Six Review Games Worth Your time

Some people may think that anything that includes the word game does not have any place in the classroom. Those people are clearly not teachers! We teachers know that anything game oriented equals instant engagement.

Right about now the games that we have been incorporating successfully all year are starting to lose their appeal. Stinky Feet is awesome, but can only be played for so long!

Here is a round up of my favorite games to play to keep review fresh!

Egg Hunt

This is exactly what it sounds like. I place tasks in plastic eggs, then we go outside and hide them. I have hidden them before, or sometimes I have my students each hide an egg. Students then find each egg and complete the task. This works really well with any content area and is great for getting some fresh air, but can be completed inside as well! Easter Monday we are definitely doing this one with these Chocolate Bunny Review Cards. 

Vocabulary Relay

This is another good one for any content area, and gets your students up and moving. I have found that it works best outside, (if it is not windy) but can be completed anywhere with enough space. Decide on a list of words and write each card on an index card. You can create one card for each word, or one card per team for each word depending on how you want play. You can check out this FREE Math Vocabulary Relay in my store. 

Students line up in teams of 4-5 each and listen for a definition. Then teams are given a short period of time to discuss the definition and word. Finally, the elected member of the team (we stand in lines so everyone has a turn) runs to find the word from the pile and returns to their line. We finish up each round by discussing the word and clearing up any misconceptions. 

Four Corners

This game works best with multiple choice questions. I simply read or display a question and then ask students to show me the answer by traveling to a labeled corner of the room. For a variation of this you can ask students to show you the absolutely wrong answer, or the distractor. 

Argue the Answer

For this game every student needs answer choice cards. (I am really lazy and have students rip a sticky note into four pieces and write ABCD on them.) I then display a question using the projector and read it to the class. After we have had time to comprehend the question and answer choices (solve if it is math) I ask students to put in the answer choice card that is the distractor, then the one they know isn't the answer, then another wrong answer, leaving them with the correct answer in front of them. If everyone agrees we move on. If not, they students debate the answer and try to convince the other why they are right.  

Texas Snowball Fight

In central Texas, this is as close as we get to the real thing. I know you have done this one before, but just in case...
Each student takes a problem (any subject) and balls it up. When you say "Go!" students throw their snowball, pick up another one and throw it... until time is called. Then each student selects the problem closest to them to solve. 

We are doing this tomorrow with these multi-step problems! 

Scavenger Hunt

This one may not seem exciting, but it is another simple way to get students out of their seats and moving. I hide (and I mean hide, sometimes I can't even find them again) questions around the room or outside if it is a nice day. Students then travel around and try to find as many questions to answer as possible. I am using these Interpreting the Remainder Task Cards next week for our next scavenger hunt. 

A variation of this one is the "Treasure Hunt." In addition to hiding the problems, I write clues about where to find the next problem. I make the clues into little riddles that have them thinking carefully as well. Then, when a student finds and solves all the problems they get a little prize. 

I hope that there was at least one new game that will bring a little novelty to your classroom this spring!