Name Tag Activity

Name Tag Match Maker

Each group member will need a 8" x 11" piece of paper for a name tag. Then give the following directions: 1. Fold the paper in half and then in a thirds. 2. Put your name and draw  in the center of your piece of the paper.  3. In the upper left corner, write four things that you would like to learn this school year.  4. In the upper right corner, write your four favorite things to do outside of school. 5. In the lower left corner, write what the word learning is. 6. In the lower right corner, write four adjectives that describe you as a person.  When everyone finishes, have them mingle with the group for a few minutes. Without talking, they are to read the upper left corner of the other group members' cards. When time is up, they are to find one or two people who are most like them and visit for a few minutes. When time is up, they are to mingle again reading the upper right corner of the other group members' paper name tag. They then find the one or two people most like them and visit. Repeat with the lower left corner and lower right corner information. To make sure everyone visits with several people, you could implement a rule that no two people can be in the same group more than once.

The questions listed above I could also use in my name tag activity. I think that the directions listed above are important to follow and will help me as a teacher stay on track and make sure I am explaining the activity correctly to my students. It is important for the students to listen and follow the directions I am saying. Name tags are a great way for teachers and students to get to know each other.

This activity would be used for kids in the third grade and up. The name tag is a great first day of school activity. I would definitely start the first day of class with the students having a piece of paper on their desk and ask the students to fold the piece of paper in half and write their name. Then I would have a few questions on the board.    Questions: 

                What do you think will be your favorite subject?
                  Write one thing down you think you are going to learn this year?
                  What do you think the word learning  is?
                  What do you think makes a good student?   
                  What would you like to learn this year?  


I would ask the students to answer these questions and to write their answers in the different corners of their name tags. It is a great activity to get students socially active in knowing their classmates. It gives students to have an opportunity to see if they have anything in common with their classmates. 


   It is important for students to make goals. The name tag activity helps students to learn something about each student. It also helps teachers put the name to the face and know something about each student. It would be a good idea for students to share their name tags in small groups so that the students get to know their classmates better. In partners students should read their cards either out loud or silently. Then the partner should share about the other person to the rest of the group members.