The Precious First Few Moments of Class: 4 Easy Teaching Warm-Ups To Start Class Tomorrow

I stumbled upon this blog post while perusing the Flipboard feed this past weekend.  I think the four simple ideas will support getting students engaged the moment you transition throughout the day. Suzy Pepper Rollins shares these strategies to make every minute count in class throughout the day.  Try one tomorrow!

4 Easy Teaching Warm-Ups To Start Class Tomorrow

1. Facts and Fibs

Create facts and fibs about the upcoming topic on strips of paper.  In groups, students discuss each of these and separate into piles. For example, if students will be learning about the desert, one strip might say, “Deserts are always hot.” Another: “Desert animals often have long periods of dormancy to survive.” As students learn about deserts, they rethink their facts and fibs, repositioning the strips. Were the group’s answers correct?

In math, fact and fib strips might say, “.61 is greater than 0.064” or “There is not a number between 5.4 and 5.5.”  Facts and fibs facilitate talking about math.

2. Survey

It’s hard to beat surveys to answer the question, “What’s this got to do with me?” About to embark on a government unit? A short survey in which students respond to questions about driver’s licenses, voting, marriage requirements, etc. can get every student involved.

Tackling a piece of text about a character in a tough predicament? Survey questions inquire about ways in whichstudents might handle these situations. Students are more likely to be motivated to read when there is a personal connection to the text. They are now wondering, “Hmmm, I wonder how the character will get out of this mess?”  (Before the survey, students were likely thinking about lunch.)

3. Question Cards

Pass out index cards to groups with “What? Who? When? How? and Where?” written on the cards. Students “play” their cards by creating questions about the topic.For example, if the upcoming lesson is on snails, a student might inquire, “Why are snails so slimy?”

The next student’s query might be, “Where do snails live?” During the lesson or reading, students answer the questions they have created during the opener. Question cards facilitate questioning by every student, not just the few in the front.  Plus, it’s much for engaging to seek answers to questions students have developed themselves rather than those from a publisher.

4. Alpha Brainstorming

On a chart from A-Z, groups brainstorm everything they know about a topic. For example, “Write everything you know about electricity.” This process taps into prior knowledge and gets everyone on topic in just a few minutes.  After the lesson, students can revisit their list, “Now, what can be added to what you know about electricity?”  (A math example might be, “List everything with a perimeter from A-Z.”)

A Quick Checklist for Successful Warmup Activities

Success starters have the power to get students intellectually engaged and successful right at the bell. By tweaking our instruction in those critical minutes, teachers can set-up today’s learning goals beautifully in just a few minutes.  With these strategies, students become authentically engaged right away, and teachers can still quickly handle critical administrative tasks.

A checklist for success starters:

• Is intellectual curiosity about today’s learning goals piqued?
• Does the activity tap into real-world or personal connections?
• Does the task foster success in ALL students for today’s learning goal?

The opening minutes can be so valuable in getting student excited about today’s lesson.  Success starters have the power to get every student open to new learning right at the bell, not many minutes later.

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