6th Grade Math Bell Ringers - The Sad Truth
Many teachers consistently use 6th grade math bell ringers in attempt to aid in retention only to find little success. Whether this be an issue in engagement, lack of repetition, or consistency, it’s tough to balance everything to ensure student success. When the bell rings to dismiss from the previous class and students are finally set free, 6th grade math bell ringers await them on the other side at the start of your class. Too often, engagement is the number one problem. So let’s start there!
1. Students are not engaged in the 6th grade math bell ringers
Let me set the record straight. 6th grade math common core bell ringers don’t have to be boring! Too often I see students working on worksheets with columns of endless problems. The students get a new page weekly with no attempt to engage or interest students in the practice. What a great way to start off class… Get the students bored out of their minds before any new content is even considered. This is probably the most common reason teachers are not seeing results with their bell ringers.
However, this is not a difficult problem to fix. If you’re anything like me, this is not an acceptable way to kick off what I attempt to make the most engaging class of the day. You’ve likely worked on other aspects of your daily activities, now let’s tackle how you approach your bell ringers.
Most likely you wouldn’t hand the students a stack of worksheets to complete all class. You would mix it up with various activities, games, challenges, investigations, group work, etc. Your warm-up shouldn’t be approached any differently. All you have to do is step away from the worksheet as your only form of a bell ringer. What activities are you already using in your class that are short enough to be used as a warm-up activity? Here is a list of some ideas I use to engage my students with my bell ringers.
Mixed-Up Monday / Multiple Choice Monday
Take out the Trash Tuesday
Would you Rather Wednesday / Which One Doesn’t Belong Wednesday
Throwback Thursday
Friend Check Friday
To read more about each topic and for more ideas, read my Eight 6th Grade Math Warm-Ups That Will Totally Change the Way You Start Your Class.
2. Content does not spiral throughout your bell ringers for 6th grade math
Every year for the past ten plus years of my teaching career I told myself I was going to start using daily spiral reviews to help with retention. My intentions were good, but my daily warm-ups were everything but spiral.
Often I would write problems from the previous lesson on the board as the students walked in. The lasting effects of this were by no means ideal. I knew I had to revisit topics from earlier in the year, but, to be honest, I never did.
When I came to the realization that I will be teaching in person and online at the same time this year, it made me realize this whole writing the warm-up on the board last minute is no longer an option. Therefore, I sat down and worked tirelessly on an engaging and rigorous spiral review my students would actually enjoy.
In order to ensure students are benefiting from your 6th grade math bell ringers, it is so important to revisit topics from earlier in the year. In fact, I don’t recommend going more than two weeks without reviewing any particular topic. That way, when state testing comes up at the end of the year, students aren’t looking at you like they have never seen an integer or ratio before in their life. Instead, they just practiced graphing integers the day before, and worked on ratio tables last week. The football team and basketball teams repeatedly take reps, why shouldn’t your math class?
3. Consistency is lacking with your 6th Grade math common core bell ringers
Umm, whoops! I’m sure you’ve been there before too. If not, we’ll just pretend like you have so I don’t have to feel bad about my lack of organization when it comes to writing down the new problems. Luckily, I no longer have that problem because I post the entire week the Friday before. That way, on Monday morning, I am ready to go because my whole week is already planned out.
Every day of the week I use a different theme to provide students the consistency they need with the variety they want. The consistency ensures they know what to expect and little time is spent providing directions which would take away from valuable instructional time. The variety is there to ensure students are engaged in the activities. (See Topic 1 Above.) If you’re interested, I have a whole article on ideas for consistency with daily bell ringers for 6th grade math. Click here to read my Eight 6th Grade Math Warm-Ups That Will Totally Change the Way You Start Your Class.
In conclusion
Reflecting back on my own experiences, I know my students’ rate of retention should have been better. I would come up with elaborate ways to teach new concepts and connect with my students, but it still didn’t stick. However, it wasn’t my lessons that were lacking. It was the lack of engagement, repetition, and consistency.
I made the promise to myself and my students that I will do my best to ensure they not only learn the content this year, but repeat it often enough to remember. You may need to make this change in your classroom too. If you do, I am here to help. I had been doing it wrong for over ten years now and I want to help.
What's Next?
If you want to make this change along with me and provide your students with an engaging form of spiral daily review, my resource can assist in your efforts toward building better retention in a fun and engaging way to best meet the needs of your students.
What do you think? Will you wait another year without working toward allowing your students to truly master the content? I’m not. The time for change is now! Take a closer look at what my 6th grade math bell ringers have to offer your students. In fact, take a look at my free 6th grade math bell ringers sample to see what it’s all about.
Still unsure? Head over and read some of the Frequently Asked Questions.
