Bing-Bong is an extremely simple activity that is great for learning the names of younger students or students for whom English is not a primary language. In order to play this fast-paced game, students sit in a circle and take turns speaking in pattern. The first child says "Bing." The next child says "Bong." The third child states his name. Then the fourth child starts the pattern over with the word "bing," followed by "bong" and then the sixth child states her name. This pattern continues around the circle slowly and then picks up speed as the students catch on to the pattern. Once the pattern has been established, any child who misspeaks on a turn is "out." Teachers can decide if they are out permanently or just out until the next student misspeaks and then they trade places -- like the soup-pot in Duck Duck Goose.
Better for students who have a grasp of initial consonance and assonance, creating alliterative names helps by attaching an adjective or trait to each student's name. Have each student choose a word that starts with the same letter as his name that he feel describes him -- Creative Craig, Busy Brian, Soccer Sam, etc. Older students can write and illustrate these names on a name tag, while younger students can explain the name choice to the class while the teacher writes it down.
In this game, students sit in a circle, and each thinks of an imaginary item to contribute to a picnic -- for an added challenge, the item must start with the same letter as the student's first name. The first student introduces herself with her name and the item she is bringing, "My name is Marka and I'm bringing mushrooms." The second student then introduces herself and names an item and then repeats what the student before her has said. "My name is Jamison and I'm bringing jam. Marka is bringing mushrooms." With each additional student, a new introduction is made, a new item is added and all of the previous items are recalled. If a student makes a mistake, it goes all the way back to the beginning. The goal is to go all the way around the circle without forgetting a name or an item. For older students, the destination can be changed: "I'm going on vacation, I'm going on a business trip, I'm going on a date" ... the options are endless.
So stiff and formal that it becomes funny, doing a formal introduction before every interaction is also a great way to learn students' names. Useful for learning first or last names, this simply requires that the student and teacher formally greet and thank each other before and after every comment that is made or question that is asked. For example:
Student: Good morning, Mr. Blazen. My name is Jonathan. The answer to your question is 7.
Teacher: Good morning, Jonathan. You are correct. The answer is 7. Thank you for answering, Jonathan.
Student: You're welcome, Mr. Blazen.
This can also be used when students address one another.