Induction activities:

Activities for early years - 'All about me'

'Getting to know our names' week planning guide

Activities for all ages

Activities throughout the school year

Resources to help school children of all ages:

• • Investigate the world
  • Recognise perspectives
  • Communicate ideas
  • Take action
  • Investigating Names to Explore Personal History and Cultural Traditions | Read Write Think (activities for children 7+)
  • My multi-cultural self (activities for children 7+)
  • View community building class activities around names here
  • View discussion-based class activities around names here
  • View video resources to prompt discussions about the importance of names here

Books about names

Books about names

Videos of some key texts on names for younger children

Your name is a song

Reading age 4-7 years; 40 pages; Pre-School to Year 3.

Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.

Your Name is a Song includes back matter perfect for parents, educators, caregivers, and young readers who want to learn more about the names featured in the story. The Glossary of Names lists each name's meaning, origin, and pronunciation. Additionally, readers can use a listed link to access an online video of the author pronouncing all the names in the book.

Author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow shares the pronunciations of the names featured in Your Name is a Song

My Name is Elizabeth

Reading age 4-7 years; 24 pages; Pre-School to Year 2.

The two-toned illustrations reflect the story's energy and sass, and the comic-book-like format makes it easy to follow. The cheeky, retro drawings also keep it real -- depicting the sometimes-feisty Elizabeth as a resolutely normal kid -- whether she's flossing her teeth or feeding her pet duck. Meet Elizabeth. She's got an excellent pet duck, a loving granddad and a first name that's just awesome. After all, she's got a queen named after her! So she's really not amused when people insist on using nicknames like Lizzy and Beth. She bears her frustration in silence until an otherwise ordinary autumn day, when she discovers her power to change things once and for all. In the process, Elizabeth learns about communication and respect -- and their roles in building better relationships with family and friends.

My Name is Sangoel

Age 7-12 years

Sangoel is a refugee. Leaving behind his homeland of Sudan, where his father died in the war, he has little to call his own other than his name, a Dinka name handed down proudly from his father and grandfather before him.

Suggested lesson plan around My Name is Sangoel

Names/Nombres

Age 9+

Names Nombres.pdf (humbleisd.net)

Julia Alvarez’s “Names/Nombres” is a short story that reflects the personal events of the author's true life and experiences to assert the notion the one’s name is central to one’s identity. The story chronicle’s her experience adapting to life as an immigrant in America from the Dominican Republic, and how her language and name were used against her by others in order to hurt her. She tries to adapt by using nicknames and minimizing her heritage to avoid harassment. By the end of the story, Julia has learned to accept her multiple identities and to embrace her real name and her nicknames, as they all are an equal part of her identity.

Learning resources

More learning resources