Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Does your name picker feel fair?

Random picks keep a whole class ready to answer, but only if students believe the picks are fair. Seven moments; pick what you'd do.

Question 1 of 7

The same three hands go up for every question.

Read more

More quizzes for teachers

The best answer to every question, and why
  1. The same three hands go up for every question. Give everyone thirty seconds to think or write, then draw a name. If you call on one of three raised hands, the rest of the room didn't have to think. Everyone answers first, then a random name: the Library's retrieval practice card says the same.
  2. A student says, "You picked Jo three times this week!" Use a picker that sets each drawn name aside until everyone has had a turn. A deck, not a hat. Peabody's picker works this way: nobody is drawn twice until the deck runs out, and the class can see who is left.
  3. You want a fun way to choose the prize for the class's reading goal. The wheel: repeats don't matter for a prize. The wheel is for fun and for choices where repeats are fine. Keep the no-repeat picker for turns.
  4. A new student arrives halfway through the week's turns. Add their name and reset the deck, so everyone starts fresh. In Peabody's picker a changed list reshuffles and nobody counts as drawn, so make edits before you start or reset on purpose.
  5. A student freezes when their name comes up. Say you'll come back to them in a minute, then do. They still answer, with time to think. Coming back is what keeps it fair to them and to the class.
  6. A student asks, "Is it really random, or do you choose?" Show the picker on the board, so they can watch the draw. Seeing is believing. Peabody's picker draws with the browser's secure random generator, so every name left is equally likely, and the draw happens where everyone can see it.
  7. Your kindergartners can't read their own names on the projector yet. Turn on Read the name aloud. Peabody's picker can say the drawn name, so the child hears it as well as seeing it, and the device's voice does the choosing.

Written for Peabody Teach. Checked . Nothing you pick is saved or sent: no sign-in, no ads, and the result stays on your screen.