Click the wheel or press space to spin
Warm-up question wheel for the first three minutes
Each slice is a short prompt that gets a class started: recall yesterday, ask the person next to you a question, or name something you are still unsure about.
The first three minutes set up the rest of the lesson, and inventing a new starter every morning is the part that wears teachers down. This wheel keeps twelve short prompts that work across most subjects, so one spin gives the room something to do while you take the register. Rewriting the slices for your own subject takes a couple of minutes.
When do I use the warm-up wheel?
Spin it as the class comes in, read the prompt out, and give the room two or three minutes on it. One spin covers one lesson, and nothing needs preparing the night before.
- Put the wheel on the screen
Go fullscreen so every student can read the prompt that comes up.
- Spin and read it out
Tap the middle of the wheel. Give the class two or three minutes, alone or in pairs.
- Edit the slices for your subject
Swap the general prompts for subject ones, such as read a formula aloud or translate one sentence.
Warm-up wheel questions
Which subjects do these prompts suit?
The twelve samples are written broadly, so they work in most subjects from English to maths. For a closer fit, rewrite each slice: a language class might use say a sentence with this week's word, a history class might use name a date you remember.
Should I keep the same starter all week?
There is no need. The point of spinning is that the class cannot predict it, so students read the prompt instead of running on autopilot. Keep a prompt that works well, just do not let every lesson open the same way.
Can I save my own set of prompts?
Yes. Sign in, save the wheel under the subject name, and open it from your dashboard next time with the full set intact. The share button also gives you a link to hand to the rest of your department.