Alfi, you make a very good point - not all of my students' names were in the baby name books or databases. I waited until the students discovered this on their own, at which point we had a discussion about what to do. (I like to let my students "problem solve" these sorts of issues together through discussion; it gives them ownership over the process.) They realized that some names had variant spellings or a derivative form in the books. I used my name as an example; Alycia with a "y" wasn't in any of the books, so I demonstrated how I researched Alicia and Elisha. Other names did not have any form in the books, so these students did other forms of research. They relied more heavily on their family interviews, and often they chose to make up their own meaning of their names based on their research. This challenge cemented one of the themes of the unit: we, like our names, are unique, and we celebrate this originality. I hope this helps, Alfi, and thank you for your comment!
Alfi, you make a very good point - not all of my students' names were in the baby name books or databases. I waited until the students discovered this on their own, at which point we had a discussion about what to do. (I like to let my students "problem solve" these sorts of issues together through discussion; it gives them ownership over the process.) They realized that some names had variant spellings or a derivative form in the books. I used my name as an example; Alycia with a "y" wasn't in any of the books, so I demonstrated how I researched Alicia and Elisha. Other names did not have any form in the books, so these students did other forms of research. They relied more heavily on their family interviews, and often they chose to make up their own meaning of their names based on their research. This challenge cemented one of the themes of the unit: we, like our names, are unique, and we celebrate this originality. I hope this helps, Alfi, and thank you for your comment!
All the best - Alycia