of the children's names displayed in a meaningful fashion. Their names are used to label things, and are also used in such activities as taking attendance and lunch count.

Naming Things
byArden Davidson

I love to give things names.
I think I'll call you Hal.
I'll also call your sweater Fred
and your umbrella, Big Al.

I can't stop naming things.
I name everything I see.
My baseball's name is Sherman
and my bat's named Woe S. Me.

My shoes are Brett and Bart.
My socks are Rick and Rack.
My jeans are Walkin' Willie
and my T-shirt's named Bo Jack.

My eyes are Moose and Juice.
My feet are Stan and Fran.
I name everything I see
and I name everything I can.

When my sis says pass the salt,
I say, "Don't you mean Michelle?"
When my brother wants my jacket,
I say, "Don't you mean Miguel?"

Finally, the other day,
my mother sat me down.
She said, "You must stop naming
everything you see in town."

I promised I would stop it.
Then I named her necklace Bud.
So now I have a new name of my own ...

MUD!

Name Cards

Many teachers make name cards by writing the children's names on sentence strips cut to the length of each child's name (so that it's obvious who has a long name and who has a short one). The name cards are displayed on a table, so that each child may pick up his or her name card and put it in a pocketchart, to show that they are at school that day. Doing this the very first day of school lets the teacher know who can read their name, which is an important piece of information to have.

Name cards can also be used for managing other activities. For example, some teachers allow only 3 students to work in a center at one time. By having each child hang their name up at the center, it is clear who is there and whether or not there is space for another child to work.

Names can also be written on smaller cards attached to clothes pins, or even written on the clothes pin itself, to make name clips. Children can then use their name clip to "sign in" to a center, to record attendance, or to show (by attaching their name clip to a chart) if they are having school lunch or if they brought lunch from home. Name clips can also be used for voting and graphing.

Many children learn to recognize and discriminate between letters by using name cards. In using their own name, they are starting with a known item. As they move to reading other children's names, they are building their knowledge base. It is a very important step when children can see the differences between Jane, James, and Jose, or between Brian and Brittaney.

Here are some songs & poems my students enjoy:

Stand Up
(tune: Frere Jacques)

Stand up __________. Stand up __________.
Stand up __________. Stand up __________.
Reach up very high now.
Reach up to the sky now.
Then sit down. Then sit down.

I Am
    (tune: Frere Jacques)
    I am _____
    I am _____
    That's my name,
    That's my name,
    I am glad to be here,
    I am glad to be here,
    At school today,
    At school today.

Who's Here Today?
(tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)
__________ came to school today.
We're so glad we'll shout
Hooray!

Where is _____?
    (tune: Frere Jacques)
    Where is _____?
    Where is _____?
    Here I am, here I am,
    How are you today _____?
    Very well, thank-you.
    Yes I am. Yes I am.

Stand Up and Take a Bow
(unique tune - you'll have to make your own)
If your name begins with the letter A
Stand up! Stand up!
If your name begins with the letter A
Stand up and take a bow!
repeat for all the letters ... as kids get good at this one, combine letters and use for things like lining up for lunch ...
If your name begins with A, B, C
Stand up! Stand up!
If your name begins with the D, E, F
Stand up and get in line!

Good Morning!
    (tune: If You're Happy and You Know It)
    Good morning, (first name / last name).
    How are you?
    Good morning, (first name / last name).
    How are you?
    How are you this special day?
    We're so glad you came to play.
    Good morning, (first name / last name).
    How are you?

Here We Are Together
(tune: Did you Ever See a Lassie?)
    Here we are together,
    Together, together,
    Here we are together,
    Back at school again
    There's ____ , and ____,
    ____, and ____,
    Here we are together,
    Back at school again.

Happy Birthday Song
(tune: Old MacDonald)
    (first name / last name) has a birthday.
    Hip, hip, hooray!
    And on her cake, she has ____ candles.
    What a happy day!
    With a puff puff here
    And a puff puff there,
    Here a puff
    There a puff
    Everywhere a puff puff
(first name / last name) has a birthday.
    Hip, hip, hooray!

Everyone's Important
(tune: Have You Ever Seen A Lassie?)
________ is important, important, important.
________ is important to me and to you.
In work and in play
He / she does his / her best each day.
________ is important to me and to you.

Marie Clay says: "The use of the children's names in a class activity is a useful way of developing letter knowledge. Children will use their knowledge of letters in family names or classmates' names at later stages as part of their analysis of new words. Usually it is the initial letters that catch [the child's] attention." (from Becoming Literate).

Concepts

Because children are so interested in reading names -- their own and others' -- teachers can use names to effectively guide children in focusing on print. Here are just a few concepts that can be taught using names:

* Directionality -- left-to-right progression of print across the line
* The difference between a letter and a word
* Letter recognition & letter formation
* Phonemic Awareness & sound-symbol relationships
* Consonants and vowels
* Initial, medial, and ending sounds
* Rhyming words
* Word chunks (those little words that are found in bigger words, like /at/ in /Pat/

Writing Tools

Here are some materials children can use for practice in making their names:

* pencils, crayons, markers

* playdough or clay -- freeform or with alphabet cookie cutters
* Wikki sticks
* finger paints
* chalk and chalkboards, or chalk on the sidewalk
* paintbrush and water (use on lap size chalkboards or on sidewalk/playground)
* Magna doodle
* deodorant roller bottles filled with paint or water
* flash cards
* wooden letters
* die cut letters, from a variety of materials
        * paper
        * sandpaper
        * plastic
        * craft foam
        * pop up sponges
* sponge letters
* white glue on black paper
        * plain
        * with glitter
        * with macaroni or seeds
        * with yarn
* salt box (put one pound of salt in a box lid or pie pan, write with finger, shake to erase)
* Etch-a-Sketch (difficult, but fun and good fine motor skill practice)
* shaving cream on a table top
* math manipulatives & "junk boxes" to form letters on floor or table
* Tinkertoys & other building toys
* pipe cleaners / chenille craft stems
* pretzels (curved and straight) stuck together with cheese cubes

Activities

Here are some fun learning activities I've done with my students:

Sing Your Name

For students who have trouble learning to spell their name (usually because it has a lot of letters), I find a familiar tune that works with the number of letters in their name. For example, I had a kindergarten student this year whose last name was Sylvester, which was much too hard for her to remember. Set to the tune of Jingle Bells, her song went like this:

S   Y   L   V   E   S   T   E   R Hooray!
S   Y   L   V   E   S   T   E   R Hooray!
S   Y   L   V   E   S   T   E   R Hooray!
S   Y   L   V   E   S   T   E   R Hooray!

A little corny perhaps, but it worked. She was able to write her last name in less than 2 days, and used the song the entire year to help her remember!

Our Big Book of Names

I make a big book from 12 x 18 construction paper, using enough sheets to have a double page spread for each letter of the alphabet. I bind the book down the long side, using the Velobind machine.

The top of each left-hand page has a large capital and lowercase letter written on it, so it looks like this:
Aa

To work on the book each day, I put all the children's names in the pocket chart and the book on the easel. We start with the letter A. Anyone whose name begins with the letter A gets their name written on that page in large letters, with the capital A in red, like this:
Andrew

We go through the entire alphabet this way, doing as many pages per day as seems reasonable. When we've finished writing everyone's name, we go back to the beginning and add all the names that include that letter. Andrew would also get his name on the following pages: Nn, Dd, Rr, Ee, Ww. I write the page's letter in red, and all the other colors in black. On the Nn page, Andrew's name would look like this:
Andrew

Once the book is finished, I make a new -- blank -- copy, with only the 26 letters filled in, and the kids write in their own names, using red and black markers. When we get a new student, we add her name, too. These two books are favorites all year long, and the children love to read their name and their friends' names on all the different pages.

Graphing

Making graphs is always fun in our class!
We graph our names in the following ways:

* By number of letters, using 1" squared tagboard

* By the first letter in our names
(mine is M for Mrs., though I prefer V for Victoria)

* By all the letters in our names, one square for each letter.
Before we start, we make predictions about which letter will "win."
We make individual graphs of this one, plus
a class graph, so we can compare the results
and then write about them.
Chrysthemum is a great story for introducing this activity.

Chrysanthemum
We graph the letters in our names
after we read this popular story.
Under $4

Other Ways to Graph & Write Our Names

Have the children "sign in" when they arrive at school each day.

Put up simple graphs the children can write their names on.

I Like Apples

I Like Bananas

David
Amy

Brekke
Alejandra
Jose Luis

Have children sign in and out at centers.

Have a "thirsty sheet" where kids write their name
before going out to get a drink.

Allow children to sign up for equipment like balls and jump ropes at recess.

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[ Introduction ] [ Morning Songs ] [ Concepts ] [ Writing Tools ]
[ Fun Name Activities ]

Looking for more ideas?

My bookstore pages have lots of information on how I use various materials in my classroom, and on activities you can do with your students. The thematic pages are complete unit resources, with lots of poems, songs, and links on each page. Make yourself comfortable and take a look around!

Choose from the categories below.
Underlined subjects are links, the other ones are coming soon!

Top 10 Must Have Books for Teachers	Phonics & Phonemic Awareness	Integrated Curriculum & Balanced Literacy	Reproducible Mini Books for Emergent Readers	Pat Cunningham Books & 4 Blocks Books	Writing & Writer's Workshop
Reading & Guided Reading	How to Level Trade Books and others	Pocket Chart Resources	Songs and Poems	All About Me	Back to School
Marvelous Math Books		Read It! Draw It! Solve It!	Literacy Centers	What's In A Name?	Literature for Math
Friends	Family Math	I Love My ABC's	Monthly Themes	Math Their Way	Birthdays
Bears Everywhere	Down on the Farm		Rain Forest	Going Buggy!
Spring Has Sprung!		Come Into Our Garden	A Camping We Will Go!	Under the Sea	A Rainbow of Colors
Graphing Topics	I Lost A Tooth!	Author Studies		Me & My Family	Harvest Time
	Snowmen & Mittens		Special Books for Special People reading for pleasure		Scarecrows
Coming Soon!		Nursery Rhymes		Bats & Spiders

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