Early on in my geography instructor career, I understood the importance of bell ringers, not only for classroom management, but also for using every single minute I had with my students to increase their geography skills, not to mention preparation for state testing that required students to read graphs, maps, and charts. It is also a great way to help students transition from one subject to another. They may have had language arts the hour before my class, so to jumpstart students’ thinking and set a productive tone for the geography lesson ahead — bell ringers are great at accomplishing this. Through these brief explorations, bell ringers help foster critical thinking skills while creating an atmosphere conducive to active participation.
So here is how I implemented Bell Ringers:
When students entered the room, they grabbed their Geojournal from the class box and immediately went to work. The lights were dimmed (which gave students a calming atmosphere yet enough light from the windows to see) and the daily questions were displayed on the board. I had a class set of Rand McNally atlases that students used to complete their bell ringer. The one I am currently using is Rand McNally’s 6th Edition World Atlas which can be found on Amazon for $15. There are less expensive ones as well for $11 This gave me time to take up late work and attendance (Okay, I am one of those who was so busy, I often forgot to take attendance. Shame on me! It wasn’t intentional; I was just on stage from the minute students stepped in the door.) Students applied our weekly Geojournal template/format and knew what to expect. The template created organized work and made them easy to assess. Not only did having bell ringers set the expectations for the class, but it also helped prepare students’ brains for geography class. I rarely had an issue with classroom management and behavioral issues — not to say I didn’t, but it sure cut down on them. An idol mind…
The purpose of the bell ringer was to give students extra practice answering geography questions, learning to use an atlas and its table of contents, and strengthening their map- and chart-reading skills, there just was never enough time throughout the year to implement this and 5 minutes of practice was good for them.
How to assess their work:
- Students answered three questions at the beginning of class. The sooner they got to class the more time they had to answer them.
- Once 5 minutes were up past the class starter bell, they switched with a peer who graded in green (or another color) ink as we went over the three answers. I was not an advocate of students grading other students’ papers, but for this activity (since it was practice), I allowed it.
- First, the students were directed to draw a green line through any space where the answer was not attempted. This was to deter students from not attempting answers and trying to fill in the blanks and get credit after the fact.
- If they did not attempt to answer the question, they lost ALL points and could not regain them. I encourage the concept of “Learn from your mistakes“, “Try and try again,” and “How will you know what you can do if you don’t attempt it?“
- If they answered it incorrectly, they gained 1/2 their points back if they corrected it after the review (This encouraged them to always attempt an answer.) You may choose to give them full credit for correcting their answers, depending on your students’ abilities and needs. I always told them it was a learning experience, and they may get it wrong, but that is how we learn. I encouraged my students to learn from their mistakes. Getting it incorrect would not be a failure if they learned from it, but not attempting to answer at all would not be beneficial. If I expected them to get them correct every time, they would not be allowed to correct their mistakes for partial credit.
- If they answered the question correctly, they gained full credit.
- At the end of the week, I would randomly grade a couple of daily activities and record an effort grade in the grade book for the practice activities. Don’t grade them all; just pick one or two.
Here are some tools to help this process go more smoothly:
Geojouranl Template This is the Geojournal template I used year around with their Geojournal folders they would keep in the room for easy access.
Bell Ringers (Set #1) This PowerPoint resource can be uploaded to our Google Drive and provide 6 weeks of Atlas activity bell ringers or warm-ups. Students will strengthen their map, chart, and graphic reading skills while prepping their minds for geography class.
Bell Ringers (Bundle) Grab the entire bundle of bell ringers and save!
GRAB 180 DAYS OF BELLING RINGERS! ↥↥↥
Other fun geography activities:
Around the World Game this game allows students to have fun and recall on which continent each country lies. Students would play this when there was downtime or on days students were going to miss classes due to pep rallies and other school activities. They love it! It gets them up and moving while learning.
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