....and yes, my red frames do not match in this blog post...it is slightly killing me, but I am going to leave them. Remember perfect passed away in the fall.
You basically make a wheel with different graphics and question prompts. Technically, you don't have to include the graphics, but it is uber-boring without them. Then, you pair-up students. Give them a jumbo paper clip and paper spinner; they use their own pen or pencil to hold the end of the jumbo paper clip in place (see photo above). And voila, they spin away, discussing each prompt they land on with a partner. I always tell students it is OK to discuss the same prompt multiple times. That is the universe telling them they need more practice. Ha!
Here's what a spin looks like. Notice the "flick" of the fingers to make the paper clip spin. The pen or pencil holds the tail end of the paper clip in place - smack dab in the middle of the spinner. Big thank you to my college student models for agreeing to this photo.
I'm trying not to make a video of me (or them) spinning. You'll just have to try it yourself to see it really works and students, of all ages, love it. It really is engaging.
Of course, my class is creating a spinner related to reading. What will your spinner be related to? A get-to-know-you spinner? A math-related spinner? A pre-assessment of a new topic spinner? A geography spinner?
If you want to use my spinner template, click here and modify any part of the document you like.
Best,
Jen
