Bellringers

How to Begin a Class Session Some educators believe all students must know from the very beginning how they are expected to behave and work in a classroom work environment. Some educators believe that requirement does not adhere to the changing realities that students will face in the "real world" when a myriad of disruptions and changes require us to be flexible and adapt. However, all educators should agree that students cannot get down to the task of learning if there is no systematized way to indicate they are now in a classroom with some things to achieve and accomplish for their time present. Next semester, in 408, we will discover what to consider when we make classroom procedures (or 'class rules'). Let's focus now on how to plan for beginning a class session.

The importance of having systematized routines for your classroom is to both AVOID potential disruptions/problems and to INITIATE student learning to take place. Possible outcomes of having a regular, systematized routine for each day include:
 * avoiding the irritating question "what are we doing today?"
 * By having an agenda displayed somewhere in the classroom, you can direct students to what you PLAN to do with them during the course of that day's class session. Don't get too wrapped up in telescoping things weeks ahead of time -- most adolescent learners want to live and plan in there "here and now." More and more schools are
 * Avoid overly elaborate calendars or displays in your classroom that require codes, symbols, colors, abbreviations, etc. BE EXPLICIT. This is doubly important for your SPED and ELL students.
 * It's important to note that sometimes students ask this question because they desire a chance to converse with the teacher. Not knowing how else to break the ice or start a conversation, some students may ask "what are doing today?" as a cue that they want to talk with you. The desire to talk could be simple chit-chat, nervousness, a cue that there is something more serious they might want to share with you, etc.
 * directing students to a task as soon as they enter your room:
 * The success or efficacy of this outcome varies by grade level. Interestingly, in my experience (Mark), juniors and seniors gravitate towards their seats immediately and don't mill about a room that much. Perhaps they're over the need to by hypersocial in the hallways and classrooms. Perhaps their need to expend pent-up energy is less than with younger students. In any case, upperclassmen generally go to their seats and remain seated when class starts. For younger students, especially middle school students, they rarely sit in their seats until they are told to do so. The need to have students seated working on a task as soon as they enter a room is more pronounced for younger students (grades 6-9 or even 10th grade).
 * Having students working on a task as soon as the bell rings (a bellringer) allows you to attend to immediate tasks: taking attendance, passing out materials, speaking to a student, preparing an overhead, turning on technology, etc. These tasks take up A LOT of time and are considered "dead air time" that allow students to disrupt your rhythm.

It might be helpful to differentiate possible differences among terminology used to talk about the beginning of a class:


 * 1) **Bellringer**: usually a task that is done as soon as the bell rings. It can be as simple as filling out a form, reading silently, checking answers to homework, conferring with a partner, putting something in a binder. The goal, though, is that this task is done as soon as the bellrings and should be done independently without cajoling or reminding from the teacher. This is sometimes called a "**Do-Now**"
 * 2) **Warm-up**: a task that can be done after a bellringer, or as a bellringer, designed to focus on the content of a day's lesson. It's helpful to think of a warm-up in conjunction with a hook.

Here is a link to several lists of possible warm-up/bellringer prompts for social studies courses. NOTE: I (Mark) don't necessarily think all of these are helpful, productive, or generative for use in class. But they're a quick overview of what yours could look like.

Think about how to use the following opening activities at the beginning of class (many of these might mirror what you did earlier as "hooks")
 * 1) Greet students at the door and hand them a prompt. Students can work independently, with partners, or in small groups
 * 2) Post a prompt in a central location. The prompts can reflect the reading, listening, or viewing of some other item; connect topics and issues with the real world; survey current beliefs or behaviors to share with students (AWARENESS); or ask for predictions/suggestions
 * 3) Display an artifact or mystery item (could be an image, too). Have students pose questions or write about the items.
 * 4) Show a video clip or virtual internet tour -- or play a sound recording. Record players are still awesome!
 * 5) Do a read aloud and have students respond to the read aloud.