Summary
Activities focus on the importance of children's names and helps build a sense of community in the classroom.
Materials
Instructional Procedures
Part One
Part Two
Optional Center Name game board/"Gathering Letters"
- Die
- Game markers
- Gathering Letters Game
Board
- Markers
Additional Resources
Books
Thinking and Learning Together: Curriculum and Community in a Primary Classroom, by
Bobbi Fisher; ISBN 0435088440
Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control, by Marie Clay; ISBN 0435085743
Chrysanthemum, by Kevin Henkes; ISBN 13:978-0688-14732-7
If You Take a Mouse to School, by Laura Numeroff; ISBN 0-06-028328-9
Ashok By Any Other Name, by Sandra S. Yamate; ISBN 1-879965-01-1
The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi; ISBN 0-440-41799-6
My Name is Yoon, by Helen Recorvits; ISBN 13:978-0374-35114-4
Articles
The Mailbox, the Education Center, Inc.; ISBN 1-56234-161-8
Back-To-School Book, Preschool/Kindergarten, the Education Center, Inc. ISBN 1-56234-161-
8
The Mailbox, the Education Center Inc.; Aug. /Sept. 2006
Background for Teachers
The first few days of school are crucial for setting the tone and
climate in a classroom.
Playing name bingo focuses on the importance of a child's name,
and builds community in the classroom. Building community in the
classroom is crucial during first days of school in order to provide a
class atmosphere where children feel welcome. This is a great way
to meet new people and discover new things, it also lays an early
foundation for a community to grow in the classroom, which is vital
for success throughout the school year.
In this activity the students will listen to a story that focuses on
children's names and going to school and discuss the importance of
a name. This is a get-to-know-you activity that gives every student a
chance to be in the spotlight as they play the Name Bingo Game. The
children will need to know how to play the traditional bingo game. In
this twist of the traditional bingo game, after each name is chosen, the
student responds by answering one of several given questions designed
to help students learn more about one another. The excitement builds
as each student awaits the call of his or her name.
Intended Learning Outcomes
2. Develop social skills and ethical responsibility.
6. Communicate clearly in oral, artistic, written, and nonverbal form.
Instructional Procedures
Invitation to Learn
Weave a web filled with fun when you involve youngsters in this
Name Web game. To begin have students sit in a circle. Hold the end
of a ball of yarn and say, "My name is (Your name)." Toss the ball of
yarn to a child across the circle. Instruct her to state her name. Then,
have her hold the length of the loose yarn with one hand while tossing
the ball of yarn to another child across the circle. Encourage students
to repeat this process until every child has had the opportunity to say
her or his name and to participate in weaving the web. If you feel
your students are ready, you can challenge youngsters to repeat the
process in reverse to roll the yarn back into a ball.
Instructional Procedures
Part One
Play school bingo. This is an activity that teaches children how to
play the traditional Bingo game. The Bingo game uses pictures
of materials the children will be using or pictures of things
pertaining to school. For example: A school house, a pencil,
box of crayons, glue, a playground, table and chairs, an apple,
a school bell, etc., As you play the game you hold up a large
picture that matches the pictures on their cards, and they put
a marker on their card.
- Pass out School Bingo Cards.
- Give each child some kind of marker for the game.
- Hold up large Picture Cards, talking about each one as you hold
it up. For example, if you hold up the crayons, you would
show them the crayon box that each of them will be receiving
to keep in their cubbies.
- The students will put their marker on the bingo card that
matches the picture card.
- All the cards are the same because everyone will have blackout
at the same time. The purpose of the game is not to have a
winner but to learn how to play the game, and to be introduced
to classroom items.
- Gather the School Bingo Cards.
- Pass out the blank Name Bingo Cards, and explain to the class
that they are going to help make class name bingo cards.
- Pass out a baggy with each child's name that was cut from a
name grid.
- Have the children place each name in a box of their choice on
their bingo cards. Please note that names must be put in the
boxes randomly to prevent multiple bingos.
- Allow the students to individualize their cards by decorating
them with markers, crayons, stickers, or other classroom
materials.
- Collect bingo cards so that the game can be played during the
next session. (Before the next session all the cards will be
laminated to be used as a class set throughout the school year)
Part Two
- Introduce the book to the class and read it aloud. For
example, the book Chrysanthemum could be used. Have a
class discussion of the story.
- Sing a name song. Give each child the opportunity to state
his/her name. Several name songs and games follow this
activity.
- Hand out bingo cards randomly to students. It doesn't matter
what card they get, because they decorated them the first
session to help make a classroom set. Give a brief review of how
the game is played.
- Hand out plenty of markers for each student.
- Invite the students to brainstorm 5 or 6 personal questions
designed to get to know one another and list them on the chart
paper (for instance, what is your favorite color? What is your
favorite book? Do you have any pets?)
- Begin the game by randomly calling a student's name and
holding up the large name card with the name on it.
- Students respond by placing their markers on the called name.
- The student whose name was called stands and responds by
answering one of the questions on the chart paper.
- Continue to play until someone yells, "Friends."
- The Name Bingo twist is to reward the student who calls bingo
by giving them the opportunity to think of another question to
be written on the chart paper.
- You can have several Bingos or play for black-out.
Optional Center Name game board/"Gathering Letters"
- Give each twosome one die, two game markers, and one copy of
the game board and a dry erase marker.
- Each player writes his name with a dry erase marker on the
graph that is part of the game board, writing one letter per box.
- Players place their game marker on the starred game board
space.
- Player 1 rolls the die and advances his marker the
corresponding number of spaces.
- If the letter he lands on is in either his partner's name or his
own name, he circles the corresponding box on the graph
paper.
- If the letter is not in either name his turn is over. Player 2 takes
a turn in the same manner.
- Alternate play continues until both names are completely
colored.
Extensions
Curriculum Extensions/Adaptations/
Integration
- If you find that this activity is too hard for some children, you
could have the students work in pairs.
- Later in the year the bingo cards could be used again, but this
time the names are only read and the children have to find the
names themselves.
- If this was done later in the year, you could hold up names and
have the children write the names in their boxes.
- Have the students do a journal page following the activity.
They could write their name and then draw something about
themselves. For example, they could draw a soccer ball because
they like to play soccer.
- Instead of a journal page, you could do the same activity but
make a class book.
- Research the meaning of the names in the class. Have the
students create a page in their journal where they write their
name and draw a picture telling the meaning of their name.
Example: Hellstern means bright star; I could draw a picture of
a star along side my name.
- The Name Game could be put in a learning center and the
students could work cooperatively in small groups to play.
- The bingo cards could be used later in the year as a phonics
game (for example putting markers on beginning sounds,
ending sounds, names that rhyme, etc).
- Have the students write their name with markers making
colored patterns out of the letters.
- Have the students draw a picture or write a word that starts
with each letter in their name.
- Have the students draw a picture of themselves and then use
a descriptive word that begins with their name (example: Silly
Sally, Beautiful Bailey, Happy Heather, etc).
- If you had pictures available to duplicate, you could copy the
pictures and give a copy of everyone's picture to each child in a
bag. You could use the pictures to put on the cards instead of
names.
- Have the students sit in a circle and play the "Who Are You
Game". Select one student to skip around the outside of the
circle as the student and his classmates help sing the following
song, completing each line with his name:
(Sung to the tune of "Skip to my Lou")
My name is (Child's Name), Who are you?
My name is (Child's Name), Who are you?
My name is (Child's name), Who are you?
I'd like to know your name, too!
On the last line the child stops and gently taps a classmate on
the head. That child will exchange places with the first child
then skip around the circle singing the song again. Continue the
game until every child has had the opportunity to circle around
the group and sing the song.
- A Focus on Favorites -- On a designated day, have each
youngster wear is favorite color of clothing to school. Take
a photo of each child. Then mount each photo as desired
on separate sheet of paper programmed as shown. Help each
youngster write his name in the first blank and the appropriate
color word in the second blank. ( likes )
Put the students completed papers in a class journal. Title the
book "Colors We Like".
- Play a "Getting to know you game", to help the students build
their classroom community. Sample games are listed.
Family Connections
- The students could be asked to find out why their parents chose
their name. For example, were they named after someone,
was the name found in a name book, were they named for a
character in a movie or book, etc. Write the special story of
how they got their name and then bring back the information to
share it with the class.
- Share a web site and invite families to learn more about the
popularity of their names. The site includes names rising in
popularity, those being used less, most frequent boys' and girls'
names by year and state, etc. The web site is http://babynamer.com/.
Assessment Plan
- Did the students actively listen to the book?
- Did the students actively participate in the discussion of the
story?
- Were the students able to randomly put the labels on their
bingo cards?
- Did the students listen to and follow directions when filling in
and decorating the bingo cards?
- Can the students match the names being held up to the names
on their labels?
- Did the students actively participate in answering the questions
during the game and/or creating new questions to add to the
list?
- Did the students actively listen to the responses of others during
the game?
Bibliography
Research Basis
Clay, M., (1991). Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control, Heinemann, a
division of Reed Publishing (USA) inc. Portsmouth, NH. Retrieved Dec. 2007 from
www.readwritethink.org/
Marie Clay states, "Children will use their knowledge of letters
in family names or classmates' names at later stages as part of their
analysis of new words."
This classroom activity focuses on the beginning of that process of
analysis. Clay explains the reason that such activities engage learners.
She goes on to state: "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... It enhances his security and
his self-image, giving him a feeling of importance...The use of the
children's names in a class activity is a useful way of developing letter
knowledge."
Fisher, B., (1995). Thinking and Learning Together: Curriculum and Community in a Primary
Classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Retrieved Dec. 2007 from www.readwritethink.org/,
Bobbi Fisher notes, "Community is the entire orchestra playing in
harmony, with each musician contributing his or her best to the piece.
Just as the conductor is responsible for the quality of the music, we
as teachers are responsible for the quality of community that develops
in our classrooms. What we expect, model, and create becomes the
reality. Children will rise to our expectations of the kinds of caring
and learning that should go on."