COPPERAS COVE, TX (September 29, 2021)—Calling someone by their name connects you better with that person. It also increases trust, empathy, and positive communication. Like any word in the dictionary, a person’s name has meaning. Kindergarteners at House Creek Elementary learning the meanings of not only their names but their classmates, teaching them empathy and understanding of different cultures.
Students read several books including Chrysanthemum, A-My Name is Alice, and Your Name is a Song as they engaged in onomastics which is the study of names.
“We had been reading several books about names, and they were able to make connections,” teacher Vanessa Mondy said. “Students loved singing their names.”
Students were each given a shrinkable plastic paper on which to write their names either freehand or by tracing it using the name plates on their desks. The young scholars wrote their names in the crayon color of their choice and the plastic papers were then heated and shrunk to create individual keychains.
“The challenging part was getting the students to trace their names,” said teacher Courtney Dennis-Irvin. “We have a lot of independent kindergarteners, but some students were not able to write their names on their own yet. Some students had difficulty determining the directionality of print. It was hard for some to understand that when you write your name, you write it left to right.”
The lesson covered Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills requiring students to identify upper- and lower-case letters and reading and writing moves from top to bottom and left to right.
“This assignment had several life lessons including always treating others with kindness and taking time to get to know them,” teacher Lauren Buckram said. “They know how to write their names, which is a skill that they will need to know how to do for the rest of their lives.”
Kindergartener Joules Flores had his own ideas of the meaning of his first name.
“My mom likes jewels. She really likes jewelry a lot,” the 5-year-old said.
Teacher Sheila Shumaker was inspired to see students excited about something they created.
“Students loved the outcome of the project,” Shumaker said. “They loved how their own work was turned into a keychain, and how they will be able to hold on to that memory for a long time.”
Teacher Kristin Utsey said the lesson also helped develop the students’ fine motor skills.
“It was a great way to teach about the uniqueness of names, especially at the beginning of a school year,” Utsey said. “This lesson showed the students that every name is special and that we should cherish how important and unique everyone is.”
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