Name tags
can help teachers and students learn the names of class members.
The first day of kindergarten is a unique adventure for all children. This may be their first formal education experience. Teachers and students will spend several days learning the names and faces of each student. You can facilitate this by providing colorful and creative name tags for the students. You may use name tags to place children into groups for activities or to help identify class members when outside of the classroom.
Class Mascot
Supply name tag forms that identify all the students in your class. Choose a mascot appropriate for the entire class. Students may be lions, unicorns, dragons or other popular animals. Students in a different classes will wear a name tag with a different design.
When collecting the class to return to the classroom, you can instruct all the children wearing dragons to gather by the slide and those wearing unicorns to gather by the swings, or whatever seems an appropriate. You may place a large name tag shape on the classroom door with your name on it so that students and parents can easily learn your name and the classroom location.
Creating Groups
Supply four or five name tags in each of several shapes, sufficient to provide one for each student. Students may choose a name tag shape as they arrive for the first day of class. During several class activities over the course of the week, students form groups according to the shape of the name tag they selected.
This may help the students quickly become familiar with some of the students in the class. During the next several weeks, you may provide new name tags at the beginning of the week. Help the students rotate so that the same students are not always in a group together until everyone has a chance to spend time with each classmate.
Learning Letters
Create name tags based on letter shapes. As children learn to identify the letter, supply a new name tag with a new letter. Let the students use the large letter shapes to trace around so they begin to learn write. Students can color the letter shapes and use them for other learning activities.
Some bulletin board letter stencils have an animal whose name begins with that letter pictured on the stencil. This can help students learn the sound of the letter.
Identifying Space
Provide a sheet of paper that is the magnified shape of each individual name tag. The name tag for each kindergarten student is different. Write the child's name on the name tag. The larger version can be placed on the child's desk to help students locate their individual space. Students may decorate the shapes in whatever way they choose.
Tags: letter shapes, name tags, class During, class members, each student