Warm-Ups: Can’t Live without Them!

I recently got a question on my TpT page asking about some of my classroom routines.   One thing she asked about specifically was warm-ups. After responding, I thought this was a terrific topic to share here, especially because it’s the summer and this is the time I reflect on my current routines and look for new ideas to try the following year.

My Warm-Up Routine:

Each day my students walk in, there is a warm-up displayed on my Smart Board.  There are anywhere from 2-5 questions that are based on material from the previous lesson.  This is what it looks like:

I give my students a recording worksheet.  It has room for four day’s worth of warm-ups.  You could just as easily have them record these on a notebook sheet of paper.  Here’s what the student worksheet looks like:

They put the topic on the left side and record the date, then complete the warm-ups.  They must show the original problems along with all their work.  I am typically taking attendance and checking homework while they complete this task.  Which is why I can’t live without my warm-ups!  I need that time at the beginning to take care of some tasks, AND it gives me a chance to check understanding before we move onto a new lesson.  Typically it takes the students 5-10 minutes to complete the warm-up, then another 5 minutes for me to go over it.  So about 15 minutes total, which may sound like a lot.  But I teach 113 minute classes so thankfully I have the time.  I collect the warm-ups after the students have completed the sheet (4 total warm-ups).  If they were absent for a particular day, they just write “absent.”  I used to try having them make it up but it was way more work than what it was worth.  My students know that the warm-ups are the “easy grades” so they rarely get anything less than a 100.  The only time they do not is if they just write the answers and show no work.

Here is a link to the warm-up sets I sell in my store if you want to check them out.  They all come with the templates, a PDF with all the warm-ups, answer keys to all, a teacher template to make your own, AND smart board files with each warm-up “snipped in”. That little splash of color when students walk in really makes a difference!

Pre-Algebra / Algebra / Geometry

You can just as easily use them as exit tickets as well!

Do you use warm-ups in your classroom?  If so, how do you manage them?  Do you collect and grade them?  Please share!

~Gina~
All Things Algebra