Name game for the first day of class: Student 1 says their first name, class-year/major if relevant, one fun fact or summer activity or piece of trivia relevant to the class. Student 2 says the first name of Student 1, then the first name of Student 2, plus their other info. Student 3 says first name of Student 1, Student 2, then Student 3, followed by info. The student who goes last has the most difficult challenge, but I announce that students can write down others' names. And at the very end, I go, usually after making a joke about moving on and then chastising the students for not calling me out on not saying their names. If I'm rehearsing silently as the students repeat each others' names (like Michelle describes) then I can usually get all the names memorized by the time the students finish. And if I mess up, then I'm modeling vulnerability and making an even stronger connection with one or more students' by making eye contact and saying their names three times. I don't always remember every name by the second class, but if we do one more quick round then (just names, no fun facts), I have the names locked up for the whole semester. With up to 30 students the whole process takes around 15-20 minutes. Time well spent!
Name game for the first day of class: Student 1 says their first name, class-year/major if relevant, one fun fact or summer activity or piece of trivia relevant to the class. Student 2 says the first name of Student 1, then the first name of Student 2, plus their other info. Student 3 says first name of Student 1, Student 2, then Student 3, followed by info. The student who goes last has the most difficult challenge, but I announce that students can write down others' names. And at the very end, I go, usually after making a joke about moving on and then chastising the students for not calling me out on not saying their names. If I'm rehearsing silently as the students repeat each others' names (like Michelle describes) then I can usually get all the names memorized by the time the students finish. And if I mess up, then I'm modeling vulnerability and making an even stronger connection with one or more students' by making eye contact and saying their names three times. I don't always remember every name by the second class, but if we do one more quick round then (just names, no fun facts), I have the names locked up for the whole semester. With up to 30 students the whole process takes around 15-20 minutes. Time well spent!