Why Learning Your Students Names Quickly Is Important
As the new school year begins, the best advice I can offer you in terms of creating community and ensuring everyone feels like they belong is to learn your student’s names as soon as possible.
Students love to be greeted by their names.
For a child, there is nothing worse than being called by another student’s name or worse, for their name to be mispronounced.
Being able to identify your students and call them by their name as soon as possible is vital. I usually set myself a goal to be able to recognize my whole class by the end of day two. I can do it because I care. Then I start working on the students in the other classes in the same grade as there are many times we work together throughout the year.
If you find remembering names a difficult task, then I have some ideas for you to trial…
Allocate students a seat for the first week with a name tag at their place. Then move them around. How did you go?
Visit the playground before the morning bell going. Spend time greeting your students, if you get their name incorrect, joke about it and made a point of getting it right next time.
Place name cards on the bag rack/hooks and observe where they place their bags each day. Younger children may even need assistance to hang their bags or find their names — perfect opportunity for you to pick up their name.
Are there familiar names in your class? A famous person’s name, one of your siblings or friends’ names? Share this with the student, and it may help to remember their name by association.
Where possible, look for something different about a child, such as their personality or a characteristic to associate their face with their name.
Work with your students’ names often, particularly in the first week of school – write them, type up a class list, label their artwork. Don’t stress too much about surname names at this stage. Concentrate on first names at this point.
Be on the lookout for opportunities to repeat a child’s name often. Use their name each time you address them. Dismiss students a group at a time, for example, ‘If your name starts with a, b, c or d you can line up at the door.’ Double-check them as they go.
Making a bit of fun out of it by playing ‘name games’ with the class is a great idea as well. These games below can cater to any age group of students.
The class sits in a circle, rolling a ball from one to another. Each child must tell the class their name and something about themselves, any random fact
By the end of the first week, with a most names under their belts, you should be able to choose a child to sit on a chair with their back to everyone, nominate one student to say something along the lines of ‘good morning’ and the child on the chair must guess who said it
Students must find and sit with someone who has the same initial letter of their first name. Then introduce themselves
Students must find and sit with someone who is the same age as themselves. Then introduce themselves
Play hangman using students’ names
Spell a child’s name backward on the board and the class must work out whose name it is
Go around the circle, and everyone must say their name. Time who long it takes to get back to the first person
Ask your students to work out and line themselves up in alphabetical order
Play ‘who is missing?’ One child sits on a chair with their back to the class. Chose one child to hide within the room, and the other child then turns around and has to spot who is missing
Play ‘race the clock’. Time how long it takes you to go around the class and name each student. Make it fun for you and the class. Try to beat your time each day. Can a child in the class name everyone quicker than you?
More fun and enjoyment can be had when you keep the activities to a maximum time of ten minutes. They can always be revisited to ensure everyone gets a turn. As soon as something drags on, you lose the attention of your students and behaviours become distracting.
These games and activities also give opportunities for your students to learn their peers’ names as well. This is just as important. Having fun with it is important too. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
By making an effort and taking the time to learn your students’ names, you will be one step closer to setting up a positive classroom environment where your students feel safe, respected and comfortable.
How do you go learning and remembering your new students’ names? Do you set yourself a goal? Is there anything special you do to remember them? What about name games? Or did you try a few I suggested? How did you go? Feel free to add your thoughts and ideas below and add to the conversation.