Starters (Bell Ringers) and Objectives

I recently posted on the tprs listerv (moretprs.yahoo.com) about my Bell ringers (I call them Para Empezars: PEs) and was startled by how many people wanted to see what I use.

I thought I'd take a moment to explain.  They are a great way for you to assess the previous day’s topic.

1) I use PEs to ease the transition from one class to another.  Since I am almost always at the door to greet my students, this gets them working right away.  Also, we don't have bells so holding students accountable for being on time is nearly impossible.
3) I do a variety of types, but they are all 2-5 tasks/sentences/errors to correct. Most fall into these categories: translate sentences (from L1 to L2 or vice versa), correct the errors, answer questions for PQA prep, fill in the blanks using target structures.It should be noted here that I use many of the PEs from Martina Bex's Somos curriculum, except when I don't. The example shown is from the La Universidad unit.


4) Students see it at the beginning of class every day. It’s got objectives, target structures, class jobs, homework, my office hours, and a place for me to write the starter.

5) I use my starters to let students get feedback on our objectives, and students track their understanding of the objectives and create their study plan almost every day. That’s the homework. The students who study progress. FYI, for me, studying means re-reading/retelling the story, unless they missed a class. Then, it’s quizlet. I also created a tracker for their notebooks that they use to record their progress. Here is what it looks like:

Please remember to share, attribute, and not profit!  (See copyright permissions on the right.)

 Click here for an editable version of the objectives.

Click here to see an example of the Para Empezar board.  Sorry, I can't provide an editable version. Since I modified it from a TPT purchase (many years ago, before I knew about things like citing), I still have to protect copyright. Thanks for understanding. But do what I did- look at my example and make your own. It will not take long. I promise! 

Update: A lot of folks requested an editable version of the Para Empezar board. Hey folks! Since I modified it from a TPT purchase, I can not share it! That would be violating copyright. Thanks.