Bellringers are those class-starting activities that add to content while you prepare to begin a lesson. Much more than busywork, well-planned bellringers can help students gain skills with practice in areas that will be tested later on. They offer several advantages:
- Bellringers provide practice without constant quizzes or tests.
- They help focus students on the lesson to come.
- They can reduce test anxiety by familiarizing students with small increments of content.
Try using bellringers in your classroom that are based on questions like those that students will see on upcoming state tests. For material to use as bellringers, check the books for your state from American Book Company—practices in chapters and the tests at the front and back of each book offer many sample questions! In addition, the Basics Made Easy series has even more practice questions for you to use!
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Zuzana Urbanek, English Language Arts Coordinator at American Book Company.
