100 Bell Ringer Questions for Middle and High School (Fun + Academic)

Here are 100 bell ringer questions you can throw on the board tomorrow. Some are just fun. Some make kids actually think. All of them take three to five minutes, and none of them need any prep from you.

Quick tip before you dig in: the fun ones work best on Mondays and the day before a break, when you need to get the room on your side. Save the review prompts for the middle of a unit. And whatever the question, always make them defend their answer. “Because” is where the thinking happens.

New to bell ringers? Start with what a bell ringer is and how to run one.

Fun bell ringer questions (would you rather)

1. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or speak every human language?
2. Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button for your life?
3. Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?
4. Would you rather never have homework again or never have to take a test again?
5. Would you rather be the best player on a losing team or the worst player on a winning team?
6. Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible? What would you actually use it for?
7. Would you rather explore the deep ocean or outer space?
8. Would you rather have a photographic memory or be able to read people’s moods perfectly?
9. Would you rather only eat your favorite food forever or never eat it again?
10. Would you rather be famous now and forgotten later, or unknown now and famous after you’re gone?
11. If you could add one class to the school schedule, what would it be?
12. If you were a teacher for one day, what’s the first thing you’d change?
13. What’s a skill that looks easy but is actually hard? Explain.
14. If animals could vote, which animal would win class president and why?
15. What’s the most useful thing you’ve ever learned outside of school?
16. If you could have dinner with anyone from history, who would it be and what’s your first question?
17. You get to rename the days of the week. What are the new names?
18. What invention do you wish existed right now?
19. Which is better, a sunrise or a sunset? Make your case.
20. If your life had a theme song, what would the title be? (Make one up.)

Thinking and debate questions

These are great for getting kids to argue without anybody getting heated. None of them are political, and that’s on purpose.

21. Is it ever okay to break a rule? Give an example.
22. Should students be allowed to pick their own seats? Why or why not?
23. Is it better to be really good at one thing or pretty good at a lot of things?
24. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Defend your answer with a definition.
25. Should school start later in the morning? Give two reasons.
26. Would the world be better or worse if everyone always told the truth?
27. Is it more important to be smart or to work hard?
28. Should every student have to play a sport or join a club?
29. Is it better to win or to play fair? Can you do both?
30. Should phones be allowed at lunch? Give one argument for and one against.
31. What makes someone a good leader? Name three traits.
32. Is failing at something ever a good thing? Explain with an example.
33. Would you rather work alone or in a group on a big project? Why?
34. Are video games a sport? Defend your answer.
35. Should students grade their teachers? What would that look like?
36. What’s one thing adults get wrong about your generation?
37. Is it fair that some people are naturally better at things than others? What should we do about it?
38. Should homework be optional? What would happen if it was?
39. Is it better to save money or spend it on experiences?
40. What’s the difference between a fact and an opinion? Give one of each.

Reflection and get-to-know-you questions

41. What’s one goal you have for this week?
42. What’s something you’re better at now than you were a year ago?
43. Describe your perfect Saturday in three sentences.
44. What’s one thing that helps you focus, and one thing that wrecks it?
45. Who’s someone you look up to, and why?
46. What’s the best piece of advice anybody ever gave you?
47. What’s something most people don’t know about you?
48. On a scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you for today? What would bump it up one point?
49. What’s a mistake you learned something from?
50. If you could master one skill overnight, what would it be?
51. What does a good day at school look like for you?
52. What’s something you changed your mind about?
53. Write a short thank-you note to someone who helped you this year. (You don’t have to send it.)
54. What’s one thing you want to get better at before the end of the semester?
55. What would your friends say is your best quality?

Writing bell ringer questions

56. Describe the room you’re sitting in without using the words “desk” or “chair.”
57. Write the first sentence of a story that starts with a knock on the door.
58. Explain how to make a sandwich to someone who’s never seen one. Be exact.
59. Write a six-word story about your morning.
60. Describe a food using all five senses.
61. Write a text message from a historical figure. Who are they texting?
62. Rewrite this sentence so it’s more exciting: “The dog walked down the street.”
63. Write a short review of the last thing you ate, like a food critic.
64. Describe your walk to class from the point of view of your backpack.
65. Write a two-sentence scary story.
66. Persuade me to give the class five extra minutes of free time. Three reasons.
67. Write a headline for something good that happened to you this week.
68. Pick an object in the room and write its life story in four sentences.
69. Write a short dialogue between a pencil and an eraser.
70. Describe a place you love without naming it. Can a partner guess it?

Any-subject review questions

These work in every class. Swap in whatever you’re teaching.

71. What’s the most important thing you remember from yesterday? Why does it matter?
72. Write three things you learned yesterday, two questions you still have, and one thing you’d teach a friend.
73. Explain yesterday’s lesson to a fifth grader in three sentences.
74. What’s one word that sums up what we’re studying right now? Defend your pick.
75. Draw a quick picture or diagram that explains yesterday’s main idea.
76. Write one test question about this unit, and answer it.
77. What’s the hardest part of this unit so far? What would help?
78. Connect today’s topic to something in your own life.
79. What’s a mistake people make with this topic? How do you avoid it?
80. If this unit was a movie, what would the title be?
81. Rate your understanding of this topic from 1 to 5. What would move you up one?
82. Write a tweet-length summary (under 280 characters) of yesterday’s lesson.
83. What’s one vocabulary word from this unit, and how would you use it in a sentence?
84. Agree or disagree with this: “This topic matters outside of school.” Explain.
85. What question do you think will be on the test? Why?

Bell ringer questions for high schoolers

These lean a little deeper. Great for 9th through 12th grade.

86. What’s one thing you wish you’d known as a freshman?
87. Is college the only path to a good career? Give examples of other paths.
88. What job do you think will exist in 20 years that doesn’t exist now?
89. What’s one habit you want to build before you graduate?
90. If you had to teach a class, what would you teach and why?
91. What’s harder: getting good grades or getting along with people? Explain.
92. What’s a skill every adult should have that school doesn’t teach?
93. What’s the best way to deal with someone who disagrees with you?
94. If you had $1,000 to start a business, what would you start?
95. What does “success” mean to you? Has that changed over time?
96. Should everyone learn to cook before they finish high school? Why?
97. What’s a book, movie, or show that changed how you think about something?
98. Is it better to have a few close friends or a lot of friends?
99. What advice would you give your future self in five years?
100. What’s one thing you’d change about how school works, and how would you pitch it to the principal?

Want new ones every day?

Lists like this are great to keep in your back pocket. But if you don’t want to plan bell ringers at all, we post a fresh set every school day: one for grades 6–8 and one for grades 9–12. Each has ELA, math, science, social studies, and a current-events prompt, with answers tucked in a collapsed box. Free, no sign-up.

Looking for subject-specific prompts? Try math, science, social studies, or grammar bell ringers.