Bell Ringer Library: Free Bell Ringers by Subject and Grade
The Bell Ringer Library is a free archive of every bell ringer posted on Daily Bell Ringers, sorted by subject and by grade band (6–8 and 9–12). It holds 20 bell ringers so far and grows every school day. Each one is a 3–5 minute classroom warm-up with an answer and teacher notes, and any of them can be copied, printed or downloaded for your class.
Browse by subject and grade
ELA bell ringers
Math bell ringers
Science bell ringers
Social Studies bell ringers
Current Events bell ringers
On This Day bell ringers
Newest bell ringers
ELA Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: Three ways to fix a comma splice
This sentence is a comma splice. Fix it three different ways: once with a period, once with a semicolon, and once with a comma plus a conjunction.
The bus was late again, most of us missed the start of first period.
Answer and teacher notes
Period: The bus was late again. Most of us missed the start of first period.
Semicolon: The bus was late again; most of us missed the start of first period.
Comma + conjunction: The bus was late again, so most of us missed the start of first period.
A comma splice joins two complete sentences with only a comma. A comma alone can't hold two independent clauses together. Ask which version best shows that the second idea is caused by the first (the "so" version makes it explicit).
Math Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: Comparing two-dice probabilities
You roll two fair six-sided dice and add the numbers. Which is more likely: a sum of 7 or a sum of 10? Give the probability of each as a fraction in lowest terms.
Answer and teacher notes
There are 6 × 6 = 36 equally likely outcomes.
Sum of 7: (1,6), (2,5), (3,4), (4,3), (5,2), (6,1) = 6 outcomes, so 6/36 = 1/6.
Sum of 10: (4,6), (5,5), (6,4) = 3 outcomes, so 3/36 = 1/12.
A sum of 7 is twice as likely as a sum of 10. Check: 1/6 = 2/12. The most common error is counting (4,6) and (6,4) as the same outcome; on two separate dice they are different.
Science Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: Balancing the equation for burning methane
Natural gas is mostly methane (CH4). When it burns completely, it reacts with oxygen to make carbon dioxide and water. Balance the equation, then prove it is balanced by counting atoms on each side.
__ CH4 + __ O2 → __ CO2 + __ H2O
Answer and teacher notes
CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O
Atom count: carbon 1 = 1. Hydrogen 4 = 2 × 2 = 4. Oxygen 2 × 2 = 4 on the left; 2 (in CO2) + 2 × 1 (in water) = 4 on the right. Tip: balance C and H first, then O last, since oxygen shows up in both products. Students who change subscripts (writing H4O) have changed the substance, not balanced it.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration: Natural Gas Explained
Social Studies Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: The 2010 rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile
On this day in 2010, all 33 workers trapped by a collapse at the San José gold and copper mine in Chile's Atacama Desert were brought to the surface after 69 days underground. Imagine you led the team on the surface. List three problems you would need to solve to keep 33 people alive until a rescue was possible, and rank them from most to least urgent. Explain your top choice.
Answer and teacher notes
Answers will vary. Strong lists include finding out whether anyone survived and where they are, getting air, water, food, and medicine down to them, keeping communication open, protecting their mental health over weeks of waiting, and designing a safe way to lift people up. Reward rankings that are justified (for example, "locating them comes first because nothing else is possible until we know where they are").
Facts to share afterward: the collapse happened on August 5, 2010, and all 33 were brought up in a specially designed rescue capsule called Phoenix. Quick math: 69 days is just under 10 weeks.
Current Events Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: Why polar sea ice peaked and bottomed out in the same week
NASA reported this week that Antarctic sea ice reached its yearly maximum on September 14, 2026, covering 17.59 million square kilometers. Just two days earlier, on September 12, Arctic sea ice hit its yearly minimum of about 4.6 million square kilometers. (a) Why would one pole's ice peak in the same week the other pole's ice is at its lowest? (b) About how many times larger was the Antarctic ice extent than the Arctic's?
Answer and teacher notes
(a) The hemispheres have opposite seasons because Earth is tilted on its axis. Mid-September is the end of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, after months of cold and darkness let ice build up, and the end of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, after months of sunlight melted it back.
(b) 17.59 ÷ 4.6 ≈ 3.8 times larger. NASA noted that this year's Antarctic peak was the third-lowest maximum since satellite observations began. Good follow-up: why do scientists compare each year to a long record instead of just to last year?
Sources: NASA Earth Observatory: Antarctic Sea Ice Grows to Its 2026 Maximum; NASA Earth Observatory: Arctic Sea Ice Shrinks to Its 2026 Minimum
ELA Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: Similes versus metaphors
Label each sentence as a simile or a metaphor. Then write one of your own about your morning.
- After the bell, the hallway was a river of backpacks.
- My little brother eats cereal like a vacuum cleaner.
- The full moon looked like a shiny coin in the sky.
Answer and teacher notes
1. Metaphor. 2. Simile. 3. Simile.
A simile compares two things using "like" or "as." A metaphor says one thing is another. Quick check: if you can spot "like" or "as" doing the comparing, it's a simile. For the student sentences, ask what the comparison helps the reader picture.
Math Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: Finding the better deal with unit prices
- Store A sells 6 granola bars for $4.50. Store B sells 8 granola bars for $5.60. Which store has the better price per bar?
- How much would you save buying 24 bars at the better price instead of the other one?
Answer and teacher notes
1. Store A: $4.50 ÷ 6 = $0.75 per bar. Store B: $5.60 ÷ 8 = $0.70 per bar. Store B is the better deal.
2. Store A: 24 × $0.75 = $18.00. Store B: 24 × $0.70 = $16.80. You save $1.20. Check: 5 cents saved per bar × 24 bars = $1.20.
Common mistake: picking Store A because $4.50 is the smaller total. The unit price is what lets you compare packs of different sizes.
Science Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: Why ice floats
Most substances get denser when they freeze, so the solid sinks in its own liquid. Water is different: ice floats. Explain why, and predict about how much of an ice cube sits above the water line.
Answer and teacher notes
When water freezes, its molecules line up in a regular pattern (a lattice) that holds them farther apart than in liquid water. That makes ice about 9 percent less dense than liquid water, and anything less dense than water floats. Because ice's density is about 90 percent of water's, roughly 10 percent of an ice cube or iceberg sits above the surface.
Extension: why does it matter for fish that lakes freeze from the top down instead of the bottom up?
Social Studies Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: The White House cornerstone laid on October 13, 1792
The cornerstone of the White House was laid on October 13, 1792. The first president to live there, John Adams, moved in during 1800, while it was still unfinished. How many years after the cornerstone was that? Then list two reasons building a large stone house might take so long in the 1790s.
Answer and teacher notes
1800 − 1792 = 8 years. Because Adams was the first to live there, George Washington never did.
Reasons will vary. Strong answers mention that there were no power tools or engines, stone had to be cut and moved by hand, wagon, or boat, workers and money had to be found, and weather slowed outdoor work. Fun detail: the walls are white-gray sandstone, and painting the outside today takes about 570 gallons of paint.
Sources: Britannica: This Day in History, October 13; Britannica: White House
Current Events Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: Perseverance’s new record for the longest drive on another world
On October 11, 2026, NASA's Perseverance rover set a new record for the longest total distance driven on another world: 28.10 miles. The old record, 28.06 miles, belonged to the Opportunity rover, which explored Mars from 2004 to 2018. (a) How many feet farther has Perseverance gone? (1 mile = 5,280 feet) (b) Why do you think rovers on Mars drive so slowly and carefully?
Answer and teacher notes
(a) 28.10 − 28.06 = 0.04 miles. 0.04 × 5,280 = 211.2 feet, a little shorter than a football field with its end zones (360 feet). In kilometers, Perseverance is at 45.22 km versus Opportunity's 45.16 km.
(b) Answers will vary. Good reasons: no one can repair a rover if it gets stuck or breaks, the ground has rocks, sand, and slopes, and drivers on Earth must plan routes ahead of time instead of steering live. Perseverance landed in Jezero Crater in 2021 and is now exploring some of the oldest rock studied anywhere in the solar system.
Source: NASA: Perseverance Sets Off-World Record for Total Distance Driven
ELA Bell Ringer for Grades 6–8: Their, there, and they’re
Fix the two mistakes in this sentence:
Their going to the library after school, but they left there backpacks in the classroom.
Answer and teacher notes
Corrected: They're going to the library after school, but they left their backpacks in the classroom.
They're = they are. Their = belongs to them. There = a place. Quick test: if "they are" fits, use they're.
ELA Bell Ringer for Grades 9–12: Active versus passive voice
Rewrite this sentence in the active voice so it is shorter and clearer:
The decision was made by the committee after the votes were counted.
Answer and teacher notes
Possible answer: The committee made the decision after it counted the votes.
In active voice, the one doing the action (the committee) comes first. Ask students who did each action; that is their subject.
Free to use. Copy, print, project or adapt any of these for your students. If you share them online, please credit Daily Bell Ringers with a link. Not for resale. License: CC BY-NC 4.0.
Download the whole library: spreadsheet (CSV) · JSON
Common questions
Can I use these bell ringers in my classroom?
Yes. Every bell ringer here is free to copy, print, project or adapt for your students. If you post them online, credit Daily Bell Ringers with a link. They are licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, so they cannot be resold.
How often are new bell ringers added?
Every school day. A new set for grades 6–8 and one for grades 9–12 go live before 2 a.m. Central, and each prompt is added to this library automatically as soon as its set publishes.
Can I download the whole library?
Yes. Use the CSV link for a spreadsheet you can open in Excel or Google Sheets, or the JSON link if you are building something. Every page in the library also has a download link for just that subject and grade band.
Where do the facts come from?
Every fact, date and news detail is checked against a source, and the link is in the teacher notes under the prompt. Current-events prompts ask students to reason about what happened and never ask them to pick a political side.