These games help both the student and teacher learn names quickly. The teacher starts by saying ''My name is ...'' and throwing a ball or screwed up piece of paper to a student. The student then says his name and so on until all students have been named. Next, student A throws the ball to student B while saying student B's name and continuing until the class seem to know all names reasonably well. Clapping can help make name games go faster and be more fun. Everyone claps in a set pattern such as two claps on the legs and two hands together. Students sit in a circle and say the name of the person to their left. If they don't say the name in time, the penalty is to stand up until the next round.
In these games, each student adds a bit of information alongside her name. Students can add an animal, an action, an adjective or something they like to their name. Students should choose words that start with the same letter as their name; thus helping the rest of the class to remember the name. For example, ''My name is Maria and I like marmalade,'' or ''messy Maria,'' for the Adjective Name Game. When students add an action, they should also perform the action. For example, "Jumping Joy" should jump while saying her name.
In these games, the aim is to memorize their classmates' names. In a simple version, one student introduces herself and the person to her left. The next student introduces himself and the other two students and so on until the last student has to introduce the whole class. In other versions, students introduce their classmates and add some information about that person, for example, "This is Maria and she likes to paint,'' and so on.
Some games enable students to find out about each other, as well as learn names. In "Find Someone Who," each student has a sheet with a list of "Find someone who..." and a special characteristic. The characteristics will depend on the level of the class. For example, "has blue eyes" or "has met a famous person." Students find people who match the characteristics and then write their names on the paper. At the end, the teacher elicits what the class has found out. Students can also get to know each other by role-playing. For another game, give students a sticky label with the name of someone else in the class. Students then need to ask other class members what they know about that person and later present the person whose name is on their label.