Good questions do not have one right answer. This wheel holds open-ended prompts about friendship, fairness, rules and school life, made for morning meeting circles, advisory periods and any lesson where you want students to listen to one another and explain their thinking.
When to use it
Morning meeting often opens with a share. A spun question gives everyone the same topic, and the surprise keeps returning students interested in a routine they repeat every day.
Questions such as whether it is ever okay to break a rule work well for practicing accountable talk. Students agree or disagree using a sentence frame and connect their idea to what a classmate just said.
In advisory or homeroom, these prompts help a new group get to know each other in the first weeks of school without forcing anyone into personal disclosures.
Ideas
- First grade: pass a talking object around the circle after the spin, and only the student holding it speaks.
- Fourth grade: run a think, pair, share where partners discuss the question for two minutes before the whole class joins.
- Seventh grade: hold a four-corners debate with strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree posted in the corners.
Variations
- Build a unit-specific wheel for history or science, such as whether a historical decision was fair.
- Use the team generator to split the class into small circles, and give each circle its own spin.
- Switch to elimination mode if you want the wheel to stop once every question has been asked, instead of starting a new round.
Tips
- Allow students to pass. A safe circle depends on choice, and many kids join in once they hear a few classmates answer.
- Review each question before class and remove any that might be sensitive for a student going through a hard time.
- Post agreements such as one voice at a time and disagree with ideas, not people, right next to the wheel.
Make it yours
Change any entry, weight or color above, or open a copy of this wheel to edit and share as your own. This page always keeps its original entries.