Bell Work! Not a Minute to Waste!
Getting Started Right Away with Engaging Activities (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 1: Beginning LiteracyStage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Stage 3: Literacy for Growth
Ages:
6-12
Grade Range:
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6thFood Groups:
Primary: Classroom Tips
Transcript
The first period of the day is always bell work. The students come into class, they put away their backpack, they get settled at their desk, and there is a bell work assignment written on the board for them. This is an independent task and its always at a volume level one. This helps the students focus on the day and focus on their own work. I find that the students are often very chatty when they come in the classroom and this is a way to focus them in the morning. The bell work is often related to topics of study in the classroom. For poetry, I ask them to write spontaneous short poems. For science, I ask them to write short stories or answer science related questions. For math, I give them problems on the board, and sometimes its just an interesting question related to their own personal lives that they can write about. After about 15 minutes of bell work, the students are then given the option to share their bell work with the class. Often, about four or five students like to share their bell work. They read it out loud and students can ask them questions about it afterwards.
Related References
Additional Link:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD): Handbook for Qualities of Effective Teachers http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104135/chapters/Classroom-Management-and-Organization.aspx
Activity Objective
The goal of Bell Work! Not a Minute to Waste!: Getting Started Right Away with Engaging Activities (Virtual Tour) is engage every student in a meaningful learning activity as soon as they enter the classroom. These individual bellwork activities help students get focused right away rather than chatting among themselves and wasting time at the beginning of the day. Bellwork can be related to various curriculum areas or may simply be interesting brain teasers to get the students thinking. The activities are designed to be completed in a brief period of time and, in some cases, a few students may choose to share their bell work with the class.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Students in younger grades can benefit from appropriately designed "bell work as well. As early as kindergarten the daily routine can involve an activity designed to engage each student in some productive learning activity, on the carpet or around tables. This might involve choosing a picture book from some laid out on the carpet and sharing it with a classmate.
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