Instead of chitter-chatter and wasted time, get students on a task right away. We have so little instructional time and so much to do!
You may have just 45 minutes with your class in a departmentalized setting. How can we make the most of our time?
A strategy that’s an oldie but a goodie is using a warm-up or bellringer. Here are 5 tips for using warm-ups.
1. Start right away
Start using warm-ups on day 1. It doesn’t have to be the format you plan to use all year, but get students used to starting class off with a brief activity. If you want to start using warm-ups but haven’t, it’s okay to start! Just make your expectations clear and get to it.
2. Keep it quick
You have loads of content to teach, so don’t spend half of your class time on a warm-up. I prefer to spend 5 minutes maximum setting up for class and completing the warm-up. The warm-ups are usually over the previous topic students learned about so it’s fresh on their minds and they have notes in their science notebooks if they need a refresher!
3. Go over it
You might want to go over the warm-up that day or wait until Friday to review students’ answers. After students complete their warm-up, we review it while I randomly choose students to answer various parts of the day’s question to help keep them accountable. I usually try to twist the question and ask another question for students to respond to based on the warm-up.
4. Print one page for the week
I like to print a paper copy of the warm-up front and back for the whole week. It’s labeled Day 1-5 so students know what question to answer on which day. On Monday, the warm-ups are passed out. On Friday, I collect all the warm-ups to spot-check.
5. No grading necessary
I expect students to complete the warm-ups, but I do not take a grade on them. During the first few weeks of school, I check them more carefully and provide verbal or written feedback on what I expect. Because we go over the warm-up daily, there is no excuse for incomplete work. After students are in the routine, I can just glance and put a checkmark before returning the warm-ups with graded work.
Science Warm-ups Bundle for 4th-6th Grade
Print and go! Because I needed something I could just print and use, I created a set of warm-ups for all our science topics. Last year, I added to it so more teachers could use the warm-ups, too, no matter the state standards you use!
See it on TpT: Science Warm-ups Bundle
4 thoughts on “5 Tips for Using Science Warm-Ups”
These are great ideas. I start every class with “The First Five.” Students are to sharpen pencils, work on warm-up, and generally set themselves up for success. They aren’t to ask me questions or approach me during this time. That way they know they are just to get to work. I don’t grade warm-ups either, and review them daily. I have taken warm up questions from a term and created a quiz–the kiddos tend to take the warmup more seriously then.
Great review for bell-ringers/warm-ups! I teach high school FACS, so I’ve graded to keep them accountable (3 points each day for 15 points each week). It’s enough difference to the overall points in a quarter that someone could drop from A+ to A- but not a whole letter grade just from this set of activities.
I cannot find your warm-ups on your TPT. Did you get rid of this? If not how can I purchase a copy? Thank you!
Hi there. Sorry, that resource has been retired. However, you may like this spiral review. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/5th-Grade-Science-Spiral-Review-Printable-and-Google-Classroom-3918995