By Tracee Orman
Bell ringers, also known as warm-ups or do-now activities, are brief tasks that students complete at the beginning of a class.
Using bell ringers with your students is an effective way to begin class each day. Students know what to expect and can settle down and get to work right away; it also gives you time to take attendance and get ready for the class. If you need help implementing them in class, I have some great tips for you.
1. Decide how you wish to distribute the bell ringer to your class:
There are many ways you can administer the daily assignments, such as using paper copies, digitally through a grading app or Google Classroom, or projecting it in class and having students use a bell-ringer journal (either paper or digital).
I have tried ALL of these methods and found the easiest to be digitally through our grading app (we used Skyward). I took a screenshot of the bell ringer and attached it to an online assignment within the app. However, ALL of my students had laptops, which made that feasible.
My second choice would be to use paper copies so it was easy for everyone (those who were absent could easily access a paper copy).
It's OK to mix-and-match the ways you distribute the bell ringers. Some days you may not have time to make copies and some days the internet may be down and you have to adjust. You also may find that some students work better using paper and pencil and some work better typing their answers. Learning how to adjust and differentiate is key.
2. Set a timer:
If you have limited time to spare, set a timer for anywhere between 6-10 minutes at the beginning of class. Students will learn quickly if they need more time to get started as soon (or before) the bell rings. You can use your cell phone for this (use the clock app and choose "timer," then set your desired time). You could also go old school and purchase an egg timer or use a board game timer.
Whatever you use, make sure to stick with it and be consistent. Your students will catch on quickly if you don't give them a set time and will try to procrastinate the assignment (I know this from experience).
3. Have a weekly routine of bell ringers:
Setting up a weekly routine for your bell ringers is simple and can help students get into a groove. It's OK to start this any time throughout the year; it's never too late to begin using them. You can start with doing them just one or two times a week or try to do them all five days per week. I will share with you how I set mine up (and know that initially I only did them one day per week then added more each year).
• Motivational Mondays:
I used a motivational quote and writing prompt every Monday to start the week. My students always looked forward to the quotes. As the years went by, I started to have my students submit their own motivational quotes to share with the class. These bell ringers are independent of any curriculum and can be used any time of the year. I found them to be such a positive way to start the week. My bundle contains a wide variety of quotes and prompts to last you years. Because I taught in a small school, I had to change up my quotes when I had the same students multiple times. These are great to practice daily writing. I usually just required a few complete sentences. Some students wrote multiple paragraphs and some wrote the bare minimum. The objective is to just get them writing.
• Test-Prep Tuesday:
If your students have state or national tests, this is a good opportunity to throw in a sample test question each week as practice. It could be a short reading passage with 2-4 follow-up questions or grammar work, etc. I used reading comprehension questions from old state testing booklets and sample questions from ACT and SAT. Oftentimes textbook companies provide test-prep materials with their teaching bundles, so you may actually have access to grade-level sample questions. I would definitely keep the reading passages short or give extra time if they are longer. That said, having a limited amount of time also prepares them for timed tests.
• Wordy Wednesday:
This is a great way to get vocabulary work in each week. I used my vocabulary graphic organizers and used words from whichever text we were currently reading. Sometimes I would have them study a single word; sometimes I would have a list of words, depending on what my learning goals were for the week. If you do not need to use specific words and just want general vocabulary practice AND your students have access to devices and the internet, an excellent FREE website to use is Free Rice. The nonprofit (sponsored by the World Food Programme) donates rice to people in need. Students can play without having to make an account, but if they wish to keep track of their donations, they can create a free account. There is no subscription or catch. The longer they play, the higher the level.
• Think & Write Thursday:
I used this day to focus on more in-depth journal writing prompts. I would choose one or more for the week from my bundle of journal prompts. Many of the prompts have a short little factoid related to someone famous or a historical or pop culture event. But then it has students make connections in their own lives with that person or event.
• Free-Read Friday:
This one is self-explanatory. I love letting my students read anything they want each week and usually gave them a little longer than the other days if they were all reading quietly. Allowing them to read their choice of materials is key. Comic books, graphic novels, picture books, Guinness Book of World Records, novels, newspapers, magazines, blogs...it did not matter. As long as they were reading. In addition, it's important for YOU to participate in free reading, as well. Don't use the time to catch-up on grading or other tasks. Model the behavior for your students. Plus, they love to see what you choose to read in your free time.
While those are just suggested days, you can make ANY day whatever you like. In fact, you don't even need to stick to "specific" days. See the next tip below.
4. Use Content-Related Bell Ringers:
Another option is to toss out all those set days and just have a set amount of time at the beginning of each class period to use content-related bell ringers. I have many packs that can be used with ANY text and are perfect for introducing, reviewing, and in-depth analysis of a text. These activities will reinforce the learning that is already taking place and also make the assignments more digestible in small bites.
If you love to save money, I offer a huge discount on my entire pack of bell ringers and exit slips in this growing bundle. It will last you for years and most are standards-based!
5. Give Completion Grades:
To make your life easier, it's OK to give completion grades rather than trying to go through every single bell ringer and grade it for specific content. I usually made the daily assignments 5 points and if it was completed, students achieved a 5/5 grade. If a student did not do the bell ringer at all, they achieved 0/5. If a student completed it more than a day late, they achieved 3/5 (only because my grading app did not allow for 2.5 points). You can adjust this to suit your needs, but this method worked very well for me and students never argued the grade they achieved. I would at times need to remind some students to put more effort into their work or I would take points off, but usually that worked. Honestly, I do not believe in a grading rubric for assignments like bell ringers and journal writing. I think they are too subjective and will only cause more headaches for you.
I hope these tips will help you implement a daily bell ringer routine in your classroom. Have a wonderful year!
My colleagues here at the Coffee Shop also offer some excellent resources for bell ringers. Check them out here:
Absurd Words Bell Ringers by The Classroom Sparrow
Classroom Community Bell Ringers by The Daring English Teacher
English Bell Ringers Vol 3 by Presto Plans
