Comprehension Bell Ringers
Improving reading comprehension should be the main goal of a middle school reading class. Students can review some skills with regular bell ringers. These bell ringers can direct student thinking toward comprehension skills:
Comprehension questions
A few questions about the latest reading selection will lead to a discussion and deeper questioning later on.
Question creating
You can also ask students to create questions about what they have recently read. This will also lead lively conversations later as students ask each other questions and debate responses.
Skill Review
There is a large subset of skills that comprise reading comprehension: making inferences, drawing conclusions, cause and effect, compare and contrast. Worksheets practicing these skills make effective bell ringers. You can use publisher made materials, or simply ask students skill questions about their latest reading. For example, compare and contrast the way two characters approached the conflict.
Literary elements
Students need to be reminded how various literary elements work together to make a story function. As a bell ringer, students can do a short worksheet reviewing common literary devices like plot, setting, theme, or conflict. If you use a reading series, the book probably comes with these. If not, materials aren't hard to find.
Anticipation Guides
An anticipation guide is a pre-reading activity that consists of a series of statements or questions that activate background knowledge useful for that day's reading. Suppose you plan to read Ray Bradbury's 'The Drummer Boy of Shiloh.' The anticipation guide will help students think about The Civil War. Students would read through a series of statements about the war and check off the ones that were true.
Drawing and Writing Activities
A straight line connects reading activities and writing activities. Writing allows for a period of thoughtful contemplation about writing, which will improve comprehension.
Drawing a scene
Many students will comprehend a text more clearly if they can visualize the scenes. For some students, drawing will make a scene come to life in their minds. A chance to draw from a story will bring that setting to life for some students and improve their comprehension.
Journals
A journal can have many uses in a language arts classroom. You can ask questions that activate background knowledge about a story you plan to read that day, such as, 'Have you ever experienced a disappointing loss in a sport?' You get students to think about a theme they read about in the previous lesson. Some students might enjoy writing a scene from the point of view of a character in a story. Students can reflect on messages and themes, analyze characters or critique the writing. The journal may be the most versatile tool for bell ringers.
Graphic Organizers
Create a Venn diagram comparing two characters. Create a plot diagram for the story you just read. Organize a flow chart that diagrams the events in an article you just finished. These are just a few of the ways you can incorporate graphic organizers as bell ringers.
