10 fun lesson ideas with fidget spinners
Lucie Renard —
Fidget spinners. Urgh. Again another post about fidgets spinners. You’re right. The new trend is a bit overwhelming and it gets boring to always read the same things.
This post doesn’t discuss whether fidget spinners should be banned in schools or not. This post shows you the possibilities of fidget spinners as a learning material.
As Pokémon Go encouraged children to go walking and bicycling again, fidget spinners try to increase a student’s level of attention. Some teachers hate it, some love it. But that’s not the point. Pokémon Go built the bridge to augmented reality in the classrooms, Fidgets spinners will do the same with toys.
It might seem crazy, but it’s best to try it out yourself. Here are some fun classroom activities you can do with fidget spinners.
Fun classroom activities with fidget spinners
1. Teaching math with fidget spinners
Multiplication tables
Draw a circle on a paper and divide it into 10 (pizza) parts. In those different parts you write random numbers from one to ten. Place a little dot or arrow on one end of the fidget spinner. Best is to do this exercise in groups of two. Now, students have to put the fidget spinner in the middle of the circle on their paper and give it a spin. Another student shouts out a number from one to ten. When the spinner stops spinning, students have to multiply the number of the first student with the number on their paper, chosen by the fidget spinner.
Additions and subtractions
This exercise kind of works the same as the one above, but students can do this individually. Draw a circle, divide it into parts, and write down different numbers. Make sure to use small numbers for easy exercises and big numbers for more complicated exercises. Students give the fidget spinner a spin. When it stops spinning, students have to add or subtract the three chosen numbers (by every end of the fidget spinner) with each other. Let them write down their calculations on paper.
Arithmetic
To encourage students to make quick calculations without a calculator you could give them a challenge. “How many calculations can you make in the time of one spin?” Let your students spinn the wheel and solve as many calculations on their worksheet as they can. Then ask them “How many spinns did you need to finish the complete exercise?”. Off course, you can’t just focus on time. The calculations have to be correct too.
Stats and graphs
Teach your students to draw and analyze graphs. Let them spin their fidget spinner 10 times. Each time they have to write down how long the spinner kept spinning and if they had made a human mistake or not. Afterwards, they have to make a graph out of it. This way it’s more visual and clear. Now ask them if they can link the human mistakes to the time of their spins.
2. Teaching languages with fidgets spinners
Speaking
Let your students pair up. Each group has a fidget spinner. One student gives the spinner a spin and the other has to introduce himself or talk about a certain topic for as long as it keeps spinning.
Vocabulary
Just like with math exercises, you can make a circle with new words in it. Let your students spin the spinner on the card. Let them explain the word, translate it, give a synonym, use it in a sentence, etc.
Reading
To define a students reading level they often have to read a list of words as fast a possible. Let your students practice for that test with a fidget spinner. How many words can they read in one spinn?
3. Teaching physical exercises with fidget spinners
Work out
Let your students do one exercise during the complete time the fidget spinner is spinning. Then, go on to the next one. Let your students choose the exercise and spin the spinner one by one. Some exercises will be brief, others not.
Balance estafette
Divide your students into 4 or 5 groups. Each of them gets one fidget spinner. The first student of each group puts the fidget spinner on its forehead while spinning and tries to reach another student without losing it. Which group is the fastest?
Fidget yoga
Yep, fidget spinners are made to keep students' attention and focus. So why not do yoga with it? Practice some standard and harder positions, then ask your students to place the fidget spinner somewhere on their body, while doing the exercises. Will it fall or not? Focus!
I’m sure you can do even more with fidget spinners in your classroom! Share this post along with your own ideas. The best ideas will be added to the post! :) (P.S. Make sure to tag BookWidgets).
