Using Name Generators for Arts Integration: Winter Edition

I love using name generators in the Art room! They are so much fun and students love to figure out their names and the names of their friends and family through arts integration with names.

So what are name generators? Use your initials, month/day of birth, lucky number, or any other category, to create a unique and random alter ego from a list of related words.

In this article, you will find an example of a Snowperson Name Generator, an outline of how to create name generators with your class, and how to use them to integrate art, ELA, and even Social Studies.

How to Create a Name Generator With Your Class

• Select and Think about a Topic or Subject:
  • Example: Snowpeople. What are some qualities of the snowmen or women that we create in the wintertime? What are some words that are associated with winter in general?
• Observe the Topic or Subject:
  • Look at related images. Visually investigate the qualities of the subject or related images.
  • Example: Look at photographs of snow people, snow sculptures, snow storms, etc.
• Create a word list:
  • Pull out the thesauruses, use the internet, or your imagination.
  • Example: Icy, blizzard, round bottom, whiteout, cold, sparkle, snowflakes, carrot nose, toboggan, mittens, etc.
• Divide words into first and last names:
  • Help: Wikipedia list of family name affixes HERE
  • Example: Icicle, Blizzard, Von-Round-Bottom, McSparkle, Snowflakenstein, Frosty-Bum, MacMittens, O’Carrot-Nose
• Create:
  • Make a table depending on your categories. This is best done by the teacher.
  • Example: If you use first initials, then you will need 26 First Name Words. If you use a month of birth, then you will need 12 Last Names.
• Generate your Snowperson Name:
  • Find out your snowperson name.
  • Example: Create an illustration based on the name and create a poem or story about your new character. Do they interact with another character from the class? Where do they go? What do they do? What happens in the beginning, middle, and end?

What is Your Snowperson Name?

How to Use Name Generators: Content Area for Arts Integration with Names

Visual Art:

• Create an illustration or illustrations of your generated character for a story, poem, comic, or infographic.
  • Focus on visual texture, value, and details
  • Focus on figure drawing and facial proportions

ELA:

• Focus on vocabulary, synonyms, adjectives, and related words.
  • Use resources like thesauruses, the internet, and reading the material.
• Focus on literary genres
  • Folklore: Create a fable, fairy tale, legend, or myth.
  • Science Fiction, Narrative, or Poetry

ELA/Social Studies:

• Historical Nonfiction/Fiction/Biography: Create a generator using hybrids of historical figures and events. Have students create a comic using historically accurate information, both about the people selected and the event.
  • Example: George Washington and Joan of Arc travel along the Silk Road of Ancient China.
• Ancient Civilizations
  • Egypt, Greek, or Roman: Create a generator using the names of gods and goddesses. Write a story that uses their characteristics, abilities, attributes, and background.

Helpful IAS Resource Links:

• How to Catch a Shark-Getting Your Students to Use Descriptive and Specific Language 
• Art-Based Strategies for Writing 
• Student Art Inspires Writing
• Look, Think, Write! 
• Teaching Nonfiction Content Through the Art of the Story