Fun Name Activities That Your Students Will Love

Our names are an important part of our identities. They hold special meaning to us and how we present ourselves to others. So it’s extremely important to take time at the beginning of the year to work on our names. Primary students especially need to practice identifying and writing their names. These simple name activities are easy to set up and guaranteed to be fun for your students!

(Special shoutout to my friend Kelly @FromKindergartenWithLove for sharing some of her pictures and ideas with me!)

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Name Activities

Writing / Tracing Names

Primary students will have fun writing and tracing their names in a variety of ways. You can be as creative as you want with this. CreatePrintables will make name tracing practice sheets for you for free!

Making Names

Students will love making their names using a variety of craft supplies. You can have this set up as an easy center. This is a great opportunity for students to practice working independently so you can pull small groups.

• Play-doh
• Letter beads
• Pipe cleaners
• Wikki sticks
• Craft pom poms
• Magnetic letters
• Confetti Names – Write each student’s name on a piece of construction paper. They can rip up and glue small pieces of paper on top of their names.
• Lids – Write letters or add stickers to lids for students to use.
• Dot Stickers or Bingo Dotters to fill in an outline of their name.
• Clothespins with letters written on them or use stickers. (Target Dollar Spot usually has these!)
• Name Puzzles – Cut students’ names apart by letter to make a puzzle for them to complete. Store them in an envelope with their picture for their classmates to make their names.

Sorting Names

There are various ways that students can sort their names. You can create a recording sheet or have students make their own. You may also want to make cards with students’ names on them for them to easily sort. Students can sort names by:

• Number of Letters
• Number of Syllables
• Initial Sounds

Name Games

These games are helpful at the beginning of the year as a fun way to help students learn each other’s names.

• Name Bingo – Make game boards with multiple students’ names on them. You’ll also need letter cards. Students can take turns picking a letter out of a container. If it matches a letter on their board, they can place it in the correct place. The goal is to be the first one to spell a complete name!
• Mystery Names – Place a name card inside of a white envelope. Slice open the side. Slowly reveal one letter at a time to see if students can guess the name.
• Game of Favorites – Students will sit in a circle. They will each take a turn saying their name and their favorite thing (hobby, food, animal) that starts with the same letter. The next student will do the same AND repeat what the previous student(s) said.
• Name Web – Students will sit in a circle. One student will start with a ball of string. They will say their name and throw the ball to another student. It is important that they hold on to the string before throwing the ball. It will eventually make a web! You can also have students tell something about themselves during their turn.
• Doggie Doggie, Where’s Your Bone? – One student plays the doggie and sits in a chair facing away from the other students. Students sing the chant “Doggie Doggie Where’s Your Bone? Somebody stole it from your home” a couple times. During this time the teacher or a student hands the bone to a student to hide it in their lap. The doggie will turn around and get 3 guesses as to who took the bone. The student with the bone then becomes the new doggie.

Reading Names

In addition to completing the various name activities, it’s also important to provide students with plenty of opportunities to practice reading names.

• Name Wall – Set up a word wall with students’ names and pictures. They can practice reading their classmates’ names and matching pictures to the names.
• Pocket Chart Poems – Display a poem or song (such as Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar). Practice reading it with each student’s name card.
• Class Book – Students can each complete a page about themselves. You may want to have them simply write “My Name is ____ and I like ____ .” Compile the pages into a book for students to read.
• There are plenty of books about names that you may want to read to your class.

Hopefully, this list gave you some ideas to help you get started with name activities! What other fun ways do you have students practice names at the beginning of the year? Share in the comments!

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