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A Warm-Up ‘Mindset’ Helps Students & Teachers is the headline of one of my Ed Week columns.

“Do Now,” “Walk-In Procedures,” or “Warm-Ups” – they are names for activities that students begin to do right at the beginning of class or, as we try to do in our school, three minutes prior to the bell ringing.

There are lots of options for them. In my English and Social Science classes, students have a book they’re reading and they read silently for five-to-ten minutes. In my IB Theory of Knowledge class, there is generally a “Warm-Up” activity on the board requiring them to write a short response. Afterwards, we divide into six groups to share.

Here are ideas from others for these kinds of openings (please share your own in the comments section):

KQED has a great series of Do Now activities, along with instructions on how to use them.
The Do Now: A Primer is from Doug Lemov.

Doug shares some great Science Do Nows here.

The “Do Now” or “Do Never”? is by David Ginsburg.

Here’s a clip from the Teaching Channel:

 

The Power of a Do Now is from Amy Louise Haywood.

Teachers: here’s how to get your lessons off to a flying start is from The Guardian.

Harvard Business Review Lays-Out A Good Three-Step Process To Introduce A Lesson

USING THE DO NOW FOR RETRIEVAL PRACTICE–AN UPDATE FROM ALEX LANEY is from Doug Lemov.

“Do now” is from Reading All The Books.

A Simple but Powerful Class Opening Activity is from Edutopia.

Well-Designed ‘Do Nows’ Set the Pace for Learning appeared in Middleweb.

Literary Puzzles: Using the Do Now in English is from Codexterous.

KATE JONES: EXIT TICKETS, PERFORMANCE & LONG TERM LEARNING is from Doug Lemov’s blog. I’m adding it here, and you’ll see why after you read it.

18 Warm-Up Activities to Engage Students Before They Read Nonfiction Texts is from The NY Times Learning Network.

These two tweets talk about “Retrieval Practice Grids,” which seem interesting:

Do Now a new approach for starters at Barnsley Academy is by Alex Fisher.

I LIKE THE IDEA IN THIS NEW EDUTOPIA VIDEO: “60-SECOND STRATEGY: DAILY INTENTIONS”

Here’s a slide that Jim Peterson, our principal, showed us on “Do-Nows” (Walk-ins). I’m adding it to The Best Resources For “Do Now” Activities To Begin A Class:

Very Nice Collection Of Video Writing Prompts

Establishing Opening and Closing Routines is from Facing History

ELT Buzz and David Deubelbeiss have a great prompt collection.

Every-Day Edits

E Reading Worksheets

Transition Bell Ringers

Humans of New York activities adapted for the classroom