Fun with Names! Literacy Activities that Use Children’s Names

A child’s name is almost always the first word they learn to read.

Their name is personal.  Special.  And unique to them.
So it makes sense that the first way to help students make those important literacy connections is to use their names.

Here are some great ideas!  We often read the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes to start our Names Unit.  It is a great way to start talking about names!

Fruit Loop Names

I wrote their names in pencil and did one letter at a time with white glue.  So cute!

Name Center

I taped their names to the side of my filing cabinet – instant name center!

Name Building Cards

Name Grids

I use these name grids to not only make the name building cards (above) but also for students to practice writing and counting the letters in their names.  Go HERE for the freebie!

Name Chart

During Math time we count how many letters are in our name and make a chart, sorting the students by how many letters there are in their names.  Then we build a tower with the same number of cubes and compare those! Here is the editable blank name grid.  It is a great way to integrate Math into your Language Arts themes!

Dot Names

Students use the Dot Art stampers to go over my handwritten lines.  They look so cute!

Paper Square Names

I lightly write student’s names with pencil on black paper.  I do one line of glue at a time and they glue on the paper squares.  I love how the bright colors pop on the black paper!

Q-tip Dot Names

Students use bright colored paint to make dots with Q-tips.  I have found that not only is this activity good for learning names, but it is a great fine-motor activity as well!  The students have to use their pincher grip.

These are some of my favorite Name activities. What are some of yours??