20 Name Activities for the Classroom

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A person’s name is unique to them. Sure, a lot of people will share that name, but you name is your name. And with that, it should be respected in the classroom. As educators, we should work hard to teach students to respect their peers names. We should also work hard to teach students how to read, spell and write their name! Today’s blog post I am sharing 20 name activities for the classroom! I also have a BIG freebie in this post, so read on!

Why Identifying Your Name is Important

No matter what age or ability of your students, you should be working on identifying your own name. For some kids/classrooms, this may already be mastered. But if not, it should be an important goal of yours. It can also be fun to have students learn to identify their peers and teachers names as well!

Here are some Identifying Name Activities for you!

Using a poster and markers, have students circle the letters in their name or you can do a poster with class names and have students circle their own name!
Create a name box/bag! Stick all the letter manipulatives you have around your house/classroom so that students have all the letters of their name ready to practice!
Using a poster and paper, write the students name. Using letter manipulatives have students sort the letters to practice identifying the letters of their name!
Create an all about me book for each student. Have students learn to identify their name and learn personal information. Click on the picture to grab this book for your students!
Using a poster, markers and dot stickers, have students practice identifying letters of their name and match to the poster!

Why Every Kid Needs a Signature

When I was in the classroom, I always said that every kid needs a signature. Our goal as educators is to build independent citizens. What do adults do? They sign for things. Now, for kids signatures may all look different. Some kids may sign their name in cursive, some kids may be typing their name, some kids may be spelling their names on a voice out put device, some kiddos may print their name, some kiddos may trace their name and some kiddos may show their name. Whatever works for the kid is great. As long as a kid has a means for a signature, they can feel independent. Of course signatures, like anything, are always a work in progress. Over time and over the course of many years students will perfect their signature. There are many name activities in the classroom that can help students with their signature.

There are two steps to a signature. Being able to spell your name and being able to write your name in whatever style you are able to.

Spelling Names

Since spelling is an important step to being able to write your name indecently, it is a skill that should be taught from a young age. So many times I hear teachers say, “oh they can’t write yet” when introducing spelling activities! Just because a child is not yet writing, it doesn’t mean you can’t work on building your name in a fun, non-writing, way.

Here are some Spelling Name Activities for you!

Write the students name on an index card or print their name out on a piece of paper. Have students clip their letter clothes pins to their name to practice spelling their name!
Using manipulatives, have students practice spelling their names!
Play doh is always a hit in the classroom. Using play doh stamps, have students practice spelling their name!
Using magnets and a cookie sheet (I got some for the dollar tree for my classroom a few years ago) have students practice spelling their name!

Writing Names

While spelling is important, so is writing! There are so many forms and version of writing your name that I could share a million ideas. I decided just to share a few ideas to help you get the idea.

When I was in the classroom, I was a big believer in differnted writing journals. I felt it was SO important to build independence in the area of writing, thus the differentiated writing journals were born! To read more about my wiring journals, click here.

I created this FREE leveled name worksheet pack for you to match my differentiated writing journals. You can simply open the PDF, type the students name and print. I would keep a master copy and just re-copy them as you run out. This way, students can practice their name AT THEIR LEVEL before completing their writing journal! There are 5 levels of editable name worksheets included in my Free Resource Library. Talk about perfect name activities for the classroom!

Below are all of the FREE levels of name writing worksheets that are included!

Here are some Writing Name Activities for you!

Using any manipulatives you have around your house/classroom, have students trace their name in a fun hands on way!
Have students practice writing their name in sand or rice!
Students build the letters of their name using play doh! You can use manipulatives or a poster to provide a model for them!
Have students trace their name using stickers! SO much fine motor practice!
Pencils and papers are boring! Have students practice typing their name on a keyboard or tablet!

Having Fun With Name Practice

Being able to write your name does not need to be boring. Students do not want to sit and trace their name every day for a year. That is what I call BURN OUT central! Incorporating some sensory activities for your name is a great way to spice things up and help students generalize the skill.

Here are some Sensory Name Activities for you!

Shaving cream writing! This was always a class favorite in my classroom.
Name sensory bin! Hide some letter manipulatives in a sensory bin and have students fine the letters of their name. You can have them spell their name too!
Go fishing for your name! Have students scoop the letters of their name in a tub of water. You can choose to only add the letters of their name or add a bunch of letters and have them search for just the letters of their name!
Secret names! Using clear glue write the students name on a piece of paper for them. Once it tries students can trace their name. They always love this!

I really believe names are important. They should be respected. In the classroom, names are what keep us unique. I hope this post helped you with some name skill activities for your classroom. Don’t forget to grab my name writing freebies for you to use in the classroom!

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