Elementary music teachers have the unique opportunity to teach and touch the lives of nearly every child who attends their school. This creates a special challenge: learning students' names.
Name games are a great way to welcome and engage students at the first of a school year, while at the same time, provide opportunities to connect faces and names and assess in-tune singing.
Here's a fun name game for younger students that's worked well for me. I'm posting this as a FREEBIE on TPT for my followers and blog visitors in hopes you will find it a useful and joyful way to build rapport during the first quarter of the school year.
This 7-page packet in PDF format includes two singing games, detailed lesson guides, and printable/projectable graphics to enhance the lessons. I have used my Note-able Font and Colorful Music Clip Art to create this and demonstrate these products in action. Enjoy : )
Another very useful technique for getting to know students' names is to create seating charts for each class.
Yes, this takes time, but it's so worthwhile to see a child's face light up when you call him/her by name! (And after calling a student by his/her correct name a few times, I find I can remember it). Here is a unique elementary music seating chart/roll template I developed in an effort to keep everything on one page - seat boxes for names with record keeping boxes attached to each 'seat.' The chart is laid out as the teacher sees the room from the front, and it groups students for quick teaming and collaborative work. I always keep an aisle down the center of the rows to facilitate proximity/behavior management and easy movement. Even though elementary classes involve a lot of movement and activity, having assigned spots makes classroom management much easier. Students know where to go as they enter the room, and I'm able to quickly record attendance, pass-offs, behavior issues, etc.
You can print the sheet I'm posting here (just click on it to save and print), or you can find an editable template in Word format here: All-in-One Seating, Roll and Record Chart - Editable Template
What do you think of this? Would it work for you? Have you developed a seating/record keeping system you'd like to share? If so please describe it in a comment box.
