NAME REVIEW

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AUTHOR: Diane Clark Simcoe, Ontario

NOTE: Please see Teacher Note by Donna K. Hill for a great update on this activity

     On the first day of school I bring my camera to school (with a roll of 12 exposures). Some time during the day I give the students a piece of 8 X 11 cardboard, have them fold it horizontally, and ask them to write their name (and decorate it) on both sides. As they finish, I ask them to get into groups of 3-4 students, somewhere in the classroom (or outside so that I don't need to use a flash) and I photograph them holding their name cards out in front of their bodies.

     After school, I develop the film at a one hour studio, and ask for double prints. That evening, I can start to match names with faces. I keep one set of pictures at home for about a week so that each night I can review their names. The other set of photos is put up, on the second day of school, as a bulletin board, with a title such as "Presenting Room 108, starring.....".

     The kids love it! After I have learned all of their names I bring the 2nd set back to school and glue them onto an 8 X 11 sheet of paper and place it in the binder I have prepared for any supply teachers (SUBS) who come to my class during the year. They've told me that they appreciate being able to match faces with names instantly when they arrive in the classroom.

     The cardboard name cards that were made and used on the first day are collected and stored on a shelf. Periodically, throughout the year, they are distributed again to the students and placed on each desk so that guests or supply teachers can identify whom they are speaking with. I've been doing this with my grade 7's for the last nine years and they love seeing their photos on the wall in the classroom. It's fun to bring the photos out again at the end of the school year to let them see how much they changed in the ten months.

Teacher Note:

 
I just wanted to add to Diane Clark's lesson from Simcoe, Ontario.  I use to
do this same lesson, but now, I would suggest to use a digital camera from the
Sony Mavica series. One could then display, review, organize and print the
pictures immediately.  Also, it's so much fun for the students.

Editor's Note:

You could also take advantage of a picture edit program such as Comp-U-Pic
or ACDSee or even your browser HTML composer and create seating charts
with student pictures on them -- I did this last year (I had 586 students that I
saw for one class every six days) and it worked out great. There is nothing more powerful in classroom management than knowing all the names of your students --
Hey you! Just does not cut it.