ABSTRACT
Names evidently play a small but significant part in children’s early literacy experiences. Teachers who are ready to pay attention to this fact will be able to build upon the expertise that children reveal when using them. Names play a significant and natural part in the child’s early exploration of language and literacy within the home and local environment. Names are highly meaningful to all of us throughout our lives. This is especially true for children who are in the process of ‘naming the world’ when they come to school. The ultimate goal in literacy must be independence; perhaps names go some way towards enabling children to achieve the necessary control and ultimately, empowerment. Teaching children to write their name has been a universal focus in the first weeks of any new reception class. After all, to be able to write one’s own name has historically been viewed as the ‘mark of literacy’.
