4 Ways to Use Bell Ringers for Career and Tech Education
Have you ever tried using bell ringers for high school students? There are many reasons bell ringers work in high school and middle school classrooms including engagement and classroom management. Read on for a list of reasons they work and keep scrolling to find some free printable bell ringer questions for you to try with your students!
1- Classroom Routine and Classroom Management- Establishing a beginning-of-class routine has been a lifesaver in my high school and middle school teaching career. From the first day of school, I have students enter the classroom and begin working on a bell ringer. The first day is often projected on the Smartboard or on the whiteboard and just involves some “get to know you” questions but it starts the routine.
A typical student’s attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes long.
So grabbing their attention at the beginning of the class period is key and they often remember what you discussed in the first 10 minutes of class more than any other information.
2- Review and Introduce– They review the material from the day before and introduce a new topic. Bell ringers are a great way to review the key concept from the day before. They can also help you to introduce a new topic. For instance, if you are about to teach about quick breads in culinary arts, you can ask students what their favorite quick bread is to eat or make, brownies, banana bread, etc. It can get a conversation going that can lead you into your lesson smoothly.
3- Classwork Grade- Let’s face it, some kids do not do well on assessments and some students will forget their homework every time. I like to use the bell ringer journals in my class as a quick and easy classwork grade. Did you participate by answering the question each day? Even if you were not correct every time, did you try? You get a point for each day you answer the question. It is a little grade boost and a nice way to reward students for following your classroom routine.
4- Introduce an activity or game. Bell ringers can be used to introduce fun activities or games. Have students play a game or do an activity that is related to the material. This can be a great way to get students excited about learning! The bell ringer can lay the groundwork for the activity that you are going to do that class period.
You can print bell ringers and put them in a folder or binder if you are using journals or you can assign them in Google. Our resources have both versions included in them.
We also have Culinary Arts Bell Ringer Journals to get you through as semester or school year of high school culinary or FCS. They also work for middle school family and consumer science, home economics or Prostart classes.
More Bell Ringer Materials
If you want to learn more about how to use bell ringer journals in the classroom, check out this blog post.
