TeacherHero
Warm-Up · 3–5 min to activate prior knowledge

Do Now

A Do Now is the three-to-five minute prompt students start on before the lesson formally begins. TeacherHero writes it against the day's learning target rather than as generic bell work, so what students retrieve in those minutes is what the modelling step is about to build on, and hands it over as a quick prompt.

Complete a short review or readiness task.

Real generated output

Bellringer

The Warm-Up phase of a Grade 6 ELA lesson, as TeacherHero generated it. Planned for 5 minutes.

  1. Student prompt

    In your notebook: Recall Day 3—Two texts on the same idea. Use conceal to explain which next step connects the two texts.

  2. Materials

    • Notebook and pencil
    • Displayed or printed Quick prompt

  3. Teacher directions

    • 0:00–0:45: Display the Quick prompt. Identify Day 3—Two texts on the same idea as the earlier lesson being revisited.
    • 0:45–2:45: Students independently choose a next step and write one explanation using the frame. This task retrieves the process of connecting texts, not the missing article's content.
    • 2:45–3:45: Invite two students to read their existing responses. Check for choice B and reasoning that connects an informational explanation to Ada's decision to conceal fear.
    • 3:45–5:00: Give task-level feedback: 'A story detail shows an action. Connecting texts requires explaining how an informational idea helps us understand that action.' Transition to today's work on explaining evidence in a body paragraph.

  4. Debrief

    • Distinguish describing evidence from explaining a connection: a second story detail does not supply an informational explanation.
    • If students choose A or C, name what their choice supplies and what is still missing: a connection between the informational explanation and Ada's decision.
    • Bridge to the learning target: today's body paragraph must explain how evidence supports a claim, not simply list quotations.
Why the coach chose it here — This Do Now uses spaced practice and retrieval practice to revisit Day 3—Two texts on the same idea. Students retrieve the difference between describing a story detail and connecting that detail to an informational explanation. The supplied story sentence, choices, vocabulary gloss, and single response frame support grade 6 learners without requiring an unavailable article. Requiring conceal in their reasoning keeps vocabulary connected to analysis. This five-minute review prepares students to explain evidence in today's first body paragraph without drafting the paragraph during the warm-up.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a Do Now take?

Three to five minutes of student work, which is the window TeacherHero plans the Warm-Up phase against. Longer and it eats the modelling step; shorter and students have not settled. The example on this page carries the exact allocation the planner gave it inside a full period.

What makes a Do Now worth doing?

That it points at today. A Do Now which asks for something the lesson never uses is a settling routine wearing a learning label. TeacherHero writes the prompt from the learning target and the previous lesson, so the retrieval students do is retrieval the next phase needs.

Does it need a handout?

No. The Warm-Up phase produces a quick prompt rather than a full worksheet — a question that can be answered on a whiteboard, in a notebook, or out loud. That is a deliberate part of the contract, so a three-minute activation is never forced into a printed page.

Strategies that pair with it

Finish the Thought

Warm-Up · Complete and extend a content-specific sentence stem.

See the example

Four Corners

Warm-Up · Move to and defend one of four responses.

See the example

Image Inference

Warm-Up · Infer context or theme from a compelling image.

See the example

Notice & Wonder

Warm-Up · Observe a text or image and record observations and questions.

See the example
Example free · generation with Pro

One move out of six phases.

A TeacherHero lesson generates all six with your course, unit, week and text in context, so the Warm-Up phase continues the one before it instead of starting over.

Explore a whole example lesson