Hi All,
Welcome back! With school starting one way or another in various parts of the country, I figured it was time again to bring back the math blog. No matter what's going on or how it's going on, I'm hoping this content will still be useful to you.
So, let's talk about names! When classes start, one of the first things both teachers and students must learn about each other are their names. A child's name is a very powerful and important thing. It's also a great springboard to learning. Kids are always interested in their own names.
"Names Add Up" is an easy activity for K-2 (though older kids like it as well) that combines counting, addition, and money, as well as vowel and consonant identification. You'll need a pile of pennies and nickels. Explain to children that for this activity vowels will be worth a nickel and consonants will be worth a penny. Have children take the coins that correspond to the letters in their first names and add them up to find the value of their names-–for example, Tim: 1 + 5 + 1 = 7 cents.
You can of course choose to use real coins, play money, or no coins at all depending on your students. Some students will also benefit from writing out the equations to show their thinking.
To extend this activity and offer more challenge consider the following:
*What is the most valuable five-letter name you can think of? The most valuable three-letter name?
*What is the value of your first and last name?
*Can you find a name that is worth exactly 25 cents? (or other target value)
*Compare name values. Who has the same value name as you?
This is a fun activity for partners or a small group to do together and a great way for students to get to know each other, starting with their names!
All the best. Stay well,
Bob
PS - You'll have to decide as a class about the letter "y" and it's value. As you know, it sometimes acts as a vowel and sometimes not.
PPS - This activity is from a book I wrote twenty (!) years ago: Fresh and Fun: Teaching with Kids' Names (Scholastic, 2000). I'll be sharing some more from this source soon as learning each other's names is such an important part of starting the school year.
Welcome back! With school starting one way or another in various parts of the country, I figured it was time again to bring back the math blog. No matter what's going on or how it's going on, I'm hoping this content will still be useful to you.
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"Names Add Up" is an easy activity for K-2 (though older kids like it as well) that combines counting, addition, and money, as well as vowel and consonant identification. You'll need a pile of pennies and nickels. Explain to children that for this activity vowels will be worth a nickel and consonants will be worth a penny. Have children take the coins that correspond to the letters in their first names and add them up to find the value of their names-–for example, Tim: 1 + 5 + 1 = 7 cents.
You can of course choose to use real coins, play money, or no coins at all depending on your students. Some students will also benefit from writing out the equations to show their thinking.
To extend this activity and offer more challenge consider the following:
*What is the most valuable five-letter name you can think of? The most valuable three-letter name?
*What is the value of your first and last name?
*Can you find a name that is worth exactly 25 cents? (or other target value)
*Compare name values. Who has the same value name as you?
This is a fun activity for partners or a small group to do together and a great way for students to get to know each other, starting with their names!
All the best. Stay well,
Bob
PS - You'll have to decide as a class about the letter "y" and it's value. As you know, it sometimes acts as a vowel and sometimes not.
PPS - This activity is from a book I wrote twenty (!) years ago: Fresh and Fun: Teaching with Kids' Names (Scholastic, 2000). I'll be sharing some more from this source soon as learning each other's names is such an important part of starting the school year.
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