Using French bell-ringers is an easy way to start your class in a structured way every day. Once I started using a structured bellwork routine, my students and I felt so much less stressed as we transitioned from class to class.
What are bell-ringers?
Bell-ringers are warm-up activities students do at the beginning of class. Students might answer a few questions from the previous lesson, conjugate French verbs they’ve learned, or practice new French vocabulary in a variety of ways.
Typically, bellwork activities are short, because they are meant to be a quick review. I usually give students about five to ten minutes to answer the daily bellwork, depending on the complexity of the task.
What are the benefits of bell-ringers?
1. They give structure to the beginning of class.
Students come in and get right on task. This helps you do the administrative tasks you need to. Until I had a solid bellwork routine established, I ALWAYS forgot to take roll! Once I had the system in place, I never forgot again. It also allows a few minutes to help absent students, pull up slides for that period, or organize papers collected in the last period.
2. It helps them transition between subjects.
I don’t know about you, but my brain needs time to switch between subjects. Bell-ringers give students a few minutes to change gears so they can focus better on the upcoming lesson.
3. They help you review before starting a new lesson.
It’s really easy to see what students might need more practice on, because a few targeted questions per day can really break down the specific points you are working on.
4. It gives students time to ask questions.
Before starting a new lesson, students can ask questions about the bell-ringer. This lets them get help before trying to grasp new information.
5. They can be easily graded as a class assignment.
I actually have always checked them in class with students, so students knew this was a pretty easy grade. Because the majority of the overall class grade comes from comprehension and performance, a few points on the daily warm-up won’t make a huge change. However, if a student is right on the line, it can be just the push needed to bump that grade up.
What bell-ringer packs can you find at my TpT store?
French 1 bell-ringers
This beginner bell-ringers pack is perfect for beginning French students. With grammar topics like regular and irregular present tense verb conjugation, adjective agreement, the futur proche, and negative sentences, students get focused practice on the concepts they will build upon for years.
Students will see common vocabulary learned in beginning French classes, such as greetings, family, weather, numbers, colors, school-themed vocabulary, clothing, places, foods, sports, and more.
All of my bell-ringers now come in a PowerPoint™️ version AND a Google Slides™️!
French 2 bell-ringers
This pack is designed for students who have had exposure to basic French and are continuing to work on the present tense of regular and irregular verbs. As students progress, they will work with grammar concepts including the passé composé, reflexive verbs (present and passé composé), and object pronouns.
Students will see common vocabulary for themes including house and home, daily routines, travel, places, food, chores, and more.
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