A spin wheel is one of the simplest tools a teacher can put on the board. It's fair, it's quick, and students love watching it slow down. Here are 20 ways to use one, grouped by what you're trying to do, with a free tool for each.
Before you start: set up your class wheel
Open the spin wheel and paste your class list, one name per line. The list is saved in your browser, so it's there next lesson. Tick Remove the winner after each spin when you want everyone to have a turn before anyone goes twice, and use Full screen to show the wheel on a projector or interactive whiteboard.
Picking students fairly
- Cold-calling without favorites. Spin for who answers next. Students know everyone has the same chance, so it feels fair rather than targeted.
- Everyone gets a turn. With Remove the winner turned on, each name comes off once it's picked, so the whole class has a turn before anyone repeats.
- Classroom jobs. Line leader, board cleaner, plant waterer: spin once a week and let the wheel hand out the jobs.
- Presentation order. Paste the class into the Random Name Picker and press Random order to set the whole running order at once.
- Picking a reader. Spin for who reads the next paragraph aloud, and let nervous readers choose a buddy to read with.
Groups and teams
- Random groups in seconds. Paste the class into the Random Team Generator, choose the number of groups, and show the result on the board.
- Keep certain students apart. Use the Keep apart rule for students who distract each other, and Keep together for a student who needs a particular buddy. The groups are still random.
- Team names and captains. Add team names and tick Pick a captain for ready-made structure in group work or PE.
- Printed groups. Press Print for a sheet to put on the wall or leave for a substitute teacher.
Review games and quizzes
- Question wheel. Put question numbers or topics on the wheel and spin to choose what the class answers next.
- Points wheel. Fill a wheel with point values, such as 10, 20, 50, double and lose a turn, for team review games.
- Letter challenge. Spin the Random Letter Generator and give students a minute to write as many words, animals or countries starting with that letter as they can.
- Geography practice. Spin the Random Country Generator or the Random US State Generator, then have students find it on a map, name the capital or share a fact.
- Number facts. Use the Random Number Generator to pick numbers for quick-fire times tables or number bonds.
Brain breaks and classroom routines
- Brain breaks. When energy dips, spin the Brain Break Wheel for a quick movement game or a calm-down activity.
- Reward wheel. Fill a wheel with class rewards, such as five minutes of free time, choosing the music or sitting somewhere new, and spin when the class reaches a goal.
- Tidy-up jobs. At the end of the day, spin a wheel of jobs so tidying is shared out and quick.
Writing, speaking and creative prompts
- Story starters. Make wheels of characters, settings and problems, spin each one, and have students write a story that uses all three. The Several wheels option on the spin wheel spins them together.
- Drawing prompts. The Drawing Prompt Generator gives students a subject, an action, a setting and a style to draw.
- Debates and discussions. The Debate Topic Generator and the Icebreaker Question Generator give you a fresh topic or question in one click.
Tips for using a wheel well
- Keep a pass option. Let students pass or ask a friend for help, so the wheel stays fun rather than stressful.
- Show the wheel. Spinning it on the projector makes the fairness visible to everyone.
- Start each lesson with the full list. If you used Remove the winner, paste the class list back in so everyone starts with the same chance.
- Protect privacy. Names you type are saved only in your browser and are never sent to our server.