What's In a Name? Celebrating Your Students' Names

Let's talk names! Our names are an important part of our identity and as any teacher knows on the first few weeks of school, it is so important to learn our students' names and get to know them as we build relationships!

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Learn Their Names Before You Meet Them

I love freaking my students out by knowing their names ahead of time.  You should see their faces when I greet them by name at the Meet the Teacher night!  I tell them it's because I know everything, but really it is the result of studying!

I use the pictures of my students on our Power School program to create flash cards with their pictures on one side and their names on the other.  I spend a few hours before school starts learning all of their names.

I know I have been guilty of butchering a name or two, so I always ask any student whose name I know I can't pronounce, "How do you say your name?  Names are important, and I want to make sure that I get yours right!"

I also make sure to ask them if they have a nickname they prefer to be called.  One year I had two Elizabeths, but they went by Lizzy and Ellie, so it made life easier!  

Another year I had a little girl who was named after her mom, and went by her middle name.  She was shocked when I said that was the name I would call her.  "My teacher last year said I had to use my given name."  

Teachers, pick your battles!  

My brother was named after my father who left our family shortly after he was born. My mom used his middle name instead.  Every teacher he ever had was ok using his preferred name, and it meant the world to him!  When he was 18 he legally changed his name.  We don't know all of our children's stories, and we should honor their choices.

Start With Some Stories

In many cultures, the names given to children hold significant meaning.  They may be named after a family member or a trait that their parents hoped that the child would embody. I love reading books with my students about names and then having them write stories about how they got their own names.  Two books that I love to read are Alma and How She Got Her Name and The Name Jar.

In this story, Alma struggles with her name (in particular the length of it - Alma .....)and asks her father why her name is so long.  He begins to tell her the story of her name and where each part has been taken from.  

The Name Jar is about a little girl named Unhei who has just moved to the United States from Korea.  She is nervous about her name and if her new friends will think of her name, especially if they can't pronounce it. She tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week.  Trying to be helpful, the class creates a name jar filled with suggestions of names for her.  With the help of a friend, Unhei chooses her own name and helps her new friends to pronounce it.  It is a beautiful story of acceptance!

My students are always fascinated by these stories about names and are anxious to learn and share about their own names.  It is one of the first writing assignments I have them complete, and is a great introduction to doing reasearch!

As students research their own names, you may want to give them this graphic organizer to help them guide their research.

Create Teach Share has a great freebie for having your students write about their names.  You can download it here.

Do you have any questions or comments?  I'm happy to answer any questions you may have or hear your ideas for celebrating your students' names! Leave a comment below.

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