Bellwork and Why You Should Use It Too

I'd like to start this post by admitting I hadn't used this classroom management technique until half way through the second quarter of our school year.  Boy, I do I regret it!

Something I include in the first 5 minutes of every class is Bellwork.  I project on our front board the following things:

Today's Date

Today's Objectives

A Question

Instructions to Prepare the Students for Class

The students' job is to copy down the objective, answer the question, and follow the instructions. 

I have the students copy the objective because I believe it is important for the students to know what they should be able to do by the end of class AND it also gives them a preview into what we will be doing that day.

The Bellwork question can be one of the following:  Vocab work, Root word work, or Sentence corrections.  

Insert example of each here

 The instructions can range from turn in homework, pick up any handouts that we will need for the day, clear off your desk, etc.  

By including the Bellwork as soon as the students come in, it sets the mood of the class that we are here to learn, but it also diminishes any classroom management issues. The students know to come in and complete the bellwork in five minutes and so there is little room for goofing off or getting into other shenanigans.  

But what if the students do follow the instructions and instead sit in their seats and talk? Of course they are going to talk sometimes, this is middle school!

 I solve this problem by giving a Bellwork quiz every 2 weeks or so.  When it is a quiz day, I hand the students a notecard as I greet them at the door.  Projected on the board are three to four questions that reflect the various things we have covered the past few weeks.  I might ask them things such as: 

What was the objective from 2/29?  

What is the meaning of ostentatious from 3/4?  

Write the sentence from 1/18 WITH the corrections included.

The students answer these questions on their notecards and turn them in to count for an assessment grade.  This IS an open notebook quiz!  The idea is that if they have been following directions everyday and aren't sitting there talking, they can have a very easy assessment grade that can boost their overall class grade.  The students learned real quick after the first two quizzes that they are being held accountable for their Bellwork.

I do have planned for next year to include other topics for Bellwork, but that is for a separate post.

How do you start your class period?  Do you do something similar or completely different? I would love to hear some different ideas!