Bellwork in the Blended Classroom: KQED Do Now

The blended classroom in which students have some control over pace and may not all be at the same place should not mean the death of bellwork. An engaging classroom environment should have something for students to do as soon as they enter the room. This is part of a series of posts that offers suggestions for how bellwork can be used in a blended classroom by engaging students in something interesting that develops their skills in a key area while taking the burden off of the teacher to produce something novel on a daily basis. 

Tool: Do Now

Description: According to the Do Now website, it "is a weekly activity weekly activity for students to engage and respond to current issues using social media tools like Twitter."

Students can respond to the weekly prompts using Twitter or the comment section directly on the website. For bellwork I have used it by having students read, watch, and listen to the resources that accompany the prompt on one day, have them compose tweets or comments the next day, and then respond to others tweets and comments the following day.

The current event tie ins are perfect for social studies classrooms and there are also dedicated prompts for  science and the arts provided.

Key Skill Development:  By engaging with social media, students are developing competencies in the positive use of technology to develop and support arguments with an authentic audience. They practice building a positive digital footprint and making concise arguments supported with evidence from a variety of multimedia sources.

In an age where Twitter has become an often quoted source in the political spectrum with the ability to impact elections, having competence in using it for effect has emerged as an important 21st century skill.


*Note: Many districts have blocked access to Twitter and other social media tools. Do Now can still be used for short writing prompts that are shared in the classroom in those districts. Students could contribute their comments to closed discussion boards or shared Google Docs to engage in discussion. 

Bellwork in the Blended Classroom: A Google a Day

The blended classroom in which students have some control over pace and may not all be at the same place should not mean the death of bellwork. An engaging classroom environment should have something for students to do as soon as they enter the room. This is part of a series of posts that offers suggestions for how bellwork can be used in a blended classroom by engaging students in something interesting that develops their skills in a key area while taking the burden off of the teacher to produce something novel on a daily basis. 

Tool: A Google a Day

Description: Google a Day presents 3 new internet search challenges on a daily basis.  Users are awarded points based on getting the right answer and how quickly they are able to find the correct answer by using good search practices. 

Key Skill Development: Students engage in a daily reinforcement of good internet search practices. In most classrooms, search skill are taught once at the beginning of the year or along with a project that may require them. While students are expected to retain the skills taught in a lesson or two, those skills typically are not revisited for the rest of the year. Using Google a Day for bellwork would allow students to practice and develop these skills on a daily basis.