Bell ringers for secondary ela

12 Classroom Routines to Try in the Secondary ELA Classroom

One of the first things teachers learn in their pre-service teaching classes is the importance of establishing effective classroom routines and procedures for

Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.

5 Types of Bell Ringers to Incorporate into the Secondary ELA Classroom

Hi, there! Christina, The Daring English Teacher, here and I am sharing five different types of bell ringers middle school ELA and high school English teachers can incorporate in their secondary ELA classroom. Whether you choose to call them bell ringers, do nows, bell work, or class starters, there is a lot to be said for the work your students do at the immediate start of class. Students thrive on routine, and though they may be a bit reluctant at first, students come to know what is expected of them when there are consistent classroom routines. One of the most beneficial classroom routines I've used with my students year and year again is a do now activity. My students know that at the beginning of the class period, and preferably as close to the bell as possible, they are to have their do nows out, and they should be quietly working on whatever activity I've projected onto the board for them. And while some students might need a little more guidance and assistance into starting their bell work, it usually goes off without a hitch. The daily do now activity provides me with several minutes at the start of class to take and enter attendance, reset my computer from the previous class, and handle any individual student questions that may arise. It's one of my go-to classroom routines that helps me keep my classroom in order. During my earlier teaching years, I unsuccessfully implemented a bell ringer routine in the classroom. However, I found that I didn't hold the students accountable for their work, and thus, they were less apt to complete the work. This scenario quickly turned into more of a classroom management issue, and that's why I created this Free Bell Ringer Recording Sheet. It's quite a simple idea. I wanted to hold students accountable each day, and yet, I didn't want to collect and grade their work every single day. I also didn't want students to slack off and then copy all of the work the day before it was due. For about eight years now, I've successfully used this bell ringer recording sheet in my classroom. Every four weeks, I print out a new form that is double-sided for my students. Before I print the pages, however, I write the date in the date box and add in any essential school dates or holidays. Each day, students are responsible for completing the do now that is on the board. After I get my attendance entered into the computer system, I go around and individually stamp each student's sheet. Yes, this does take some time, but not nearly as much time as you might think. It only takes about 2-4 minutes to circulate throughout the room, depending on how many individual questions students have. I really cherish this time with my students because, even though it is only for a couple of seconds for each student, I can have some face time and individually connect with each student. If something seems off, I can ask a student how they are doing. If a student has an individual question for me, this provides them with the perfect opportunity to ask a question. You can read more about my bell-ringer routine in this blog post. As to the particular types of bell-ringer activities, the possibilities are endless. Sometimes I like to keep the activities specific to the content that I am teaching, and sometimes I like to have the activity be more of a skill-based activity. Here are 5 types of bell ringer activities that you can incorporate into your classroom this school year. 1. Thoughtful response One way to begin the class period is with a thoughtful response. This comes in the form of a literature-inspired bell-ringer activity like my William Shakespeare Bell Ringers or as a thematic activity like my Growth Mindset Bell Ringers. Often, I like to share a quote with my students and ask them to respond to a brief writing prompt. The quote is usually related (either content-wise or author-wise) to what we are currently studying. To keep things rigorous and academic, I like to ask questions that align with the three common core writing strands: argument, informational, and narrative. After students have a moment to read the quote and respond, I like to open up the classroom floor for a quick discussion by having a few students share their responses aloud. If I've asked an argument writing prompt, this time can quickly turn into an impromptu classroom debate -which is always fun! You can try out my FREE Classroom Community Bell Ringer resource. This resource includes a week of free bell-ringer activities to use in your classroom! 2. Sentence Combining One way to get students thinking about syntax is to incorporate daily sentence combining bell ringers into your curriculum. The idea behind this type of bell ringer is to present students with a series of short, related simple sentences. The series should contain at least 4-5 sentences. As students come into the classroom, they read the sentences and combine them into 1-2 compound or complex sentences. To add an extra challenging component, I like to have my students do this twice. They write their responses in two different ways -each time incorporating different sentence structures into their writing. By consistently completing this activity, students learn about syntax, and they learn how they can vary their sentence structure to deliver a message. Once the students finish writing their sentences, I like to call on a couple of student volunteers to read their sentences (and the punctuation) aloud. Not only is this an excellent opportunity for students to hear other sentence structures, but it is a great time to throw in some punctuation practice. For some holiday-inspired fun, I also have Halloween-themed and Valentine's Day-themed sentence combining bell ringers! 3. Silent Reading By far, one of the most calming and relaxing ways to start a class period is by implementing a silent reading bell-ringer activity. One of the best ways to do this is to start it at the beginning of the year. Also, you'll want to have highly-engaging, diverse books in your room (they can be from your library or on loan from the school library). Whenever I start the class period with silent reading, I gently remind my students that they are reading for enjoyment. I tell them to give the book they selected a shot, and that if they don't like it, they can always put it back and try a new one. I emphasize that this should be enjoyable and that it is okay to keep trying new books until they find one that they like. I also make it a point to read during this time as well. I even keep the book I'm currently reading on my whiteboard shelf for all of my students to see. 4. Ed Tech Accounts On days when we use our Chromebooks in the classroom, one time-saving bell-ringer activity that I like to employ is having my students log in and work on an online assignment for the first five or ten minutes of class. Usually, my students have a weekly or monthly vocabulary and grammar assignment online, and this is one way that I make sure that they have class time to work in the assignment. One of the reasons why this works is because the students get logged into their Chromebooks immediately. That way, when we transition to our lesson, the students are already logged into their accounts. Also, many of the online learning platforms provide teachers with tools to monitor student progress. With a couple of clicks of the mouse, teachers can see what students have completed during that time. 5. Test Prep If you teach in a state that administers state testing, incorporating some test-prep during this time during the do now allows you to help prepare your students for the test without boring them with too much test prep at one time. I'll use this time to review commonly-tested vocabulary words, punctuation marks, or to review released state test prep questions. When I review the questions with my students at the beginning of the class period, I only go over 2-3 questions at a time. I have the students answer the questions, and then call on students to first eliminate the wrong answer that stands out the most, and then to share the correct answer. It's not perfect, but it helps with test prep without taking up too much instructional time. I surely hope that these five different types of bell ringers help bring you some variety, engagement, and rigor to the first five minutes of class! Here are some more bell-ringer activities you can try in your classroom: Writing Prompts for Building Skills and Stamina by Room 213 Middle and High School English Bell-Ringers by Presto Plans English Reading and Writing Bell Ringer Exit Slips by Tracee Orman Career Exploration Daily Writing Prompts by The Classroom Sparrow Vocabulary of the Day by Secondary Sara

4 Easy Bell Ringers to Use in Secondary ELA

It’s likely you’ve heard of bell ringers or have even incorporated some form of them into your own classroom routine. It’s also likely you completed them as a

Teaching Academic Vocabulary in the Secondary ELA Classroom

Effective strategies for teaching academic vocabulary in middle school ELA Middle school ELA curriculum for academic vocabulary development

It’s likely you’ve heard of bell ringers or have even incorporated some form of them into your own classroom routine. It’s also likely you completed them as a

The BEST Bell Ringers for High School English Class

Are you looking for THE BEST bell ringers for high school English? Get your students excited to start class by...

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the beginning of class (or when the bell rings, as the name suggests.) They jump start student learning, calm classroom chaos, reduce uncertainty, and make transitions smoother, all the while allowing the teacher to maximize their time and maintain their sanity. I’m here to share the benefits of using a bell-ringer routine in your classroom, tips and strategies to implement them effectively, and answers to your most commonly asked questions. I'm also sharing free bell-ringers that will last you a couple months! 1) Extra time at the beginning of class Bell-ringers give teachers the gift of time. In those 5-10 minutes, you can take attendance, get papers ready and/or passed out, prepare tech, catch up with students who have been absent, or even prepare for your next period. 2) Improved classroom routine and classroom management As students transition from class to class, they tend to get amped up from hallway antics. Bell-ringers improve the transition back into the academic setting and establish a consistent routine and minimize classroom management issues. There is a lot of uncertainty in a teenager’s world, and though they may not admit it, students crave predictability and routine. After the routine is established, you’ll even find that students will get started on the bell-ringer BEFORE the bell even rings, as they know exactly what is expected of them. 3) A chance to practice ELA skills and assess and review standards By using bell-ringers at the start of class, you are taking advantage of an extra opportunity to practice the ELA skills and meet standards you have been diligently working on throughout the year. Bell-ringers are perfect for putting what you’ve taught to the test in a creative, fun, low-pressure way. Given that they aren’t heavily graded on the bell-ringers (or not at all), the pressure often associated with other tasks is alleviated. 1. Mix up your bell-ringer each day If you are using the same bell-ringers every single day, students will likely grow tired of them. I like to have themed days for each of the bell-ringers that will address a specific skill. Below are some of the types of bell-ringers you might consider using: Improve word choice Locate figurative language Have a short discussion with a partner Watch a short video clip and write a personal response to a prompt Infer the meaning of new words in context Correct grammar errors Have a mini-debate with a partner Use a picture to spark narrative writing I liked to use each of my year-long volumes of bell-ringers to have different activities for each day. You can try four free weeks by clicking on the image below to see if they might work for you. 2. Give students a fun challenge Another way to mix up your bell-ringers is to set a challenge at the start of the week and have students progressively work towards a solution on Friday. My favorite way to do this is with escape room bell-ringer challenges. When you use an escape room bell-ringer, students are given a back story on Monday where they find themselves in a situation (dungeon, alien planet, military bunker, scientist study etc.). They work with their group for the first 5-10 minutes of class to progressively move through different floors, rooms, chambers, and cells each day to solve ELA related puzzles. Their goal? To successfully escape by the end of the week. Want to try a bell-ringer challenge with your students? Grab a free figurative language bell-ringer activity below as a fun way to start one of your classes. 2. Model a Good Response Spend the first days explaining the daily bell-ringer activity for that day and even show them what a strong response looks like for each different bell-ringer activity you do. Taking this time at the beginning will get you better responses from the students as the year goes on. 3. Set specific expectations and procedures From day 1, you’ll want to demonstrate exactly how things are going to play out. Start by literally walking them through the process of entering the classroom and retrieving their bell-ringer booklets or binder. Once they are completed their work, you might think of getting them to hold onto their booklets and putting them back at the end. I would recommend not doing this as typically someone will accidentally take it home or the booklets will get destroyed since they all are eager to leave and are throwing the booklets on the shelf (real life teaching, right?) That’s why I would suggest you establish a system for collecting the bell-ringer booklets after they are done, and go through it with them a few times to practice. You wouldn’t think something as simple as collecting the booklets would be an issue, but having a plan makes things run so much more smoothly. If you use a standard classroom set up (desks in a row or pairs): Have each row turn around to collect the booklets from the row behind them and move them all forward until they are in the front row. Select one student to collect them all from the front row and put them back in the proper spot. If your desks are set up in groups: Have one member from each group be responsible for collecting the booklets, and have all groups pass them over to the group closest to where to store them. Have one person put them all back. On the first day, I practice this 2-3 times and set a timer to see how fast they can do it (I tell them they are in competition with the other classes). This makes it fun, but it also establishes a routine, and set a precedent to strive for throughout the year and it makes collecting the booklets quick and efficient. 1. Should I grade bell-ringers? Won't that make more work for me? Listen, the LAST thing I want to do is add more paper to an English teachers' pile! Bell-ringers are a type of formative assessment that do not need to be graded. They are a quick way for students to practice and develop ELA skills. I did add a quick check rubric on the bottom of some of my student handouts because I personally used this to keep students accountable and motivated to complete the work to the best of their ability. I would tell them that one week out of the month would be graded, but they wouldn't know which week (insert evil laughter 😉). This lessened my grading, but I also liked peeking at them monthly to see who was completing the work well and where I needed to focus my instruction. 2. How long should you spend on bell-ringers? For me, bell-ringers would typically take an about 5-10 minutes to complete. The time will vary depending on what type of bell-ringer you are completing. Some people like a quick 5 minute bell-ringer, others like to dive in a little deeper and spend more time as it pertains to their lesson. If students are improving the word choice in a passage or practicing labelling figurative language, it may only take a quick 5 minutes. However, if they are discussing an ethical prompt or watching a video clip and writing a response, it may take closer to 10. It's important to remember though that sometimes your students will be totally engaged in a bell-ringer, and you may end up spending more time than you thought on it. This is not wasted time! The content still relates to your curriculum and helps students hone their writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills. Sometimes an unplanned part of a lesson is where the best learning happens. 3. How do you manage all the paper? Here is my fool-proof system. A word of caution: don't let them take their bell-ringer binder home! It's an absolute nightmare waiting to happen 😂. Have each student purchase a small 1 inch binder to hold all of the bell-ringer response sheets (or use a three-clasp folder). Have students write their name in big bold letters on the spine (or the front if it is a folder). Having a variety of colors of binders/folders is better so they can find theirs more easily. Put a bookcase somewhere near the door of your room. Assign each class an area of the bookcase. Tell students they will grab the binder when they enter, and it will go back on that shelf when the bell-ringer is done.! This makes it easy to find their binder the next day. 4. Will using bell-ringers help my classroom management? Yes, routines are your friend! I learned fairly quickly in my teaching career that expected procedures are necessary for survival when it comes to classroom management. Bell-ringers set the tone in the first few minutes of class and help students transition back into work mode after a break period. I was literally wasting the first 5-10 minutes of class quieting my students down and preparing to get started. After starting a bell-ringer routine, they immediately started working when they entered! 5. Should I do bell-ringers every day or just on some days? Personally, I think it is better to bell-ringers every day and stick to the routine. When you are always skipping the bell-ringer or only doing them here and there, students lose that consistency, and you won't see the classroom management benefits. You can certainly make it work if you don't want to do it every day, but if you do this, I might suggest writing on the board or projecting a slide to say if there is a bell-ringer that day. This way you don't have to constantly answer the question, "Is there a bell-ringer today?" Still have questions about using bell-ringers successfully in the classroom? Don't hesitate to reach out! I'd love to hear from you. Need more bell-ringer ideas? The bloggers of the coffee shop have you covered! Growth Mindset Bell Ringers from The Daring English Teacher Daily Career Writing Prompts from The Classroom Sparrow Independent Reading Prompts from Room 213 Bell-Ringer Journal Prompts from Tracee Orman Collaborative Bell-Ringers from Nouvelle ELA

Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.

Independent Vocabulary Study for Secondary ELA-- Great for Distance Learning!

In this Google Slides file, you will find 50 slides for independent vocabulary study for secondary ELA. This is an excellent way to help students continue vocabulary study at home on their own time-- either for online/ distance learning or for homework. It's also great to use in class as a bell-ringer activity! This bundle is divided into activities. Each slide = 1 activity. It is organized this way so that you can assign students a certain number of activities to complete based upon your students and their needs. There are 35 original vocabulary activities including approximately 10 free choice slides. Students will select their own vocabulary words to explore through these activities-- or you can assign words to students. There are five sets of activities that stem off of five vocabulary lists of ten words each for a total of 50 words as part of this vocabulary study. The directions instruct students to self-select their own words, but you can change that as needed. The entire slideshow is editable so that you can change it fit your needs! Great for distance learning and online teaching! PERKS FOR YOU: *Join the Bespoke ELA Blog to gain access to 100+ FREE resources that are not here on TpT! * Be sure to click the "FOLLOW" button that is located next to my picture in the profile so that you can hear about sales, new products, and freebies! * Don't forget to leave feedback to EARN POINTS that turn into cash towards future purchases! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Related Blog Posts for Distance Learning: How to Make a Choice Board on Google Slides How to Turn a PDF Worksheet into a Google Slide 5 Online Platforms for Distance Learning in the ELA Classroom Other Resources for Distance Learning: Google Form Digital Escape Room: Literary Devices for Distance Learning Bell-Ringers for the ENTIRE Year-40 WEEKS - EDITABLE PROMPTS w/ Mentor Sentences Adding Rhetorical Devices to Essay Writing for Persuasive Power 30 MENTOR SENTENCES for Literary & Rhetorical Devices with Writing Application 25 Essential Handouts for Writing Workshop Crafting Commentary for Literary Analysis Literary Device Bell-Ringers for Analysis + Close Reading Practice- EDITABLE ============================= Follow ME for UPDATES, ANNOUNCEMENTS, & FREEBIES! BLOG INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK PINTEREST

Are you looking for THE BEST bell ringers for high school English? Get your students excited to start class by...

An effective bell ringer routine for the secondary ELA classroom

Classroom management is something that many teachers struggle with, especially as budget cuts pack more and more students into classrooms. Some secondary

Hi, there! Christina, The Daring English Teacher, here and I am sharing five different types of bell ringers middle school ELA and high school English teachers can incorporate in their secondary ELA classroom. Whether you choose to call them bell ringers, do nows, bell work, or class starters, there is a lot to be said for the work your students do at the immediate start of class. Students thrive on routine, and though they may be a bit reluctant at first, students come to know what is expected of them when there are consistent classroom routines. One of the most beneficial classroom routines I've used with my students year and year again is a do now activity. My students know that at the beginning of the class period, and preferably as close to the bell as possible, they are to have their do nows out, and they should be quietly working on whatever activity I've projected onto the board for them. And while some students might need a little more guidance and assistance into starting their bell work, it usually goes off without a hitch. The daily do now activity provides me with several minutes at the start of class to take and enter attendance, reset my computer from the previous class, and handle any individual student questions that may arise. It's one of my go-to classroom routines that helps me keep my classroom in order. During my earlier teaching years, I unsuccessfully implemented a bell ringer routine in the classroom. However, I found that I didn't hold the students accountable for their work, and thus, they were less apt to complete the work. This scenario quickly turned into more of a classroom management issue, and that's why I created this Free Bell Ringer Recording Sheet. It's quite a simple idea. I wanted to hold students accountable each day, and yet, I didn't want to collect and grade their work every single day. I also didn't want students to slack off and then copy all of the work the day before it was due. For about eight years now, I've successfully used this bell ringer recording sheet in my classroom. Every four weeks, I print out a new form that is double-sided for my students. Before I print the pages, however, I write the date in the date box and add in any essential school dates or holidays. Each day, students are responsible for completing the do now that is on the board. After I get my attendance entered into the computer system, I go around and individually stamp each student's sheet. Yes, this does take some time, but not nearly as much time as you might think. It only takes about 2-4 minutes to circulate throughout the room, depending on how many individual questions students have. I really cherish this time with my students because, even though it is only for a couple of seconds for each student, I can have some face time and individually connect with each student. If something seems off, I can ask a student how they are doing. If a student has an individual question for me, this provides them with the perfect opportunity to ask a question. You can read more about my bell-ringer routine in this blog post. As to the particular types of bell-ringer activities, the possibilities are endless. Sometimes I like to keep the activities specific to the content that I am teaching, and sometimes I like to have the activity be more of a skill-based activity. Here are 5 types of bell ringer activities that you can incorporate into your classroom this school year. 1. Thoughtful response One way to begin the class period is with a thoughtful response. This comes in the form of a literature-inspired bell-ringer activity like my William Shakespeare Bell Ringers or as a thematic activity like my Growth Mindset Bell Ringers. Often, I like to share a quote with my students and ask them to respond to a brief writing prompt. The quote is usually related (either content-wise or author-wise) to what we are currently studying. To keep things rigorous and academic, I like to ask questions that align with the three common core writing strands: argument, informational, and narrative. After students have a moment to read the quote and respond, I like to open up the classroom floor for a quick discussion by having a few students share their responses aloud. If I've asked an argument writing prompt, this time can quickly turn into an impromptu classroom debate -which is always fun! You can try out my FREE Classroom Community Bell Ringer resource. This resource includes a week of free bell-ringer activities to use in your classroom! 2. Sentence Combining One way to get students thinking about syntax is to incorporate daily sentence combining bell ringers into your curriculum. The idea behind this type of bell ringer is to present students with a series of short, related simple sentences. The series should contain at least 4-5 sentences. As students come into the classroom, they read the sentences and combine them into 1-2 compound or complex sentences. To add an extra challenging component, I like to have my students do this twice. They write their responses in two different ways -each time incorporating different sentence structures into their writing. By consistently completing this activity, students learn about syntax, and they learn how they can vary their sentence structure to deliver a message. Once the students finish writing their sentences, I like to call on a couple of student volunteers to read their sentences (and the punctuation) aloud. Not only is this an excellent opportunity for students to hear other sentence structures, but it is a great time to throw in some punctuation practice. For some holiday-inspired fun, I also have Halloween-themed and Valentine's Day-themed sentence combining bell ringers! 3. Silent Reading By far, one of the most calming and relaxing ways to start a class period is by implementing a silent reading bell-ringer activity. One of the best ways to do this is to start it at the beginning of the year. Also, you'll want to have highly-engaging, diverse books in your room (they can be from your library or on loan from the school library). Whenever I start the class period with silent reading, I gently remind my students that they are reading for enjoyment. I tell them to give the book they selected a shot, and that if they don't like it, they can always put it back and try a new one. I emphasize that this should be enjoyable and that it is okay to keep trying new books until they find one that they like. I also make it a point to read during this time as well. I even keep the book I'm currently reading on my whiteboard shelf for all of my students to see. 4. Ed Tech Accounts On days when we use our Chromebooks in the classroom, one time-saving bell-ringer activity that I like to employ is having my students log in and work on an online assignment for the first five or ten minutes of class. Usually, my students have a weekly or monthly vocabulary and grammar assignment online, and this is one way that I make sure that they have class time to work in the assignment. One of the reasons why this works is because the students get logged into their Chromebooks immediately. That way, when we transition to our lesson, the students are already logged into their accounts. Also, many of the online learning platforms provide teachers with tools to monitor student progress. With a couple of clicks of the mouse, teachers can see what students have completed during that time. 5. Test Prep If you teach in a state that administers state testing, incorporating some test-prep during this time during the do now allows you to help prepare your students for the test without boring them with too much test prep at one time. I'll use this time to review commonly-tested vocabulary words, punctuation marks, or to review released state test prep questions. When I review the questions with my students at the beginning of the class period, I only go over 2-3 questions at a time. I have the students answer the questions, and then call on students to first eliminate the wrong answer that stands out the most, and then to share the correct answer. It's not perfect, but it helps with test prep without taking up too much instructional time. I surely hope that these five different types of bell ringers help bring you some variety, engagement, and rigor to the first five minutes of class! Here are some more bell-ringer activities you can try in your classroom: Writing Prompts for Building Skills and Stamina by Room 213 Middle and High School English Bell-Ringers by Presto Plans English Reading and Writing Bell Ringer Exit Slips by Tracee Orman Career Exploration Daily Writing Prompts by The Classroom Sparrow Vocabulary of the Day by Secondary Sara

It’s likely you’ve heard of bell ringers or have even incorporated some form of them into your own classroom routine. It’s also likely you completed them as a

Hi, there! Christina, The Daring English Teacher, here and I am sharing five different types of bell ringers middle school ELA and high school English teachers can incorporate in their secondary ELA classroom. Whether you choose to call them bell ringers, do nows, bell work, or class starters, there is a lot to be said for the work your students do at the immediate start of class. Students thrive on routine, and though they may be a bit reluctant at first, students come to know what is expected of them when there are consistent classroom routines. One of the most beneficial classroom routines I've used with my students year and year again is a do now activity. My students know that at the beginning of the class period, and preferably as close to the bell as possible, they are to have their do nows out, and they should be quietly working on whatever activity I've projected onto the board for them. And while some students might need a little more guidance and assistance into starting their bell work, it usually goes off without a hitch. The daily do now activity provides me with several minutes at the start of class to take and enter attendance, reset my computer from the previous class, and handle any individual student questions that may arise. It's one of my go-to classroom routines that helps me keep my classroom in order. During my earlier teaching years, I unsuccessfully implemented a bell ringer routine in the classroom. However, I found that I didn't hold the students accountable for their work, and thus, they were less apt to complete the work. This scenario quickly turned into more of a classroom management issue, and that's why I created this Free Bell Ringer Recording Sheet. It's quite a simple idea. I wanted to hold students accountable each day, and yet, I didn't want to collect and grade their work every single day. I also didn't want students to slack off and then copy all of the work the day before it was due. For about eight years now, I've successfully used this bell ringer recording sheet in my classroom. Every four weeks, I print out a new form that is double-sided for my students. Before I print the pages, however, I write the date in the date box and add in any essential school dates or holidays. Each day, students are responsible for completing the do now that is on the board. After I get my attendance entered into the computer system, I go around and individually stamp each student's sheet. Yes, this does take some time, but not nearly as much time as you might think. It only takes about 2-4 minutes to circulate throughout the room, depending on how many individual questions students have. I really cherish this time with my students because, even though it is only for a couple of seconds for each student, I can have some face time and individually connect with each student. If something seems off, I can ask a student how they are doing. If a student has an individual question for me, this provides them with the perfect opportunity to ask a question. You can read more about my bell-ringer routine in this blog post. As to the particular types of bell-ringer activities, the possibilities are endless. Sometimes I like to keep the activities specific to the content that I am teaching, and sometimes I like to have the activity be more of a skill-based activity. Here are 5 types of bell ringer activities that you can incorporate into your classroom this school year. 1. Thoughtful response One way to begin the class period is with a thoughtful response. This comes in the form of a literature-inspired bell-ringer activity like my William Shakespeare Bell Ringers or as a thematic activity like my Growth Mindset Bell Ringers. Often, I like to share a quote with my students and ask them to respond to a brief writing prompt. The quote is usually related (either content-wise or author-wise) to what we are currently studying. To keep things rigorous and academic, I like to ask questions that align with the three common core writing strands: argument, informational, and narrative. After students have a moment to read the quote and respond, I like to open up the classroom floor for a quick discussion by having a few students share their responses aloud. If I've asked an argument writing prompt, this time can quickly turn into an impromptu classroom debate -which is always fun! You can try out my FREE Classroom Community Bell Ringer resource. This resource includes a week of free bell-ringer activities to use in your classroom! 2. Sentence Combining One way to get students thinking about syntax is to incorporate daily sentence combining bell ringers into your curriculum. The idea behind this type of bell ringer is to present students with a series of short, related simple sentences. The series should contain at least 4-5 sentences. As students come into the classroom, they read the sentences and combine them into 1-2 compound or complex sentences. To add an extra challenging component, I like to have my students do this twice. They write their responses in two different ways -each time incorporating different sentence structures into their writing. By consistently completing this activity, students learn about syntax, and they learn how they can vary their sentence structure to deliver a message. Once the students finish writing their sentences, I like to call on a couple of student volunteers to read their sentences (and the punctuation) aloud. Not only is this an excellent opportunity for students to hear other sentence structures, but it is a great time to throw in some punctuation practice. For some holiday-inspired fun, I also have Halloween-themed and Valentine's Day-themed sentence combining bell ringers! 3. Silent Reading By far, one of the most calming and relaxing ways to start a class period is by implementing a silent reading bell-ringer activity. One of the best ways to do this is to start it at the beginning of the year. Also, you'll want to have highly-engaging, diverse books in your room (they can be from your library or on loan from the school library). Whenever I start the class period with silent reading, I gently remind my students that they are reading for enjoyment. I tell them to give the book they selected a shot, and that if they don't like it, they can always put it back and try a new one. I emphasize that this should be enjoyable and that it is okay to keep trying new books until they find one that they like. I also make it a point to read during this time as well. I even keep the book I'm currently reading on my whiteboard shelf for all of my students to see. 4. Ed Tech Accounts On days when we use our Chromebooks in the classroom, one time-saving bell-ringer activity that I like to employ is having my students log in and work on an online assignment for the first five or ten minutes of class. Usually, my students have a weekly or monthly vocabulary and grammar assignment online, and this is one way that I make sure that they have class time to work in the assignment. One of the reasons why this works is because the students get logged into their Chromebooks immediately. That way, when we transition to our lesson, the students are already logged into their accounts. Also, many of the online learning platforms provide teachers with tools to monitor student progress. With a couple of clicks of the mouse, teachers can see what students have completed during that time. 5. Test Prep If you teach in a state that administers state testing, incorporating some test-prep during this time during the do now allows you to help prepare your students for the test without boring them with too much test prep at one time. I'll use this time to review commonly-tested vocabulary words, punctuation marks, or to review released state test prep questions. When I review the questions with my students at the beginning of the class period, I only go over 2-3 questions at a time. I have the students answer the questions, and then call on students to first eliminate the wrong answer that stands out the most, and then to share the correct answer. It's not perfect, but it helps with test prep without taking up too much instructional time. I surely hope that these five different types of bell ringers help bring you some variety, engagement, and rigor to the first five minutes of class! Here are some more bell-ringer activities you can try in your classroom: Writing Prompts for Building Skills and Stamina by Room 213 Middle and High School English Bell-Ringers by Presto Plans English Reading and Writing Bell Ringer Exit Slips by Tracee Orman Career Exploration Daily Writing Prompts by The Classroom Sparrow Vocabulary of the Day by Secondary Sara

Classroom management is something that many teachers struggle with, especially as budget cuts pack more and more students into classrooms. Some secondary

10 Activities for Teaching Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably

It’s likely you’ve heard of bell ringers or have even incorporated some form of them into your own classroom routine. It’s also likely you completed them as a

Meaningful bell ringers for high school language arts will start class in an organized way and help you meet standards.

10 No-Prep Bell Ringers for Middle School ELA

Bell ringers are warm-up activities that students complete at the beginning of class—when the bell rings—while teachers get ready for their day.

ELA Daily Review 6th Grade {September} | Distance Learning | Google Slides and Forms

*A DIGITAL OPTION HAS BEEN INCLUDED FOR GOOGLE SLIDES AND FORMS/GOOGLE CLASSROOM* Be sure to re-download! There are directions and links inside the pdf. Hello, ELA! This resource is a unique way to get your students warmed up at the beginning of your ELA block.Each month contains 4-5 weeks of ELA bell work, which will have a theme around the season, national holidays, or events associated with that particular month. The morning work is focused on ELA 6th Grade Common Core Standards. Each day has a thematic structure to cover language standards as well as enhance vocabulary and comprehension skills.Save money by purchasing the year long BUNDLE!ELA Daily Review 6th Grade {Growing Bundle}Each week follows a predictable and engaging structure: Meaningful Monday: Monday is focused on making meaning. Tasks will focus on synonyms, antonyms, vocabulary words, context clues, and making meaning in a short amount of text. Some tasks may require students to make meaning in the text (inference, message, adages, proverbs, etc.) or build vocabulary skills.Text Structure Tuesday: Tuesdays will have a paragraph that requires students to identify the text structure, signal words, main idea, author's perspective, or vocabulary, or any other question types related to the Craft and Structure standards. Wordy Wednesday: Wednesday is all about working with words. Tasks include working with shades of meaning, homophones, spelling, prefixes, suffixes, roots, and other word skills.Throwback Thursday: Thursday is all about grammar usage and conventions. Figurative Friday: Figurative Friday tasks include working with various types of figurative language including similes, metaphors, idioms, poems, alliteration, structures of poems and more! This ELA + Math Morning Work is available for the following grade levels: ELA + Math Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade ELA Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade ELA Weekly Assessments 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade Math Bundles 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 🛑 Are you a member of the TLL Membership? These materials are already included. If you are not a member, click here to learn more. The TLL Membership gives you an all-access pass to hundreds of ELA resources for teachers in Grades 3-5.Let’s connect! The Literacy Loft Blog The Literacy Loft on Instagram The Literacy Loft on Pinterest The Literacy Loft on Facebook I hope this resource works for you! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or feedback. - Jessica

These differentiation strategies in the classroom are perfect for middle school and high school students. I use these ideas in secondary math, but they would even work in elementary.

Sentence Fluency Mini Lessons for Secondary Writing

When I think about student writing, one of the most difficult concepts to teach is sentence fluency. Much of excelling at fluent writing revolves around students’ background with literacy. Certainly,...

5 Pixar Short Films to Use in Secondary ELA

Pixar short films are a great way to target essential literary elements and techniques from characterization to theme to conflict to symbolism. These Pixar short films inspire class discussion and analysis, and students can then in turn write essays based upon these films. They are an excellent to

Are you looking for THE BEST bell ringers for high school English? Get your students excited to start class by...

Poetry Activities for Ambiguity (w/ Thomas Hardy & 'The Walk')

Dive into the captivating world of ambiguity in literature with this comprehensive poetry analysis resource, featuring Thomas Hardy's evocative poem, "The Walk." This resource seamlessly combines guided annotation, literary analysis tasks (short answer and essay assignments), and an inventive poem-writing activity to provide an all-encompassing exploration of the concept of ambiguity. This resource is flexible and easy to adapt, making it ideal for use as bell ringers, brief writing tasks, or substitute teacher plans. By breaking it down into individual components, it becomes readily versatile. Or, for a more immersive approach, combine all three activities to build a step-by-step poetry lesson that can span 1-2 weeks, allowing students to fully immerse themselves in the mysterious realm of ambiguity in literature. To use this resource, simply begin with the poem analysis activity, a perfect way to start class. Following this, allot time for students to engage with the guided annotation task and respond to the analysis question that accompanies the lesson (an answer key is included!). Next, students can create their own poem, drawing inspiration from the previously analyzed poetic concept. Lastly, student comprehension of the poem and its concepts can be evaluated through a literary analysis essay. This assignment includes a prompt, writing tips, a peer review procedure, and a rubric aligned with the Common Core standards! Your TeachSimple download includes: A POEM ANALYSIS ACTIVITY: Give students the opportunity to read Thomas Hardy's "The Walk" (text included) and analyze the poem via an annotation activity and accompanying analysis questions (answer key included). Ideal for a bell ringer! A CREATIVE WRITING ASSIGNMENT: Provide students the opportunity to further develop their understanding of ambiguity with a creative poem writing assignment (tied to one Common Core Writing Standard). Ideal for sub plans! A LITERARY ANALYSIS ESSAY: This essay assignment builds on students' thematic understanding of ambiguity and Hardy's "The Walk." The assignment handout includes essay guidelines, analysis prompt, literary analysis writing tips, and a peer review checklist. The included rubric is tied to 4 Common Core ELA Standards and includes a link to an editable rubric that allows for grading customization and seamless integration into Google Classroom and many other Learning Management Systems (LMS's) Although this resource can be fitted for any secondary Language Arts classroom, it has been carefully designed to work best in grades 9 through 12. The included rubric is subtly but specifically tied to Common Core ELA Standards for Language (1 and 2) and Writing (2 and 4). This resource is provided in print-ready, bookmarked, and adjustable PDF files and PowerPoint Show files. This resource contains 5 pages and 1 Google Sheet. Poetry Activities for Ambiguity (w/ Thomas Hardy & 'The Walk')

Looking for practical ways to begin your ELA class? In this post, find 7 options that are manageable and meaningful.

Prime Times®️: The Secondary Classroom Procedure You Can't Live Without

Do you want to know the secondary classroom procedure I can't live without??

20 Prompts for Photo-Inspired Writing in Secondary ELA

Photographs are great for inspiring all sort of essay writing from personal narrative writing to literary analysis writing to creative writing. Photographs serve the purpose of inspiring writing in our classes and can be used for writing workshop.

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the beginning of class (or when the bell rings, as the name suggests.) They jump start student learning, calm classroom chaos, reduce uncertainty, and make transitions smoother, all the while allowing the teacher to maximize their time and maintain their sanity. I’m here to share the benefits of using a bell-ringer routine in your classroom, tips and strategies to implement them effectively, and answers to your most commonly asked questions. I'm also sharing free bell-ringers that will last you a couple months! 1) Extra time at the beginning of class Bell-ringers give teachers the gift of time. In those 5-10 minutes, you can take attendance, get papers ready and/or passed out, prepare tech, catch up with students who have been absent, or even prepare for your next period. 2) Improved classroom routine and classroom management As students transition from class to class, they tend to get amped up from hallway antics. Bell-ringers improve the transition back into the academic setting and establish a consistent routine and minimize classroom management issues. There is a lot of uncertainty in a teenager’s world, and though they may not admit it, students crave predictability and routine. After the routine is established, you’ll even find that students will get started on the bell-ringer BEFORE the bell even rings, as they know exactly what is expected of them. 3) A chance to practice ELA skills and assess and review standards By using bell-ringers at the start of class, you are taking advantage of an extra opportunity to practice the ELA skills and meet standards you have been diligently working on throughout the year. Bell-ringers are perfect for putting what you’ve taught to the test in a creative, fun, low-pressure way. Given that they aren’t heavily graded on the bell-ringers (or not at all), the pressure often associated with other tasks is alleviated. 1. Mix up your bell-ringer each day If you are using the same bell-ringers every single day, students will likely grow tired of them. I like to have themed days for each of the bell-ringers that will address a specific skill. Below are some of the types of bell-ringers you might consider using: Improve word choice Locate figurative language Have a short discussion with a partner Watch a short video clip and write a personal response to a prompt Infer the meaning of new words in context Correct grammar errors Have a mini-debate with a partner Use a picture to spark narrative writing I liked to use each of my year-long volumes of bell-ringers to have different activities for each day. You can try four free weeks by clicking on the image below to see if they might work for you. 2. Give students a fun challenge Another way to mix up your bell-ringers is to set a challenge at the start of the week and have students progressively work towards a solution on Friday. My favorite way to do this is with escape room bell-ringer challenges. When you use an escape room bell-ringer, students are given a back story on Monday where they find themselves in a situation (dungeon, alien planet, military bunker, scientist study etc.). They work with their group for the first 5-10 minutes of class to progressively move through different floors, rooms, chambers, and cells each day to solve ELA related puzzles. Their goal? To successfully escape by the end of the week. Want to try a bell-ringer challenge with your students? Grab a free figurative language bell-ringer activity below as a fun way to start one of your classes. 2. Model a Good Response Spend the first days explaining the daily bell-ringer activity for that day and even show them what a strong response looks like for each different bell-ringer activity you do. Taking this time at the beginning will get you better responses from the students as the year goes on. 3. Set specific expectations and procedures From day 1, you’ll want to demonstrate exactly how things are going to play out. Start by literally walking them through the process of entering the classroom and retrieving their bell-ringer booklets or binder. Once they are completed their work, you might think of getting them to hold onto their booklets and putting them back at the end. I would recommend not doing this as typically someone will accidentally take it home or the booklets will get destroyed since they all are eager to leave and are throwing the booklets on the shelf (real life teaching, right?) That’s why I would suggest you establish a system for collecting the bell-ringer booklets after they are done, and go through it with them a few times to practice. You wouldn’t think something as simple as collecting the booklets would be an issue, but having a plan makes things run so much more smoothly. If you use a standard classroom set up (desks in a row or pairs): Have each row turn around to collect the booklets from the row behind them and move them all forward until they are in the front row. Select one student to collect them all from the front row and put them back in the proper spot. If your desks are set up in groups: Have one member from each group be responsible for collecting the booklets, and have all groups pass them over to the group closest to where to store them. Have one person put them all back. On the first day, I practice this 2-3 times and set a timer to see how fast they can do it (I tell them they are in competition with the other classes). This makes it fun, but it also establishes a routine, and set a precedent to strive for throughout the year and it makes collecting the booklets quick and efficient. 1. Should I grade bell-ringers? Won't that make more work for me? Listen, the LAST thing I want to do is add more paper to an English teachers' pile! Bell-ringers are a type of formative assessment that do not need to be graded. They are a quick way for students to practice and develop ELA skills. I did add a quick check rubric on the bottom of some of my student handouts because I personally used this to keep students accountable and motivated to complete the work to the best of their ability. I would tell them that one week out of the month would be graded, but they wouldn't know which week (insert evil laughter 😉). This lessened my grading, but I also liked peeking at them monthly to see who was completing the work well and where I needed to focus my instruction. 2. How long should you spend on bell-ringers? For me, bell-ringers would typically take an about 5-10 minutes to complete. The time will vary depending on what type of bell-ringer you are completing. Some people like a quick 5 minute bell-ringer, others like to dive in a little deeper and spend more time as it pertains to their lesson. If students are improving the word choice in a passage or practicing labelling figurative language, it may only take a quick 5 minutes. However, if they are discussing an ethical prompt or watching a video clip and writing a response, it may take closer to 10. It's important to remember though that sometimes your students will be totally engaged in a bell-ringer, and you may end up spending more time than you thought on it. This is not wasted time! The content still relates to your curriculum and helps students hone their writing, reading, speaking, and listening skills. Sometimes an unplanned part of a lesson is where the best learning happens. 3. How do you manage all the paper? Here is my fool-proof system. A word of caution: don't let them take their bell-ringer binder home! It's an absolute nightmare waiting to happen 😂. Have each student purchase a small 1 inch binder to hold all of the bell-ringer response sheets (or use a three-clasp folder). Have students write their name in big bold letters on the spine (or the front if it is a folder). Having a variety of colors of binders/folders is better so they can find theirs more easily. Put a bookcase somewhere near the door of your room. Assign each class an area of the bookcase. Tell students they will grab the binder when they enter, and it will go back on that shelf when the bell-ringer is done.! This makes it easy to find their binder the next day. 4. Will using bell-ringers help my classroom management? Yes, routines are your friend! I learned fairly quickly in my teaching career that expected procedures are necessary for survival when it comes to classroom management. Bell-ringers set the tone in the first few minutes of class and help students transition back into work mode after a break period. I was literally wasting the first 5-10 minutes of class quieting my students down and preparing to get started. After starting a bell-ringer routine, they immediately started working when they entered! 5. Should I do bell-ringers every day or just on some days? Personally, I think it is better to bell-ringers every day and stick to the routine. When you are always skipping the bell-ringer or only doing them here and there, students lose that consistency, and you won't see the classroom management benefits. You can certainly make it work if you don't want to do it every day, but if you do this, I might suggest writing on the board or projecting a slide to say if there is a bell-ringer that day. This way you don't have to constantly answer the question, "Is there a bell-ringer today?" Still have questions about using bell-ringers successfully in the classroom? Don't hesitate to reach out! I'd love to hear from you. Need more bell-ringer ideas? The bloggers of the coffee shop have you covered! Growth Mindset Bell Ringers from The Daring English Teacher Daily Career Writing Prompts from The Classroom Sparrow Independent Reading Prompts from Room 213 Bell-Ringer Journal Prompts from Tracee Orman Collaborative Bell-Ringers from Nouvelle ELA

by Secondary Sara Students love to argue, debate, tell stories, or just...talk... so much that informative writing can sometimes feel like boring, or even unnecessary, work. As a result, the informative essays or summaries that are turned in can feel uninspired. I've been working on how to keep students motivated when they are explaining, teaching, or reporting instead of persuading, and here are some of the things I've learned in my classroom. Tip #1: Provide expectations and examples While it's essential to briefly review the difference between informative and argumentative writing, my students also needed help realizing when they were unintentionally making biased word choices, and they only somewhat understood the importance of including a balance of viewpoints. Even when we had read sample articles as mentor texts first, they were still accidentally writing moments of persuasion during informative pieces. (Depending on your students' needs, they may also need help with lessons like formal writing, concise writing, and using the pronoun "you" less often.) Once they understand what informative writing LOOKS like, then they need to get excited about the possibilities! Download these three FREE posters to help illustrate what the genres are AND what task opportunities await! Tip #2: Create an air of mystery or investigation In my experience, students are much more willing to ditch persuasion if they are uncovering the truth in a mystery. Even an informative or research essay is more fun with the right topic (or the right set of directions). For example, some of the projects in my Informative Writing Bundle include Unsolved Mysteries, basic News Reporting, or telling Both Sides of the Story, and those have had higher levels of student engagement than a summary assignment with less interesting context. The bundle is a 10-pack of projects so that you can assign one to the whole class or provide a menu of options! Tip #3: Get an audience The best experience I've ever had with informative writing, to date, was when I recently made an Intro to Journalism unit from scratch (designed for beginners). After a crash course on journalism and informative writing, students applied for jobs in our newspaper "staff", wrote individual articles, and created a one-time newspaper. (However, if you're pressed for time, you can stop after writing the articles and omit the Project-Based Learning newspaper staff portion.) My point is that the imminent threat of having an audience read their newspaper was far more motivating than grades alone. Providing an audience will make any genre more authentic, but especially informative writing. My second-favorite informative writing experience is when we write mock TED talks, which technically includes speeches that are a blend of informative, argumentative, and narrative writing. Spark Joy... Modeling enthusiasm and generating excitement can happen for informative writing just as much as in any other genre! Even without persuasion, students still have worthwhile things to say and a world that needs truth. You Might Also Like: Blog Post: 6 Tips for Teaching Journalism by Tracee Orman Informative Essay Writing Unit by Tracee Orman Write a Tutorial: Article Writing by Nouvelle ELA Intro to Informative and Explanatory Writing by The Daring English Teacher Blog Post: Writing Reviews by Room 213 Expository Writing: The Town Times by Addie Williams

10 Writing Warm-Ups to Engage Your Students in the Middle School ELA or High School English Classroom - The

In the public education setting, timed-writes are a required part of many standardized tests. Rather than try to cloak that reality, embrace it! One great way

Romeo and Juliet is one of those classic pieces of literature I think everyone has read. Even students who haven’t read the Shakespeare play have probably

Using Bell Ringers and Exit Slips for Quick Assessments

Quick writes bell ringers and exit slips for implementing the Common Core State Standards.

A great blog of secondary English teachers helping you find great ideas to enhance your classroom!

Projects to Make Poetry Fun: 5 Fun Poetry Projects to Try

Getting students engaged in a poetry unit can be a challenge. Here are some fun poetry projects and activities to incorporate in your classroom to help spark

Playing Spoons in the Classroom {Highly Engaging Review Game}

This post explains how teachers can use an academic version of the highly engaging Spoons game to review concepts. Free games included!

Language arts bell ringers for middle school get class started in an orderly way. Here are five successful bell ringers.

Why I'm Using GOOGLE for Bell Work (and going digital for good!)

If you're like me, you have tried a thousand options for bell ringers/bell work. No matter what, the bell work needs a home, and for a long time, the bell work "home" has been in a notebook. Then, what do we have to do to grade it? COLLECT 125 SPIRAL BOUND NOT

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