The name itself has evolved over the years, but the idea behind the activity, the effectiveness and the benefits are the same whether it is called a warm up, entrance exercise, daily drill, or the old familiar, tried and true “ bell ringer”.
What is a Bell Ringer?
A bell ringer is a snapshot activity given at the beginning of class. The bell ringer’s purpose can be to assess students knowledge on a particular topic or skill, guide instruction giving students an idea of the lesson to come, to determine reteach needs or differentiation needs for scholars that know the intended content for the day and need an alternative lesson.
Who Do Bell Ringers Benefit?
The daily bell ringer benefits the student and the teacher.
The student benefits because they become familiar with a routine.
We all know that routines are golden and increase the effectiveness of classroom management.
In addition to this, the bell ringer gives a preview into the lesson for the day.
Upon completing the bell ringer, students have begun accessing prior knowledge and formulating questions if they are not familiar with the content. These questions lead to robust discussions and peer interactions.
The teacher benefits because they are able to gauge the classes familiarity with a concept or topic.
This helps in planning and the amount of time needing to be spent in a particular area. More than this, we get to start a new unit with some pretty decent data and over time learn the effectiveness of our teaching.
When and Where Can Bell Ringers Be Used?
Bellringers should be used at the start of a class period or when transitioning to new subjects.
They can and should be used in all core subjects. I have also seen and heard of them being used in fine arts and p.e..
How Do I Use Bell Ringer Data?
Currently, my district is doing online asynchronous instruction. So, I will use my bell ringer data to help in my small group selections until I have done my beginning of the year assessments.
Every second counts now in this world of virtual education more than ever. Being consistent and using effective methods will prove beneficial while the world mends.
Whether you call them bell ringers or something else, I hope that daily they offer new insight so that you can do what’s best for your kids.
Teacher, T.