Themes of the Week – Teachers Telling Tales

In education we often work with themes or topics over a week or block of weeks, however, having a theme for each day can also work really well. An established structure and routine gives students security and it makes planning easier for educators.
On social media hashtags for each day, for example, #TBT, (Throwback Thursday) provide themes for people to contribute to and this concept can also be applied in education to create a sense of community. At the time of writing, distance learning is common in many places and stuck at home, the days tend to blur, so having a theme for each is a good way to give structure to the week. Participating in a themed welcoming / starter, like a circle time activity, brings everyone together. Themed days are also good for home schooling and can become family traditions like ‘taco Tuesdays’ or ‘fish finger Fridays’!

Here are some ideas and brief explanations of how you could use them. The same theme could be repeated weekly, or choose a different one each week. If changing, it is useful to provide the themes in advance, (e.g. on Friday for the week ahead), to give students time to prepare if needed.

Missed you … share weekend news
Make/Made it … follow instructions or share something made before
Mindful / Meditation … read a guided meditation or share one from Cosmic Kids, Go Noodle or similar
Moustache … everyone sticks or draws on a moustache!
Musical … listen or play together (teacher / students share)
… movie a short film to introduce or recap topics and engage students (see resources below)

True or False … a quiz to engage and assess understanding, could be thumbs up / down for true / false
Talent … take turns, a few students each week
Tuneful … sharing a song or repeating vocal patterns for concentration
Tongue-twister … a fun way to wake everyone up and share laughter
… timehop could be past or future, history or imagination

Wonderful … share an achievement, observation, or ‘I wonder‘ question
Where in the world … show a picture or (change your video background) a building, map, food or artefact
Workout (exercise) or Work Out a problem or puzzle
Would you rather … give 2 options to choose (can use show of fingers for choice 1 or 2)
… wisdom an interesting quote to think about / discuss

Three things … is a versatile theme, e.g. three things I learned this week / I am good at / I know about ___ etc.
This or that … like ‘would you rather’
Thumbs up … something you like / agree with , opinions and preferences
Then and now … for history, events or personal, ‘I used to ___ but now I ___’
Thinking … a problem solving challenge, (see resources below)
Thoughtful … an act of kindness
… theatre share a clip or a drama game

Share a Funny joke, a favourite or something Feelgood to round the week off on a positive note
Fact or fiction … getting to know you or assessment activities
Friendship … is nice for recognising kindness and social skills
Footloose … cut loose and dance!
Fan Club … share a common interest
… fun games or activities suggested by the students as a reward / celebration

This one’s for you!

What do you do at weekends to recuperate? Educators are forever filling others’ buckets, so they need to refill their own too.

Get Your Themes

If you would like high resolution versions of the daily themes for yourself, you can download printables for a set of cards with the day and ideas on the reverse. These work well printed on card and stored in a business card holder or laminated with a hole punched through with a ring to keep together.
A chart showing all the days in a grid can be printed and stuck in your planner or on the notice board. Portrait and landscape versions can be downloaded and PNG files are included in addition to PDF so you can adjust the size to suit.
All the Themes of the Week resources come in UK and US spelling versions.
Available from tes or Teachers Pay Teachers

If you would like a personalised set of cards or chart contact me at fiona@teacherstellingtales.com

Update 22nd January 2021

During online tutoring sessions I have explored some of these themes in more depth and they were a big hit with the students! I have updated the resource packs with further resources including ‘Would You Rather’, ‘This or That’ and ‘Friday Faves’ cards, lists of discussion points for Would You Rather and This or That and blank cards to be adapted. It’s all in presentation form with PNG files so flexible to educator’s needs.