Easy Name Games and Name Activities

Looking for some simple and fun name games and name activities for the classroom that are cheap and easy to prep? The real question is what Kindergarten teacher doesn’t?! Check out these simple and fun name games your little learners will love! We love to teach students to learn their own names but also to learn the names of others in their class.

Who Are You? Name Game

This name game is super simple. Take a sentence strip and write each student’s name on their own strip. If their names are short enough, you can cut the sentence strip. Next, add their picture to the end of the name.

Now, make a pocket that holds the sentence strip. I take a piece of construction paper and size it around the sentence strip so the sentence strip can easily slide in and out. Construction paper is thicker so it hides the name and picture inside the pocket better. If you need to use copy paper, I suggest using darker paper.

To play, slip MANY sentence strips inside the pocket. I sing a little jingle similar to the Masked Singer Theme song just to be silly. Then I pull out the sentence strip ONE letter at a time. The rest of the class calls out each letter as I pull it out. They start guessing whose name it is. Then, at the end of the name, we reveal the picture of the student.

Plate Name Game

I have no clue where this game originated from. I know it was not my creation and I have no clue who started it. But, this game is fun. We start playing this plate name game one day or two of the school year.

To prep, take cheap paper plates. Add one student’s name to each plate. Super simple. Next, write down the words so you have them in front of you.

If your name is on a plate, pick it up. (clap, clap)
If your name is on a plate, pick it up. (clap, clap)
If your name is on a plate, then you’re really doing great.
If your name is on a plate, pick it up. (clap, clap)

The teacher lays out one plate between the first and second lines. Students look for the name. If it is their name, they grab the plate. At the end of the song, they return the plate to me. Next, I ask the student a simple “get to know you” question like what is their favorite color, do they have any pets, or other things.

We can usually get through around 5 names before our attention spam goes. But we continue the game later with the remaining names we have not gotten to yet. You can check out this list of Back to School Books to buffer time and attention here.

Torn Paper Name Building Activity

This one is a huge hit and it is so simple. Start but cutting construction paper into strips. It works best if you cut them LONG ways and not short. Next, take a white crayon and write the student’s name on the paper. Each strip gets one name.

This next step is the fun part. Take thin strips of construction paper in bright colors like yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and green. I use a paper cutter to cut this part. Now, students rip the bright paper into small pieces. This is great OT work for little hands. Next, students add glue to their names. I suggest doing one letter at a time. It is fun to add one color to each letter.

Building Names Activities

Hands-on name practice is always a win. Check out these hands-on letter-building pieces from Learning Resources. We take time to build our names with these pieces. Some names can be formed quickly but others are longer. If students finish their own names, they can work on making the alphabet.