Topic wheel

40 topics

About this wheel

Spin the wheel to get one of 40 topics for a short speech, a debate, a journal entry or a class conversation. The topics sit in four groups of ten: Speak for a minute, Debate, Write about and Class conversation. Choose Everyone once and no topic comes up twice until all of them have been used.

Use it as a random topic generator for a Monday speech round, a debate club warm-up or a daily journal prompt. Spin once and the whole class writes about the same topic, or let each student spin for a topic before a one-minute talk. Pairs can spin, then take turns, one speaking and one listening, with a timer set to 60 seconds.

To match the lesson, delete the groups you do not need from the list box; the wheel redraws as you type. Press Fullscreen to show the wheel on the board, and use the Space bar to spin.

All 40 topics

Speak for a minute

  1. My favorite place to visit
  2. A hobby I enjoy
  3. A skill I would like to learn
  4. A book or story I love
  5. My perfect weekend
  6. A person who helps me
  7. Something I am proud of
  8. A game I could teach in a minute
  9. An animal I find interesting
  10. A trip I would like to take

Debate

  1. Should school start later
  2. Should students wear uniforms
  3. Is homework helpful
  4. Should recess be longer
  5. Should every class have a pet
  6. Is summer better than winter
  7. Should lunch break be longer
  8. Is reading better than watching a show
  9. Should students choose their seats
  10. Should there be a four-day school week

Write about

  1. A day when everything went right
  2. Something I would like to invent
  3. A lesson I learned from a mistake
  4. A favorite memory with a friend
  5. A place I would like to design
  6. What kindness looks like
  7. A day as a teacher
  8. Something that made me laugh
  9. Where I would like to live
  10. A tradition in my family

Class conversation

  1. What makes a good friend
  2. How can we help our community
  3. What makes a good team
  4. How do we solve a disagreement
  5. What would make our class better
  6. Why do people need rules
  7. What does being brave mean
  8. How can we take care of the planet
  9. What makes a place feel welcoming
  10. How do we learn best

Questions

How do I give every student a different topic?

Choose Everyone once under the list. A class of 28 can spin 28 times and no topic repeats, because the list holds 40 topics.

Can I use only the debate topics?

Yes. Delete the other 30 lines from the list box and the wheel keeps the 10 debate topics. Press Save to My Wheels to keep that copy in this browser.

Can I add my own topics?

Yes. Type one topic per line in the list box, for example a unit title like "The water cycle". The wheel updates as you type.

How long should each talk be?

The Speak for a minute topics suit a 60-second talk. Write about topics work well as a 10-minute journal entry, and a Class conversation topic can fill a 5-minute circle time.