Day of the week wheel

Plan the week

• Chore day: each person spins their day for the bins, the bathroom or the laundry. Remove each day after it is taken so nobody doubles up.
• Game night or movie night: delete the days with practice or late shifts, then spin the rest.
• Treat day: spin on Sunday evening for which day of the coming week gets dessert, takeout or a park trip. Kids love waiting to see if it lands on tomorrow.
• Workout rest day: pick your two rest days with the wheel when every day feels equally busy.

Calendar questions for class

1. Spin a day and call it “today”.
2. Ask: what was yesterday, what is tomorrow, and what will it be in 3 days?
3. Older students take on bigger jumps. In 10 days, the day moves forward by 3, because 7 days bring you back to the same day. In 100 days, it moves forward by 2.

Where the names come from

English day names are mostly old gods and sky bodies. Sunday and Monday are the sun’s and the moon’s days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday come from Old English names linked to the Norse and Germanic gods Tiw, Woden, Thor and Frigg. Saturday is Saturn’s day. Spin a day and ask students to guess its origin before you tell them.

For language classes, replace the entries with the days in the language you teach and spin for quick vocabulary drills.