I like class to start the second students enter my classroom (high school physics). Meanwhile, I am supposed to be standing in the hallway while classes change!
About 10 years ago I perfected my technique for "Bellringers". Each student has a "Bellringer Book" that they pick up from the "Bellringer Table" on their way into the room. I have review questions or a practice problem on the board with a count down timer running. Students need to return books to their period's bin by the end of the countdown timer.
Everything is right there in one nice booklet. I count it as 1 pt a day that is entered as one grade at the end of the marking period. I have a calendar printed on the back of the book to record the points and the dates printed on the pages. My goal is to grade them daily to take the pulse of the class.
Many a teacher has admired and envied my smooth start to class and bell-to-bell teaching. I've shared my "Bellringer Book", but none have been anal, er I mean DETAIL ORIENTED enough to follow through with it. It really needs to occur daily to establish the routine.
Joining the TpT family has exposed me to a whole new circle of possibly "detail oriented" teachers. I made a smaller 1 month version of my Bellringer Book for January 2012 to offer as a freebie. ( I use legal size paper & have enough pages for a whole marking period for mine). Nearly 500 people downloaded it. It is an editable WORD file. Use it for Bellringers or any daily routine you like to keep in one place.
January was FREE. February is 80 cents. March will be free.
Check it out....
We are getting ready to start our next semester and the Revolutionary War. Whenever you start a new unit, I think you need to HOOK them. Find out what they know and what they are thinking and then...you have their interest. I use a lot of art work to evoke feelings, share time period clothing/culture and give them a peek into the world of 1776.
