Discover the origins of names and naming ceremonies. Express individuality with each name discovery as you create a unique nameplate.

• 1.

  Research the origin and meaning of your name to see if it began with a specific culture or has a meaning. Check out your friends’ and families’ names, too. If you have a unique name, ask your family about its origins, invent your own meaning that describes your personality, or combine the meanings of similar names from cultures that are part of your heritage.

• 2.

  Learn about naming ceremonies in different cultures. In the Balinese Hindu-Buddhist tradition, children are formally named at their first birthday. When are children named in other cultures and faith traditions? Why are these times chosen? After you know about the origins of your name, create a bright nameplate.

• 3.

  Fold double-sided Crayola Neon Color Explosion® Paper in half, either horizontally or vertically to start your name tent. With Neon Color Explosion Markers, write your name in big, bold shapes and colors. Be sure to leave room for fun cutouts and pictures.

• 4.

  Think about a shape that expresses your name’s personality. Is it a smooth swirl or an angled rectangle? Draw several simple shapes down from the fold, such as an animal tail or a pointed triangle. Make sure the shapes are enclosed.

• 5.

  Unfold your name tent and cut out only the shape that is in the front, making sure not to cut along the fold. Fold your shape up so it sticks out from the fold. Continue decorating your name tent with more cutouts. Draw images and designs that represent your name.

• 6.

  Open up your tent and draw on the inside. See how the designs are revealed through the cutout shapes.

• 7.

  With classmates, create a naming ceremony for yourselves. Present your name tents to each other.

Standards

• LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• LA: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade level topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
• LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
• SS: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns.
• SS: Describe the unique features of one's nuclear and extended families.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.
• VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resource includes: The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
• Working in small groups, students to investigate naming ceremonies from Africa, North America, and Europe. Students organize their research into a ceremony presentation which includes simple costumes and props created out of recycled materials.
• In small groups, students present their name findings to classmates. This can be done orally or as an electronic format.
• Students learn about native North American cultures and their naming rituals. Students analyze their names and select descriptive animal names for themselves (such as "running Bear").