Building community during the beginning of the school year is so important. The Name Jar is a great choice for a back to school read aloud. Teachers can use it as a way to teach students about diversity and transitions as well as a chance to get to know their students. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
Unhei has just moved from Korea to America. On the bus ride to her first day of school, the students laugh at her name. When she gets to her new classroom and it is time for her to say her name, she claims that she doesn’t have one. She says she is still deciding on her name and will let the class know by the end of the week.
Boys and girls in her class create a name jar and fill it with suggestions for Unhei’s new name. However, none of the names feel quite right for Unhei.
At the end of the story, Unhei has to make the decision about whether or not to share her real name.
Students will learn about diversity and individuality throughout this great read.
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
- Practice asking and answering questions throughout the read aloud. This is a great way to build comprehension.
- Ask students to identify the problem and solution in the story.
- Have students write a review of the book.
- Get reluctant writer's excited about writing by creating lists of names.
- Practice using new suffixes using examples from the book.
- Explore proper nouns and compound words.
- Teach students about the importance of positive self talk.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
You won’t need anything other than this one resource to teach great lessons with this book!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold
- The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson
- My Name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits
- The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
