Back-to-School Activity: Name Tag Grab

Posted: August 7, 2018

Starting a new school year can be anxiety-inducing for a number of reasons, especially for students entering a brand new school where they don’t know each other. Our activity “Name Tag Grab” will give students an opportunity to learn the names of their fellow classmates.

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NAME TAG GRAB

Purpose: Students play a game in which they identify themselves and learn their classmates’ names.

Materials Required: Adhesive name tags, pens or pencils for each student.

Gather the class into a circle and provide each student with an adhesive name tag. Instruct students to write his or her name on the name tag and not to remove the backing. Once they are finished, collect all of the name tags, mix them up, and redistribute them so each student in the group has someone else’s name tag (students should not have their name tags or the name tag of the student standing to his/her right).

Tell students not reveal to anyone whose name tag they are holding. Then, have students place the name tag on the back of the classmate standing to their right. On the “go” signal, everyone must move among the group and try to locate their own names while at the same time trying to avoid having someone find his or her own name on their backs.

Once a student finds his or her own name tag, he or she should grab it off the back of the person who had it and place it on his or her own chest. Each student stays in the game until he or she finds his or her own name tag and the classmate whose name tag was on their back finds his or her own name.

Once everyone has their correct name tags, have each student introduce himself or herself by saying his or her name and sharing one personal fact.