Looking for a back to school art project? This free name art activity is perfect for the first weeks of school. The finished name art projects can be used as part of a team building activity and to decorate year long bulletin boards. Read on for instructions, pictures, and links to the free editable name pages.
This free name art project is perfect for back to school! It aligns with two excellent mentor texts, is low prep, you can use it as a team building activity, and it’s easy for the kids. As an added bonus, you can use the completed projects to create a variety of year long bulletin boards! This activity is always included in my first week plans and has been classroom tested with success in 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms.
What do I need to prepare the name art activity?
To prep this name art activity, you’ll need:
- A copy of The Name Jar or The Big Orange Splot (affiliate links)
- 1 name strip for every student (you’ll get click and edit nametags with the name art freebie)
- Art supplies (crayons, colored pencils, markers)
You might want to prepare a model of your own name beforehand, or you can use the pictures of mine in this post.
Name Art Step 1
First, introduce the name art project with a book. These are my faves. The Name Jar is a great mentor text to talk about the meaning & importance of names, but it is a bit longer and sometimes takes 2 days to do full it full justice. (affiliate link)
If you’re looking for something shorter, The Big Orange Splot is my personal fave to talk about individuality, favorite things, & hopes and dreams. (affiliate link)
If you don’t have time for a mentor text, just tell students you want to get to know them better, not only as learners, but as people too. Plus you’d like something special for every student to show off on your walls and/or bulletin boards.
Name Art Step 2
Brainstorm lists together of possible favorites and/or things that make students unique. Favorite colors, foods, subjects, numbers, sports, places, activities, secret talents, family, and fun facts are all possible ideas for decorating letters. With lists of ideas on the board no one will be stuck with nothing to draw. Plus, you might just get that breather you’d been hoping for.
Name Art Step 3
Next, show students an example. My first draft (before color) includes fall and spring themes in the K, art items in the A, technology tools in the T, Halloween characters in the I, and a travel theme in & around the E. You’ll also find books, palm trees, my minpin Lily, pottery, music, running, and teacher themed drawings in the background. Just because you have a short name doesn’t mean you need to leave out details in your drawings!
Name Art Step 4
Give each student their bubble letter name (printed on cardstock if you’re planning to laminate and use all year). Now the kids should decorate each letter with a design, color or illustration that communicates something special about them.
That’s it! Name art project complete!
What’s in the name art freebie?
The free name art pages are in an editable PowerPoint document. The PowerPoint includes 1 page of instructions and 6 pages of editable names. (See the included pages above.) The student name pages are organized by the number of letters per name. These range from 3-8 letters, so you can easily customize the names for all students in your classroom. The font is embedded so you won’t have to go font hunting and/or changing. You’ll just need to type your student names on the slides given, copy and paste slides as needed, and print. If you want to change the font to your favorite bubble letter font, you can do that as well. Everything is customizable and easy to change.
Where can I get the free name art templates?
If you’re thinking this name art activity might work well in your classroom, head over to the original post at my blog HERE. At the bottom of the post, click on the pink button & enter your email. An automatic download link to the EDITABLE name art pages will appear in your inbox within minutes. Then, you’ll be able to get name art creating, and bulletin board making, in no time at all.
At the original post you will also find 3 ideas for using the finished name art projects in your own classroom, like the Big Orange Splot back to school bulletin board above. I hope you can use them!
Have a fab day Super Teacher,
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This post was originally published at the I Want to be a Super Teacher blog. You can find it HERE.
Click HERE to see all the details.
Amy says
I love the name art!