Technique 29: Do Now
The Concept: Have short activity already up on the board for students to begin working on at the start of class. Students should be able to complete the activity without any direction or interaction with their fellow students or the teacher. This helps create a habit of being able to self-manage school work. It also holds the student accountable for some form of written work because they know that you are paying attention to see if they are doing the Do Now or not.
Why this works: This technique requires students to be responsible and self-sufficient in order to get the work done. It also serves as a refresher for what was taught the previous day and keeps that information fresh in the students' minds. Plus it keeps you as a teacher from having to spend that extra time going over what was taught the day before...unless there are questions of course, then those should be answered for further clarification.
In the Classroom: Do Now is a great technique to use in an English/Language Arts classroom because depending on the Do Now, your students can put their knowledge to use. Possible Do Now activities can include:
- Critically analyzing a short poem
- Define what a (grammar term) is and then give examples
- Explain briefly how the story progession is impacted by the era it was written in (i.e. The Great Gatsby)
- Write three sentences and then label the parts of speech
- Write your own diamante