Games = Great Review Techniques

The title may be a tad bit deceiving. I'm referring more to ways to engage the students in subject matter, more than bringing in monopoly (which is not a bad math tool in certain situations). I would rather like to discuss some of the games, or fun things that I use in my classroom to peak the students' interest.

Jeopardy- This was one of the first games that I tried in my room. This requires about 45 minutes to an hour of preparation for me. I use this in certain subjects, like Science for instance, to review for a test. I may use each lesson of a chapter as a category to choose, and I then arrange the questions by increasing difficulty. I usually break the class up into teams of 3, so in my case this year, that's about 7 students per team. Each team has a spokesperson, and I only listen to that person.

I've also played Jeopardy for fun, and made categories up. Sports, Music, History... there are so many ways you can use the Jeopardy format.

In Social Studies, I call it Geopardy. Students ask to play this all the time. They do understand that it takes time for me to prepare a game to play, but they love it. I'm also a huge trivia nut, so we do a lot of that in my classroom too.

Stump the Star- Students like this game for almost any subject matter. When I say we're going to play stump the star, everyone stands up. All I do is ask questions, which is a good reviewing tool. If they get it right, I move on to the next person. If they miss the question, then they have to sit down. I cycle the room over and over until there is only one person standing, and that person wins. I sometimes give a treat, or a drink pass.

Pass It On!!!- This is another fun game that I made up, and this gives everyone a chance to win... whereas sometimes you have students that you know will never win a certain game. Here is how this game works, and once again this is another great reviewing tool:

First you need to prepare by coming up with 10+ questions pertaining to some area you've been studying. I sometimes write the questions out too and put them on an overhead, so students can read it themselves. Once I ask the first question, I say "It's time to... PASS IT ON!" Students pass their paper to the next person and take the paper from the person before them. I usually explain who they should pass their paper to prior to starting. I then ask the second question, and then once again say, "It's again time to... PASS IT ON!!" Students eventually start chiming in with "PASS IT ON!!" Continue to ask a question and pass it on until you've went through all the questions.

To score, I usually have them pass it on two or three times and then stop. The paper that they now have is their ticket. They win if that paper has the most correct answers on it. We then as a class go over all the questions, and they get a point for each correct answer.

Students usually beg me to play these three games all the time. I have some more that I like too. I think they're a great way to review and help the material sink in.

** On a side note, I've been extremely busy the past few weeks, and haven't had much time to come on a blog. I hope to add more here and there in the days and weeks to come.

Have a wonderful day!