Names Within the Classrooom
Chosen Names and Pronouns
Some of your students may choose a different name from their birth name, sometimes that means they may also change their preferred pronoun. For educators this means to create an inclusive environment we need to be using the names and pronouns that they prefer. Avoid doing roll call from the attendance sheet on the first day. Learn what your students want to be called before assuming their birth name is their correct name. CLICK HERE to read a post about the importance of using students chosen names and pronouns within the classroom.
Pronounication
Including the proper pronounication of students names will help both you when learning your students name. including the phonetical pronounication on your attendance/class list will help you with the hard to pronounce names. Also you can easily include the phonetical pronounication underneath each students name. For example, if a students name is Kevin, put underneath his name Keh-vin. This tool may also help EAL students succeed in learning the names of their classmates.
Creating a Name wall
Getting the students to decorate a paper with their name, or getting them to write their own bios and posting on the classroom wall can potential help build inclusivity and acceptance within your classroom.
CLICK HERE to explore one example of a name wall that you can have within your classroom
Names Games/Ice breakers
Learning the names of all your students on the first day can be hard. To make it easier, play name games or icebreakers so you and your students can learn the names of all students on the first day. This will help also with the students who have a chosen name and different pronouns.
CLICK HERE to find some name games/icebreakers you can play within your classroom.