High School Classroom Bell-Ringers, Lesson Ideas for Teachers, Start Strong Each Class Period

An experienced high school English teacher shares tips and tricks to make your teaching life easier. Today, let’s talk about how to get kids seated and working before the tardy bell rings.
Click here to see a M.U.G. Shot mini-lesson in action:
• Grammar Lessons That W...
Click here to check out my M.U.G. Shot semester #1 materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
Lit. Term Tuesday materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
Words on Wed. semester #1 materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
Sustained Silent Reading (S.S.R.) materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
More details about how I run the S.S.R. assignment:
laurarandazzo.com/2016/08/09/...
Quarter Trios blog post:
laurarandazzo.com/2015/08/10/...
No-cheat vocabulary quiz strategy:
• High School English Te...
Brain Teasers semester #1 materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
Commonly Confused Words/Homophones semester #1 materials:
www.teacherspayteachers.com/P...
Lots of advice and free resources for secondary teachers at laurarandazzo.com/
Music used with permission of Sing King:
/ singkingkaraoke

[@AmberCornett-lh5qn]

I agree with the Do Now being something short for the student to do at the beginning of the class.

[@marlenefoy359]

I think that starting strong each period is an excellent idea. It keeps thing fresh and fun for all students and helps the teacher kind of reset for the next class.

[@jennsarver]

I want to be as amazing as Laura Randazzo. You are my teacher spirit animal. Thanks for sharing all of your seriously amazing wisdom!

[@erikasagert9644]

Yes, me too!!

[@maryseguevara8131]

Another great video with useful ideas! When I taught sixth grade our bell work was two parts, a quick sentence to practice revising, and a prompt about self or content. I also had the concern that I might miss something important from the students because of the amount of reading I would have to do. I told my students about my concern, assured them I would do my best, and asked them to flag anything they didn't want me to miss. They could highlight it or use a sticky note. I collected weekly to avoid falling behind. I checked in with students throughout the semester. I learned a lot about my students. 7:39

[@tkem28]

My mentor told me day one to make the secretaries your BFF'S because they run the school! Absolutely 100% right on!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Ab-so-lute-ly, tkem28. Irritate the secretaries? Prepare yourself for a long, l-o-n-g year. :)

[@user-vr6kq6jz1z]

I absolutely LOVE how you change things up from day to day. Great ideas!

[@sv8236]

Love the use of bell ringers. Plan on using them in my classroom

[@eb3219]

Loved the use of “halcyon” on the fly.. very helpful tips for sure even for me being a HS RSP teacher

[@woodlandcreatureteacher152]

Right on! I find the "daily warm-up" essential for keeping our class running smoothly. Funny story: as I was reading through the feedback I collected from my students at the end of the year I find this gem, "The warm-ups were helpful (I learned a lot about grammar), but I didn't like that we had to do them at the beginning of class each day." *shaking my head* my dear, silly 8th grader those minutes at the start of the period were for MY benefit (take attendance, collect homework, quick sip of coffee, deep, cleansing breath, ok let's go!). Besides, I call them a "warm-up" because they are much smaller and easier than the main event lesson we are about to launch into. 😂

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Woodland Creature Teacher You get me, WCT. They need the skills and we need a minute to take care of our business, which always includes one last swig of lukewarm coffee. Caffeinated teacher = Happy teacher

[@robertdufour2456]

New subscriber! As a veteran art teacher, I enjoy listening to people talk about their craft and share their successes. Thank you for your channel. I am not sure how old this video I am responding to is but I hope you are well and happy!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Thanks so much, Robert! I'm still here and happy that you found your way to my channel. :)

[@emilycarter9477]

I love doing TikTok Tuesday’s. It helps that I teach a career and tech class (interior design and Intro to Family and Human Services) so I can find so much related content on TikTok, but if you teach a subject where there’s not as much of related content on TikTok, you could do TikTok Tuesday once a month or bi-weekly and just do a funny video. I think the kids really like this. I also do Design Fail Friday in Interior Design and I find some crazy design fail online and we talk about why it’s a fail. My students always look forward to these 2 days! My other 3 days or bell ringers aren’t themed and are either review from the day before or foreshadowing what we will be learning about that day.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Those are so fun, Emily! Do you have any examples posted anywhere? I'm sure folks would enjoy that. 😀

[@michelleherrera3223]

Love this! I use Do nows but the themes helps so much to get everything in such as vocabulary and practice correcting their mistakes!

[@shool4school729]

I use your bellringers and love them. Kids know the routine and I can get my attendance done; win-win!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Precisely, Shool 4 School! Good for them and good for us. Thanks for watching and commenting. I appreciate it! :)

[@laurianncarbajal1672]

Thank you so much for your videos. You are real! What secondary needs!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Thanks, Lauriann, for your kind words! Glad you found me. :)

[@mimischuldenfrei7895]

Thanks so much - great and practical ideas. I teach EFL in Israel and just shared this with all of my colleagues!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

So glad you found my channel, Mimi, and I appreciate that you're spreading the word! Love that. :)

[@xyhanx]

You're back at it my virtual mentor!!! Liking the video before even watching. :D

[@laurarandazzo1158]

I think that qualifies you as a super-fan, xyhanx! Love that support. And, yes, summertime is a much easier time to film and edit video. Glad you're here with me! :)

[@xyhanx]

Glad YOU'RE here with me! Your generosity with ideas and wisdom goes halfway across the world. I ran out of your vlogs to watch so I literally screamed when your new vid appeared. lol. Our school year starts on Monday so wish me luck!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Enjoy your new kiddos! You've got this. ;)

[@isabellevincenti7228]

OMG I started "Mugshot Mondays" with my sophomores ; works a charm !

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Let's go! That's what I'm talkin' about. 🙌

[@SarahWheeleeTravels]

Have you written a book? If not you should. I trust your opinion and there aren’t enough books on teaching secondary from a teachers perspective.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Sarah Wheelee Alas, no book, Sarah. Just hundreds of posts over on the blog, which is starting to feel a bit like the book of my teaching life. Maybe a book...someday...possibly...or maybe not. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing over here. Ha!

[@SarahWheeleeTravels]

Laura Randazzo girl just collect your best blog posts and publish. Maybe an e-book. Like survival guides for beginning teachers.

[@SarahWheeleeTravels]

Laura Randazzo I give your videos as links to new teachers at our school who need just quick go to hacks.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Yes, please, and THANK YOU, Sarah! Keep spreading the word and I'll keep awkwardly talking to my phone camera. ;)

[@k8e773]

I second this! Next year’s 20 time maybe?!

[@michaelleonard224]

Awesome and useful procedures

[@rmt3589]

Sounds amazing! Could be used like a daily review.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

That's the plan! :)

[@TheAngryTeacher]

Trios - that sounds like a stealable idea. :) I may try it.

[@joannemarkov]

I would love advice on how to structure 90-minute blocks in general. I will be using your warm-ups, along with a growth mindset journal prompt once a week. I think I’m going to incorporate SSR into the last 40-45 minutes of the week, as well.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Hey, JoAnne! Yeah, the block is different sort of beastie. I just added your question to my "make a video on this topic" brainstorm list, but I'll give you the quick two-cents here. I've found success with chopping up the 90-min. block into six 15-minute-ish chunks in my mind. No single activity is allowed to fill more than two consecutive chunks. So, a day might look like this: 1. Bell-ringer 2. Game/attention grabber to intro. new lesson 3. Dig into a poem, short story, or article we're going to study 4. Continue the text work 5. Think-pair-share and a full-class debrief of the material 6. Quarter Trio challenge/community builder Each day is a little different, of course, but I like to keep things moving, esp. with those longer classes. When I taught on a 55-minute daily calendar, I mentally planned three 20-minute-ish chunks of activities. The block just needed a slight adjustment and we were off and running with pretty much all of the same assignments that I'd used on the traditional schedule. Hope this is helpful.

[@libertysprings2244]

Gives me anxiety even thinking about having to participate in classroom discussion and group activities. I miss the days when we could just put our head down and sleep through classes. Kids these days are sleep deprived due to lack of sleeping in school. 😂

[@jamesg9563]

Hey Laura, your content has given me such a boost of confidence and artillery of ideas for this next school year. Question: MUG shot Mondays and Lit Term Tuesdays are activities designed for only the beginning of class correct? Or are they designed to take up the whole class period?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Hey, James, thanks for watching and checking in with me! Yes, these procedures are all just bell-ringers, short activities designed to help students get focused at the beginning of class. Each one takes 5-to-15 minutes, depending on the work that needs to be done and the students' level of enthusiasm/participation. Hope this helps with your planning. :)

[@hairgirl1970]

I love your resources. I teach 7th grade, so I am thinking this might be to difficult for my students. Do you have any resources that will work for 7th grade?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Thanks, Laurie! I've actually heard from several middle school teachers that they're successfully using these same slides with their kids. You might need to modify things a bit, depending on your kids. For instance, you could ask them to find four errors and then you follow up by explaining the extra five more subtle errors. I know TpT has a BUNCH of middle school stuff, too, though I haven't personally vetted those resources. Just be sure to dig into the "preview" for the items over there and you should get a good sense of whether a product is a good match for your kiddos. Happy planning! :)

[@spicerc1244]

Whenever I get into a routine, admin seems to stick their nose in it. I've had principals pump the brakes because the warmup doesn't EXACTLY match the learning standard for the day. And almost worse I have well-meaning instructional coaches constantly bombard me with "innovative" technology-driven bell ringers that I can never get through all of them, let alone use consistently.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Exhausting. I feel for you.

[@kimberlyandreas1793]

I teach 6th grade social studies and although your videos are ELA based, I do find them very helpful! Would you have any good ideas on how to streamline grading of DBQs submitted online via Google Docs? What would YOU be wanting us SS teachers to focus on in a DBQ essay? Just an fyi: my students are the first grade level to experience DBQs in our K-8 district. Thanks again for your great videos!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

So glad you're enjoying the channel, Kimberly! I must admit, I haven't really dug into the DBQ requirements. I know that our APUSHistory folks hammer the format into our juniors, but beyond that this is out of my knowledge base. My best advice is to look at those endpoint released samples and work backwards to figure out the beginning steps your 6th graders should focus on as you lay that foundation. I'm also always a big fan of codes to make your feedback/grading load lighter. You'll want to tailor the codes to your history dept. needs, but you can get a general sense of how coding works from this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXapi5iaiLxjf5I Hope this is useful! :)

[@kimberlyandreas1793]

Thanks SO much for getting back to me so quickly! I really appreciate your insights!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Kimberly Andreas Gotta love summer vacation! ;)

[@marwaelnaggar3028]

Hi Laura, I wanted to ask how much time you give to each student during your Friday one-on-one conference with them? I'm guessing in order for the conference to not be rushed, you'd probably not be able to get to all of them every week, right?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Oh yeah, Marwa, the time I spend with each kid will vary widely depending on what's needed. For some kids, I'll spend 90 seconds explaining a make-up assignment and then let them work on it independently. Others will get maybe 5 minutes or so as I explain a more complicated writing issue and help model corrections. The "conferences" aren't a check-in with each and every student on my roster; as you mentioned, there's no way we can get to everyone in one class period when rosters are packed with 34 kids. It's more of a way to clean up any lingering issues and give special attention to those who need it. I couldn't run the classroom effectively without those SSR Friday sessions.

[@DigitallyYoursAdele]

Wow ! I thought _I_ made up the term "Do Nows"!!!! So ... it's a real THING?!!!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

That's okay, Adele. I thought I invented the term, "MUG Shot" for mechanics, usage, and grammar. Nope. It's been around a lot longer than me, apparently. *shrugs* Thanks - as always - for watching!

[@jellywiliam809]

I like the idea of doing stand alone vocabulary as a bellringer, but do you find it overwhelming for students when you give them additional vocabulary from in-class reading like novels? How do handle that? Thanks for taking the time to make these videos for us! Super helpful!

[@laurarandazzo1158]

My pleasure, Amanda. Okay, I might blow your mind here, but I don't give novel-based vocabulary work. Sure, I'll prime the class with weird words before they read a chapter. "Hey, kids, 'bindle' means blanket roll, like an old-fashioned sleeping bag," I'll tell them before they read a section from Of Mice and Men. I don't ever, though, quiz them on our literary-based vocab. words. The SAT ones are enough and those are words they're more likely to encounter in actual adult life. I mean, who calls a rolled up blanket a "bindle" anymore, anyway? :)

[@jellywiliam809]

Laura Randazzo good point!!

[@jenxomommy]

Do you set a timer for your bell ringers to keep time management?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Jennifer Gilmore No, Jennifer, but I am mindful of the clock as we launch. I don’t want these to go on for too long. We already have a lot to do in our regular lesson each day.

[@prettybiggirlj]

I’m confused! 😐 How is the mug shot, lit Tuesday and word Wednesday work again on block schedule?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

I hear you, prettybiggirlj. When I started teaching on an A/B block, it twisted my brain at first and I ended up doing things just a little bit differently. I drop the alliterative names and then use the three routines on a cycle of one every class meeting. We never take a day off from the bellringers because we actually have fewer days we meet that the 5-times-a-week folks. For SSR, I still use that on the last day I see a class each week (always a Thursday or a Friday) but only for 45 minutes of that 90 minute class. The block definitely required me to slide things around a bit. Hope this helps! :)

[@12rwoody]

What do you do with that student who "forgets" his ssr book every Friday or "accidentally" falls asleep while reading? I use a pretty straight forward pts system for accountability, but I'm not sure how effective it is.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

I hear you, 12rwoody. We all have that kid in class. For a kid who forgets his book or falls asleep, I ding the weekly 10-point score, but I'd also call home after the third incident. Clearly, something's up with that kid; he's either sleep deprived (staying up all night online, perhaps?), needs organizational help, or has some other block to learning. Either way, I let the kid know that I'm concerned, that he's losing easy points, and that I need to give his folks a call to problem-solve the situation with them. Did you see I just uploaded an SSR Q&A video this past weekend that talks a bit about some of these issues? It's here, if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3-7cnV_g9qFqNk Thanks!

[@12rwoody]

@@laurarandazzo1158 Thanks Laura. You're the best!

[@haneenarman6100]

Would the Mugshots work for 6th grade?

[@laurarandazzo1158]

Haneen Arman Perhaps, Haneen, but only after some time has been spent giving explicit grammar instruction. Maybe use MUGs only in the spring semester? Also, I would simplify the sentences a bit and include fewer errors per sentence.

[@rflamez]

What if your teacher says the bell does not dissmiss you I do.

[@laurarandazzo1158]

I'd remind myself that we should all give each other some grace.

[@rflamez]

Ok