Carol Lyons once said, “The most powerful and effective way for children to begin learning the complex process of learning about letters is by working with their own names.” This quote does an incredible job of explaining how important one’s name is. When meeting students for the first time, one of the first questions asked is, “What’s your name?” Teachers work so hard to remember all of the names as quickly as possible. This shows teachers care about them for who they are and enjoy getting to know them. Since names are so important, they are the perfect component to add to lessons when learning letters. Thankfully, there are several fun name activities for early learners! Students will have so much fun practicing their names with these math and literacy activities!
Name Activities
Are you thinking about the perfect back-to-school activities while enjoying the summer off? I’m sure you are! Even if summer just started for you, I’m sure your teacher brain is developing the perfect activities for when a new group of students enters the classroom. Luckily, these fun crafts and interactive pocket chart activities are perfect for practicing names. They even make adorable bulletin boards for the first few weeks of school. Your students will be the designers as soon as they enter the classroom!
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Is this one of your favorite books? I know it is one of mine! It is always on my list for back-to-school read-alouds. After readings, students will explore the letters of their names. This will help them learn that their names are words made up of the same letters in the same order each time. The craft is an incredible way to practice the letters in their name while creating such a cute project! With this activity, students will even begin to understand how letters come together to form so many words. After they gain familiarity with letters, they can even use letter cards to spell their sight words.
Be sure to check out Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Lesson Plans to ensure students learn so much with this book!
A, My Name is Alice
Are you always reading new books to select the perfect read-alouds? If you haven’t read this one, you definitely want to check it out! This book is full of alliterations, which help create fun activities. A student favorite is the pocket chart activity because they love seeing their name on the chart.
As a special touch, students can design a self-portrait. Then, they can share something they love. This activity helps students with their names and helps classmates build relationships.
Engagement and interest are key elements when creating fun name activities for early learners. Do you have students who love to use multiple colors on crafts? If so, this rainbow write is perfect! They can write their name using rainbow colors and then attach it under their self-portrait.
The Wheels on the Bus Name Activities
A child’s name is a great place to start when learning about the features of print. Additionally, learning how to spell names is a great way to learn the sound each letter makes. This cute craft is a student-favorite way to focus on learning the beginning sound of the letters within their name.
To practice identifying classmates’ names, students can even draw pictures of their friends on their school bus.
Students can hang up their bus and rainbow write their names as a fun update to the bulletin board. Our students are always so excited to identify their names while walking down the hallway!
Here is a FREE Interactive Chart for Wheels on the Bus to add to the lesson plans!
Bippity Boppity Bumblebee
As students gain confidence with their names and spelling, they can focus on syllables. Since pocket charts are so exciting for students, they can use this activity to identify the number of syllables! This could be a fun morning meeting song/activity.
Math Name Activities
Do your students work best when they know what to do? I know mine do! This is one of the reasons I love to use student names while learning math. This subject is complex enough, so they are always thankful to learn new skills with their name. Luckily, the Names Unit: Literary and Math contains over 120 activities!
Incorporating names into lessons is an incredible way to increase student interest. Additionally, the fun name activities for early learners above show students how special their name is!
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FREE Alphabet Activities
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