60-Second Strategy: Board Splash

It can be challenging to get students focused and ready for class after the chaotic transition of a passing period, but Karla Hilliard, English language arts teacher at Spring Mills High School, found a method that works—a low-stakes, quick warm-up that she calls Board Splash. When students arrive to her classroom, they see a question written on the board. The question might relate to a text they’ve been studying or a big idea, or it might act as a review. Hilliard announces the question and invites students to go up to the board to write their responses.

Once everyone contributes, the result is a visual representation of a classwide brainstorm with varied responses to the prompt. Hilliard reads many of the responses out loud and notes connections between them. She then asks students to turn and talk, responding to an idea that interests them and exploring how they could extend that thinking further. At that point, students are focused on the material and they’re ready to dive into the next activity.

Students respond well to this approach because it’s low-pressure: Each response is anonymous, and there’s no right or wrong answer. Hilliard notes that Board Splash is “a great anticipatory activity because you can lay the groundwork and suggest what comes next,” which can “build a little bit of excitement about the day’s topic.”

One reason Hilliard recommends this strategy is because it requires very little preparation, and the only materials a teacher needs are a whiteboard and some markers. The students benefit because they’re immediately active and engaged in the class content. The question primes them for the rest of class, and they get a chance to learn from and discuss other students’ ideas. “It’s just a great way to get the day going,” Hilliard says. “It’s quick, it’s easy, and it produces great thinking.”

For more ideas for quick warm-ups and bell-ringer activities for every grade, check out Edutopia's “60-Second Strategies for Educators.”