A review game is a fun activity to prepare students for tests and to help them with their understanding of the content in class.
A review game aims to find ways to get students to answer questions correctly in a way that doesn’t make them feel uncomfortable. It allows them to ask questions, score points for the right answers, and create a unique educational environment.
Group activities, whereby students work in teams, are a great way to foster team-building and can also help students with test prep.
In this article, you will find a list of the best review games that are fun for students and teachers.
But let’s take a look at some of our favorite review games first. You will find more games and more details about the rules of the games further down in this article.
The 12 Best Classroom Review Games
Games are exciting and engaging and make finding the right answer to a question something to strive for. They prepare students for the questions they will find on the exam and make test preparation a social play.
Below are our favorite low-prep review games and activities for elementary, middle, and high school.
1. Friendly Feud
Want a fun group review game for your students? Try the classroom version of “Family Feud”!
Here is how to play Friendly Feud in your classroom:
First, divide the class into two teams. (Each team will compete against the other to answer review questions.) Next, the teacher shows a question from the Friendly Feud game template (don’t forget to download the “Friendly Feud” PowerPoint game!). One student from each team then tries to guess the answer. If they are right, their team continues guessing; if not, it is the other team’s turn. Teams earn points based on how popular their answer is, and after three wrong guesses, the other team has a chance to steal points. The game ends when one team has the most points, and for an added twist, the winning team can play a bonus round to guess the top answers quickly. The main goal? Guess the most popular answers and enjoy the game!
2. Classroom Jeopardy
If you have a smartboard or other type of projection, try this classroom Jeopardy template!
First, make sure to download the “Jeoparty” PowerPoint game template. Then, create Jeopardy questions for the game in categories with monetary values. Next, divide the class into teams. It works great whether you are in a classroom or on a video call with screen sharing.
The game rules are simple. A team selects a category and point value, and the teacher reveals a question by clicking on it. Students get a limited time to answer. The teacher can show the correct answer using a button on the slide. If the team’s answer matches, they get the points, and scores are tracked on a scoreboard. After each turn, you will go back to the main question board. Keep playing until all questions are picked. The aim? Answer correctly and rack up points!
Watch the video below to see how to customize and use the Jeopardy template.
3. Classroom Wordle
This Classroom Wordle for students is a fun game to test vocabulary, suitable for teachers to use in any grade.
Playing Classroom Wordle online is super fun to play and easy to set up. Students guess a 5-letter word and type it into the first row of the 5×6 tiles. Tiles will change colors based on your guess: grey means the letter isn’t in the word, yellow means it’s in the word but in the wrong spot, and green means it’s correct and in the right place. Players have six tries to guess the word. If they get it before then, they win! If not, the word is revealed at the end. Each new turn brings a fresh word to guess. Students can play the quiz game individually on phones, classroom tablets, or as a group activity in class. You can create your own online Wordle game here.
You can play classroom Wordle unlimited times with your students in these three fun ways:
- Fastest Fingers: Students play individually on their phones and the quickest to guess the word wins.
- The Closest Letters: Assign points for each correct letter guessed; green letters earn more, yellow letters less. The student with the most points wins, even if they don’t guess the word correctly.
- The Whole Class: Use Wordle as a fun, engaging way to start vocabulary exercises by having everyone play together. It’s a great warm-up or just a fun activity for the class.
4. Mystery Box Game
The Mystery Box Game is designed for review sessions and test prep. This game is all about choices and surprises and is perfect for any grade or subject.
Before you begin, download the Mystery Box PowerPoint template and customize the questions to suit your lesson or topic before you start playing. Playing the game is easy. Students pick a box and answer its question. If the answer is correct, they decide to keep the box or pass it on. Not all boxes are created equal; some might boost their score, while others could set them back.
Watch this video tutorial to understand how to make your own Mystery Box game with this template for your students:
5. Hot Seat
A single student will sit at the head of the class, and a term will be written on the board behind the student. The student can not see the word on the board.
The student in the “hot seat” can call on up to three other students to give them clues as to what the term is. The students describe the word without using the term itself.
The hot seat changes when the student does not correctly guess.
The video below will help you to understand how to play “hot seat” in your classroom.
6. Pass the Chicken
Students sit in a circle, and one receives a question while a rubber chicken is passed around the circle. The idea is for the student to answer before the chicken comes back around to them correctly. You don’t have to use a chicken.
7. Ping Pong
In this review game, the class is divided into two teams. They work together to answer the query. If answered correctly, the student will get a chance to toss these Ping Pong balls into one of three cups. If they succeed, the team wins a prize.
8. Bingo
This is an entertaining way to review for a quiz. Some teachers will use candy as markers to add a bit more excitement to the game. Use this as a way to review vocabulary words or math equations. This website allows you to create your Bingo cards for free.
9. Beach Ball
Queries are written on a light-colored ball like this one. The teacher will throw the ball to the first students. The student watches the ball and answers where the right thumb touches the questions. The student will throw the ball to the next student.
Watch this teacher who explains how he plays the “beach ball” in his classroom after the summer break.
10. Spin the Wheel
Similar to the “Beach Ball” game is the “Spin the Wheel” review game. Put review terms and concepts on this wheel that the student can spin and then be queried on the topic or term. Depending on your class size and grade, you can make up the rules on how to divide the students into groups or play the game as a one-student game.
11. Hedbanz
For this review game, you do not need to buy the original Hedbanz game. Here is a simple and cheap alternative: Review terms or questions are written on sticky notes stuck to the student’s forehead (they can’t peek). The student will have to find out the term/word with the help of their team’s clues.
Depending on the class size, the students play either in teams of two or the teacher divides the class into 2 groups. If you play the game with two groups, choose one student and stick the note onto the forehead to not see the term.
12. Monopoly Style Game
This is a one-person game. Each kid will receive a certain amount of Monopoly money, which they will bet based on how confident they are that they know the correct answer to the question being asked.
- The teacher asks the first question.
- If the students think they know the answer, they will put an agreed amount of money into a pot or onto the table, write the answer secretly onto a piece of paper, and hide it from other students. If a student does not know the answer, they don’t have to play that round.
- The teacher gives the answers, and the students show their papers.
- The student with the correct answer wins the pot. If more than one student has a correct answer, the pot will be split equally. If no student got the answer correct, the money would stay in the pot for the next round.
- As soon as one student has no money left, the game ends, and the student with the most money amount wins.
How to Make Test Review Fun?
Exchanging ideas and teaching tips with other teachers helps to get creative in finding the best ways to help students find the correct answers to test prep. You will find another five engaging review games for elementary, middle, and high school students in the video below.
Working in Teams
Review games can help students to learn how to work as a team appropriately. As teachers, we want to take the time to help foster team bonding and educational experiences because they will help the student in more ways than just performing better on tests.
Working in teams gives the teacher the ability to educate beyond the use of a board and chalk. Small group instruction will help you to plan and design a test akin to playing effectively.
Teams can write out answers, work together to define terms, or properly guess what the key term is defined. It leaves room for open cooperation. Turn test prep into a points-earning game that the student feels engaged with. Bringing points into the session can help spark working together or that competitive drive to get the point before another does.
How Do Students Benefit from Review Games?
Not all kids learn best from an educator standing in front of the classroom, writing definitions on a chalkboard. Many teaching tips will discuss ways in which we can turn test reviews into a game. This is how we can make a review for a test seem like something other than it is, and this can help foster a love of knowledge for kids in a classroom.
Review games turn test prep into a game. This type of play engages students and can spark their interest in how a PowerPoint lesson just can’t. Rather than going rote through concepts, make a jeopardy-style game that makes math a fun classroom game.
Kids develop skills in different ways, and for many, these group review games are their favorite way to explore ideas. Teaching requires flexibility. Whether the students are learning the ins and outs of mathematics or how to write a specific type of report, this type of practice helps them hone their skills and develop a love for knowledge.
You can easily find tons of digital resources that make education a bit more exciting for students. And the best part is that many of these resources are free. You can find questions and answers, point charts, and ideas for creating an engaging and fun way to get your students ready for the next exam. This is a great way to prepare your students for the content they can expect on a quiz and ask questions if they are unsure.
In Closing
The review games on this list can help students to develop a love for learning. Students can foster a better ability to work in teams, which will score them points in the future where they will be expected to work together in a team environment easily.
A team-building exercise may seem to be childlike play, but it is an important social lesson that will significantly help them in the future.
Whether you use a question-based board game or a points system for an activity that involves teams, you can find free templates and plans that will allow you to create a unique system. Perhaps even with a points value, that will pose a key question to students who can earn points if they get correct.
Using points or not doesn’t matter. The idea is to help one student make their way to the correct answer to the question and take the time to explain to the students why these terms or concepts are important.
Review games are an important part of getting students ready to take tests and move on to more complicated subjects that rely on understanding groundwork principles and concepts.
Allowing students to work as a team, spending time letting them explore a question, and even assigning points so that a student, in the end, feels like they have won something is well worth the time and effort.
