Reading Partners Wheel

The reading partners wheel pairs students at random, which matters because left alone, children read with the same partner every week for an entire year.

Replace the sample names with your register, then spin twice to make a pair. Turn on "Remove winner after spin" and the whole class pairs off in a couple of minutes with nobody left doing the awkward maths at the end.

Self-selected reading partners settle within about two weeks and never move again. The consequences are quiet but real: confident readers pair with confident readers, the children who need the practice most get the least varied practice, and one or two are always waiting to be picked.

A draw fixes all of that at once, and it fixes the last one especially. Nobody is chosen last by a wheel.

If a particular pairing is a bad idea — and you will know which ones — spin again. The tool is there to remove the routine, not your judgement about the room. Some teachers draw once a week and keep the pair for the week so the partnership has time to work.