Inspiring Monday #3 ~ Morning Work

I would say that most teachers use some kind of morning work or bell work to get their kids focused every morning. It is easier with older students, but I did it to some extent with my 2nd graders. They would come in, put up all their stuff, and then begin responding to a picture or a writing prompt in their journals. When I taught Pre-K, the kids would come in and go to a center until we were ready to start the day. I remember in high school doing brain teasers or other things like that when we arrived in the room.

All that to say, I have been thinking about what morning work will look like with my 4th graders this year. I want to share Rick Morris's website with you again, because he is A.W.E.S.O.M.E.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is what Bell Work looks like in his classroom:

I love the idea of using songs to begin and end morning work. I will be doing that! Anything to save my voice, plus it is more effective.

Next I want to share with you his method of checking morning work. It is great! He uses Class Cards:

I will be using these as well!

Using the cards to call on students

He goes through his cards and asks students for their answer to question #1. They answer, he says "Thank you," and sets their card down in a stack with like answers. Look at this next pictures from his website.

I will collect students morning work journals once a week for a grade. They won't know what day I will ask for them, so they will stay on their toes. (Hopefully)

This is what I am thinking right now. I know this will change during the year. I like to keep things fluid and respond to the needs of my class.

Here is a sneak peak at my "Today's Number" board:

I will be posting about this soon!

What do you do for Morning Work? Does yours come from a book? Does it reflect your content area focus? If you have blogged about this please leave me the link!