Create a Random Name Picker with Google Sheets 4

Recommended by our good friend Tom Hammerlund, this set of Google Sheets templates should be part of your teaching arsenal. Use pre-made Google Sheets to quickly create a random name picker, jeopardy games, word puzzles, crossword puzzles, and more.

Flippity Templates

The idea is really simple and so are the instructions. These are the steps to follow:

1. Copy one of the Google spreadsheet templates provided on the Flippity website.
2. Replace the default information with your own.
3. Publish your spreadsheet with a click on File > Publish to the Web
4. Share the Flippity link provided on the spreadsheet tab called Get the Link Here.

Voila! Now let’s have a look at the types of activities you can create.

Random Name Picker

This is definitely one of my favorites. Grab your class list and paste it in the Google Sheets template available at this link. In a few steps, you will create an online random name picker in the shape of a colorful spinning wheel. Click the wheel, watch it spin and pick a random name from the list you fed it.

Random Name Picker

The online random name picker also features options to pick a line up, create random groups of 2, 3, 4 of 5 and even to build teams or seating charts.

Teams

Once you created your class list and generated the link to choose random names out of a hat, you should bookmark the URL so you can come back to it as often as needed.

But wait, there are a lot more templates to explore!

Quiz Show Games

In the past, you may have used old PowerPoint presentations to create Jeopardy games. You can now easily turn a Google spreadsheet into a trivia game show. Bring your questions and answers, and all the interactions are created for you. Don’t sweat it, just try it: make your own online Jeopardy game.

Online Jeopardy Game

In a similar fashion, you can create memory games which may be more appropriate in elementary classrooms.

I highly recommend trying out Jeopardy games and memory games if you have an interactive whiteboard. The students will love it.

Word Games in Google Sheets

With Flippity, you can also create word games in mere seconds. Google Sheets are available for the following word games:

• Spelling words
• Crossword puzzles
• Bingo
• Hangman

Other Templates

The list continues on and we won’t detail all the options available to you but from their website, you can also create a quiz with certificate, sport team brackets, mix and match, progress indicators, madlibs, badges and even flash cards. Go check it out, you won’t regret it.