Name Plates

I use plain white heavy card stock. I write their names in black marker and place them on desks. When they arrive for the first day of school they have crayons on their desks and they can begin to decorate their name plate. It keeps kids busy while I greet parents and students. It also teaches me something about the kids (which ones don't like to color or prefer things with the stark black and white) I laminate them at lunch time. These usually last the entire year.

I had a former colleague who used 'placemats' for each child. They contained:

a photo of the child
child's name
alphabet written correctly
high frequency words/freqently mispelled words
numbers 1-10
base 10 number facts and so on.
Each 'side' of the placemat had either a literacy or numeracy focus -i.e. one side was for literacy, the other was for numeracy.

I use sentence strips for my nametags. I write the students names on them and the students decorate them according to the season, The students like having a hand in the decorating of their nameplates and it saves me some work and $. We replace them every six weeks. I attach them with velcro dots and have never had a problem with them slipping.

I've done tried two things: I've laminated their nameplates, then taped down the edges with clear tape. Unfortunately, the little kiddos like to pick at the tape. Then I just have to pick the old tape off and retape it. At least I don't have to do a new nameplate that way. I've also used wide book tape to stick the nameplate to the tables. It's less likely to peel up.

I print them out on the computer with their first name and student number. I randomly print out four on a green sheet, four on a blue sheet, etc. If you're hand-writing them onto blanks, you could use different colored markers. The reason? When you need a totally new way to group kids or call them up a few at a time (for example, to get supplies), calling by colors versus numbers is quicker.

Also, when posting the names, I tape them in the corner of the desktop, upside down to the student. The student knows who he/she is; the names are there for visitors, guest teachers, people handing things out who will have an easier time reading the names that way, since they'll be facing the desk from the front.

Last year I was given a sample of Post-It sentence strips. I used them to create name tags for the first weeks of school. I work in a very transient district, and I always have no shows and add-ons during the first week or two. By using the Post-It sentence strips, I could easily change name tags without all the sticky mess from the tape. It also worked great for students who went by a name other than what was on the roster. After the first two weeks of school I was able to place the permanent name tags (first name, last initial, number, in cursive) and not have to worry about too many more changes.

[Last year] I bought sticker dots. They were six color dots with the word written on them. I put them in the corner of their desk. Equal numbers of greens, blues, yellows, reds, oranges, and purples. I used the dots to call them for things. What I found out was that the same kids were grouped together all the time.

This year I am going to put a few stickers on the corners of their tags. Examples: the dots for color groups, different animals, hearts, flowers, smiley faces...etc.

This way I can say, "If you have a red smiley face on your desk, please line up!" Or "Everyone with a dog sticker on their desk meet at the cubbies.."

Last year, I taught fourth grade and cursive was not important to the previous teacher that I replaced. I printed the kids first names and last initial on their name tag. I secured the tags with packaging tape to the front of the desk with the hope that the kids would not pry it off or destroy the tag by erasing their name (only kids will figure out how to erase sharpie permanent marker!) My idea did not work. Some destroyed their name tags the first day!

I have also attached magnets to the back of the name tag so they could stick on any of the magnetic parts of the desk. I really liked that until the name tags started disappearing. After that, I gave up. I figured the kids could figure out where they sat, and they did! Each time I rearranged, I just put a sticky note with their name on the desk. If I had a sub, I made a seating chart for them.

A co-worker last year gave me a great idea though that I'm going to use this year. She bought shower board and cut it to a size slightly larger than a name tag. She then taped the name tag to the shower board and had portable desk tags! This made the tags much more durable and they could be easily moved around the room.

I laminate name tags that I make with my graphics program. I use the 1/4 fold card and they're finished lickity-split. I make them seasonal, sometimes only four per year, sometimes more often. Then I glue them to the desk top with rubber cement. When you peel off the nametag, the rubber cement rubs right off the desk. I love it! You just can't do it while the kids are in the room - it stinks like crazy.

I got this idea from my daughter's K teacher. She paints paintsticks and then writes students names on them. Keeps them on desk area with velcro-easy to move, no residue, wonderful idea. I am going to use this.

I place magnet strips on the back of my name plates and put them on the front of the desks. They are easy to remove. If I have the children's desks arranged in tables I place the name plate on the side of their desk.

Someone on proteacher last year made me have the lightbulb moment that I didn't need name plates at all (I have desks). I never even thought of it b/c every teacher in my school and all schools I've every visited use them.

I ended up buying those sturdy kind, writing the kid's names on them, and not taking off the sticky paper. They just kept them in their desks and got them out when they needed them. LOVE IT! Now my desks are always clean- so much easier to wipe down, and the table groups feel more like tables.

If I had tables, I would store laminated number grids, alphabet strips, and laminated name plates in the center in their tubs. When I was going to teach K last year, that was my plan anyways.

Adhere a vinyl name badge holder to the table. These are cheap at Wal-Mart. You could use print-your-own business card paper for the inserts.

I write their names on their actual desktop with Sharpie marker. This way they are not always picking at it, I don't have to use clear tape, and I don't have to keep buying new tags when new kids show up. I can even code their names--all the kids on the Purple Team have their names written in purple and so on...

It comes off with nail polish remover. You might want to test this on your particular desks before going all out... =)

I have alphabet--written correctly, number line, shapes, colors, days of the week, months of the year--some even have coins.

I attach mine with velcro dots after I laminate the desk plates. That has been a wonderful addition--I am not constantly replacing them to the kids "picking" at the clear contact paper.

I use velcro strips that I got at Staples. They come in a long continuous roll. I put the fuzzy side on the back of the desk top name plate. One strip (1 1/2" long) on each side of the name plate. The "loop side" stays on the desk. I have left my loop side on the desk for three years now. It has a very strong adhesive. If I want to remove it, I use needlenose pliers. I take off the velcro strips from the back of student name plates to reuse the next year. The adhesive does not leave a residue:). I laminate the desktop helpers first, of course, then write the child's name in black sharpie marker. I can scribble over it with a black white board marker, scrub with a paper towel and it's clean to write a new student's name.:DThe children can lift up their desktop helper to bring it closer to them to use the number line, spell color words, etc. They love being able to do that. It is a snap to move children around, remove name tags for testing, or change names when students move/arrive. It is important that all of the desktop helpers have the strips in the same place.

When I taught with tables, my team-teaching partner and I bought those Rubbermaid-style dishpans at the dollar store for each student. They put their folders/books/supplies in them and kept them under their chairs. We put the name tags on the tubs instead of on the table. Then, when we moved the students, we just had to move their tubs. We had around 48 students, and it only took a couple of minutes to rearrange them.

A teacher next door to me made a large colored hexagon to put in the middle of each table. She used velcro and attached the names on the sides of the hexagon. This was out of the way of the kids fingers and they could be moved when she changed tables. I might try it this year. I also have kept my kids laminated name plates in the tote in the center of the table and they could use them when needed.