Name: Maura Murphy and Madison Cosby

Title: Exploring the Importance of Names

Grade: 1st
Concept/Topic: Culture
Time Needed: 45 minutes

Backward Design Approach: Where are you going with your students?
Identify Desired Results/Learning Outcome/Essential Question:
Our essential question is, Why are names so important? Our goal of this lesson is for students
to identify two reasons that names are important. From this lesson, students should be able to
explain that names are not just what you call someone, but have meaning and are a part of a
persons identity.

Ensuring Lesson supports district and state goals

NCSCOS Standards:
1.C.1: Understand the diversity of people in the local community
1.C.1.1: Compare the languages, traditions, and holidays of various cultures
1.C.1.2: Use literature to help people understand diverse cultures
Reading Standards:
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts
with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking
one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
b. Build on others talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through
multiple exchanges.
c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.

Assessment Plan:
Have the students fill in the blank: Names are important because ________and__________
with 2 reasons. Through this we will be able to see if they can explain how names are connected
to culture and identity.

Meeting the student where they are:

Prior Knowledge/Connections:
Students in our class have been talking about how everyone is unique and how different cultures
have unique traditions and practices. Those lessons connect with the book The Name Jar because
students will be able to see how different cultures use different names. For example, the main
characters name is Unhei, which means Grace in English. Through reading this story, students
will be able to see that names are another important aspect of culture and that they make people
unique. Even if they know how to pronounce the names of their classmates, it is important that
they realize that they should respect how other people say their names and work to pronounce
them correctly.

Lesson Introduction/Hook:
Start the lesson by having a teacher say that they are thinking of changing their name. Another
teacher will have a jar full of names they will suggest as new names. Each time, the person who
is thinking of changing their name will say no, until the other writes down a new name, their
actual name. When the other teacher reads the actual name of the person who wants to change
their name, they will look up at the class to ask if they should keep their name. Talk about what
that name means and why it is important.

Heart of the Lesson/Learning Plans

Differentiation/Same-ation:
The lesson begins with a read-aloud, so all students will be engaged with the text and will answer
questions, either as a group or in pairs. No student needs any previous understanding of a topic to
understand the message of the story. Students will also get the chance to think about what their
own name means and why it is important to them.

Lesson Development:
1. After completing the engage activity, have a read-aloud of The Name Jar. Plan specific talking
points to stop at and make sure that students know that their job as listeners is to put themselves
in the main characters shoes.
2. After the read-aloud, explain that just like Unhei was able to share the meaning behind her
name with the class, that the students will be doing a similar thing in the activity.
3. Explain to students that they will receive a piece of paper with their name written on it, and
they will get to decorate the space around it with pictures or words that tell what their name
means to them. This could be something their family has told them, something that they really
like about their name, or the literal meaning behind their name.
4. Once students have decorated their name, one at a time have students say their name, and have
the class say it back to them. Then, they will share and explain their picture with the class. Do
this until each person in the class has shared.
5. Give students a slip of paper with the phrase, names are important because __________ and
__________ that they will fill out and glue into their notebook.

Specific Questioning:
Engage Questions:
 1. Why do you want to change your name? (to the teacher)
2. Do you think she/he should change her/his name? (to the class)
3. Does your name have a special meaning to you or your family? (to the teacher)
Read-Aloud Questions:
1. What is your goal as a listener?
2. Can you pronounce Unhei?
3. How would you feel if someone was picking on you?
4. Why does Unhei think that it is a bad thing to be different?
5. How would you feel if your name was finally pronounced correctly?
6. How was Joey being a good friend in this story? (How did he listen to understand his
friend?)
7. Who are the characters of this story?
8. What is the setting of the story?
Conclusion Questions:
1. Why is it important to pronounce people's names correctly?
2. What is one thing that you should do when you meet a new person?

New Vocabulary:
1. Culture: the values, traditions, worldview, and relationships created, shared, and transformed
by a group of people bound together by a common history, geographic location, language, social
class, religion, or other shared identity. (Sonia Nietos Culture and Education, 2008)

2. Identity: largely concerned with the question who are you?, can be indirectly acquired from
parents, peers, and other role models (Shahram Heshmat, The Basics of Identity, 2014, retrieved
from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-choice/201412/basics-identity)

Concluding the Lesson/Closure/Debriefing:

Talk about how important it is to make sure to be respectful of peoples culture, including names.
Make sure students can explain why it is important to pronounce peoples names correctly.
Students should say things like it is important because names mean something to people.

Materials/Resources:
The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi
Paper with students names on them
A jar
Slips of paper with names on them
Markers or crayons

Teaching Behavior Focus:

The teaching behavior focus is classroom management is positive and appropriate.
Follow-Up Activities/Parent Involvement
Students have to ask one person means and ask questions that will help them understand the
importance of that name to the person.