My high school Spanish teacher called the daily bellwork/entry task for her classes “La Campanada” (the ring of the bell), and I like the way it sounds, so I use it as well. The Campanada is a key component of my lesson plans because it helps with classroom management (students have a task to complete as soon as they enter the classroom) and it helps them access background knowledge and prepare for the day’s lesson.

1. As students enter the room, they sit down at their seats and begin the task outlined on the Campanada (with some encouragement from me, of course!).
2. As soon as the bell rings, I take attendance and then walk around the room with my seating chart and mark which students are satisfactorily completing the Campanada and which students are not.
3. If they are not working on their Campanada, I mark a little X on the seating chart…