Name+Inquiry+Ideas+from+Previous+Cohorts

Here are some additional ideas for thinking about how you could incorporate name inquiry into your middle grades ELA and/or SS classroom from past students.

//Fall 2009//
 * Coat of arms activity following inquiry with family and online. (Lauren)
 * Memoir activity stemming from inquiry activities about students’ names—interviewing family, used in pop culture, etc. (Christine)
 * Class name chart as source for inquiry and later to post findings. (Alex)
 * Trace surname as far back as possible and consider it in historical context and use as bridge to study history. (Meghan)
 * Partner name searches, findings put on index cards then a world map in class; partner interviews and inquiry for further information, additional information added and digital photos posted with the information. (Jena, Kimberley)
 * As a bridge to name inquiry, have students create a fictional story about how they received their name. Use this and some background information on how naming practices originated historically to generate interest and motivation in conducting research into their own names. (Brian)
 * Create a family tree using related online sites for support and interviewing family members. (Casey)
 * Have students use name research findings to write a name / bio poem (acrostic) and possibly a story too. (Denise)
 * Have students use name research to create a story that traces their name from its origins to its being bestowed upon them. Have them use personification as a part of the name’s quest from where it started to becoming their name. (Michelle)
 * 3-part inquiry: online, dictionaries, and parent/guardian interviews. Use this as a bridge to more formal research. (Kayla)
 * Use name inquiry as a bridge to introducing and teaching geography, including creating a poster indicating where their name originated and/or where their family is from. The posters then would be reference points for discussing geography during social studies class. (Mary Ashley)

//Fall 2008//
 * Students create name badges for desks that includes a symbol that is representative of them and the meaning/history of their names (Iwinosa). A variation of this would be to create nametag hats that would include words all over the hat that describe the name, its origin and meanings, as well as words that describe the student (Luke). Another variation would be to create a large nametag like the pinned on #’s that runners wear in marathons that would include similar information (Lindsey).
 * Have students create alternative names for themselves (if you could change it, what would it be?), and then create a fictional character using this name (Iwinosa) or do research on the new name they come up with (Erin).
 * Coat of arms activity – research actual one or create one that “fits” or do both and compare. Also, research importance and history of the coat of arms tradition. (Margaret; Joy; Laura)
 * Consider literary connections—books, stories that make use of names in some interesting way (e.g., //House on Mango Street//, //Harry Potter// series, //Hard Times//, //Song of Solomon//, etc.); can research characters’ names found in YA books.
 * Acrostic with letters of name—poem reflects students’ characteristics (Margaret). Variation: Poem doesn’t necessarily have to be acrostic but still includes meaning of name and characteristics about the student that relate to the meaning. They could decorate finished product and display in room as a way of getting to know each other (Sarah H.).
 * Have students look for examples of their first name and its meaning in popular culture—songs, books, etc. In addition, conduct research from teacher-selected materials and from parents. Then, students could write about whether their name fits them (does the meaning pair well with their personality? Are there any inferences made with certain names, i.e., gender—do we assume Kelly will be a female?) (Melissa)
 * Name freewrite—compare what they know with what they find from research efforts. Create a name collage. (Lauren)
 * Use name inquiry as a community-building and getting to know each other activity (Caroline). Variation: After students do an initial name inquiry activity, have teacher read out descriptions and origins without actually saying the name to see if students could guess who the person is (Sarah E.).

//Fall 2007// //[Archived by Shanta. Thanks!]//
 * Exploring the diversity of names; have students research their names, variations in spelling of names. (Melissa)
 * //Name’s the Same// -- have students Google their own name to see who else has the same name and to find out what this other person (these other people) are known for. Provides students with an interesting comparison. (Lisa)
 * Have students interview family members about shared recollections of their name and historical names. (Jeanne)
 * Have students research their own name and create a “coat of arms.” (Devon, Catherine)
 * Family Tree; Visual representation of where the parts of their names originated. (Laura, Catherine)
 * Create their own name for a character or their own superhero. (Hannah)
 * Research the origins of their names and pin their locations on a map of the world. Use this as a bridge to further study (perhaps history and culture of the place, etc.). (Hannah)

//Fall 2006//
 * Activity for the first day of class: Have students look up the origin and meaning of a classmate’s name, then create a poster/certificate/plaque and give it to the person. Could also work in pairs and introduce partner to class using name information.
 * Have students take our activity a step further and see when ancestors with their surname migrated to America as well as researching the culture of these immigrants and mapping their settlements.
 * Have students use name origins to track where they came from (geographically) and then explore common meanings to identify patterns in naming and language development for different language groups. Means of cultural study and developing appreciation of ethnic backgrounds.
 * Create a class map indicating the places of origin for their names.
 * Hypothesize why different cultures name people in similar or different ways—do research on various cultures and their naming practices to test hypotheses. Explore connections between current trends and the ancient world.
 * Have students focus on the culture of their own family. This would involve family interviews and drawing on one’s own experiences to produce a cultural picture of one’s own family. Students would work with teacher to create an interview sheet as well as a rubric to guide the process.
 * After researching their own names, students could research/explore what goes into making a character’s name.
 * Beginning of year mini-inquiry as way to introduce research and inquiry to students in non-threatening way. Would also serve as a bridge to prepare them for a more in-depth project or paper later on. Have them present findings orally to practice public speaking.
 * Student names and their meanings could be used as part of a “getting to know you” activity in which each student could write the meaning of his or her name on an index card to be given to the teacher. Teacher could then compile the list into a handout to share with students, a bingo card of sorts, and students would who then would then walk around the room to talk to one another and try to find the person and name associated with the meanings on the master list / bingo card.
 * Students could create a character name poem or story name poem (acrostic) using either their first or last name and drawing upon the information they found doing research.
 * After interviewing parents and researching their names, students could speculate what their findings say about their character, family, setting, environment, social class, etc. Persuasive writing about whether their name does/does not fit their character.
 * Students could devise their own coat of arms using the information they find from their inquiry efforts. Afterwards, they could construct a bio poem as well.
 * Provide a wide variety of options for students to explore their names to address any students who might be in family situations that do not allow for easy access to their ancestry or historical background.
 * Class activity could be to have students create a personalized family tree of people and the significant events in their lives. For example, students could research to see if their ancestors developed any new ideas or invented any new machines or products.
 * Build a genealogy, family-tree forest for the class. Students write their family ancestry and history on the tree trunk and tree. Students could also bring in old family photos, other family memorabilia or write findings on the branches of the trees.
 * Have students choose a region or a country related to what we are studying and ask them to research what the variations of their name might be in that region/country, what the meaning might be there, how it would be pronounced, and how common the name is there in comparison to the US.
 * Design a poster “advertising” their name using the information they find through research. To integrate geography, students could include a map of the place their name originates from.
 * Create a piece of artwork using images or designs that represent your findings. Connections to architecture (design) and students’ personalities.
 * Library research and then students make a flag featuring pictures and symbols representing the information they found about their names.
 * Students engage in a web search of their name (first or last) using pre-selected sites by the teacher. Students use finding to create a collage.

//Other Ideas//
 * Names & their importance related to works of literature: e.g., Shakespeare’s //Romeo & Juliet//, Alex Haley’s //Roots// and //Queen;// Fyodor Dostoevsky’s //Crime and Punishment// (the fact that each name in Russian has something to add to the theme of the book is helpful); //The Crucible// by Arthur Miller (the last scene is particularly moving, when John Proctor is about to be executed and the only way he can get out of it is by signing his name to lies about other people. He shouts, "But it's my name! I'll never have another!"); //The House on Mango Street// by Sandra Cisneros; //Charlie and the Chocolate Factory// by Roald Dahl; //Ruby Holler// by Sharon Creech (names which mirror the characteristics of the characters); //A Gathering of Old Men// by William Gaines (has many character-appropriate nick-names).
 * Explore the History of Names. How we came up with names. Where did surnames come from? Naming in other cultures. How does naming work in other cultures? Examples: Japan, South Africa, Native Americans, etc.
 * Connection to Gloria Naylor’s //Bailey’s Café:// African-American character who struggles with effects of his given ethnic name and the discrimination he faces because of this in the world of work.
 * Have students research the meaning behind a relative’s name that they are interested in; allows for interviewing activity
 * Students develop a creative response to their name’s meaning
 * Students research their “signed” name or make up one of their own (sign language)
 * Students create a pseudonym for themselves that they can then use in their writing
 * Develop a class book of names which incorporates each student’s name “story”
 * Research name and background as bridge for researching a particular culture and an author from that culture. Also, choose literary work by that author to read and write a review. Make a copy for every student in the class (a type of culture notebook.).
 * Cultural and historical events/shifts and their effects on name changes (i.e., how names change in some way—gender, spelling, degree of popularity, power, etc.; Do names help determine a person’s destiny? Do names match personality types?)
 * Use name inquiry to bridge to //Romeo and Juliet// and a discussion of the lineage and cultural themes of the play; other texts for juxtaposition here might include the modern film version of //Romeo and Juliet//, the musical //West Side Story//, or the story of the Hatfields and McCoys
 * Use name inquiry to bridge to a unit on autobiography: have students create a memorable events timeline, write a phase autobiography, read published autobiography (-ies); juxtapose with biography
 * Use name inquiry to bridge into look for examples of naming and “nameplay” in literature (e.g., the excerpt when Pippin & Merry meet Treebeard in Tolkien’s //The Lord of the Rings Part Two: The Two Towers//; the characters in Dicken’s //Hard Times//; etc.)