Test review does not have to be tedious or boring. Many would argue that fun and engaging activities help students retain more information in different ways and can help with recall. These fun activities make test review feel like play.
When your students are happy to engage with the material and excited about the activities, they learn from each other without even realizing it. Take advantage of the natural benefits of play, competition, and collaboration to get the best results from your time in review.
Raffle
A raffle is a fun and motivating way to engage students in test review. For this activity, you will need a prize or prizes and a raffle ticketing system. Raffle tickets can be as simple as tally marks under their name on the board. There’s no reason to overcomplicate this activity. Ask students a series of test review questions, awarding tickets for correct answers. The more correct answers the student has, the higher their likelihood will be of winning the raffle.
At the end of the game, determine the raffle winner by selecting an entry at random. This can be accomplished with an online tool, by having students place slips of paper with their name into a container, or by using traditional two-part raffle tickets. All that matters is that students earn more entries for correct answers.
Tumble Tower
This classic game involves writing test review questions on stacking blocks that are arranged into a tower. Students must then carefully remove one single block from the tower without toppling the rest. They read their question aloud and attempt an answer. If they answer correctly, they may choose another block. An incorrect answer should be treated as if the student has toppled the whole tower. They must forgo choosing another block and the next student takes their turn.
Castle Siege
Castle siege is a fun and exciting activity that can be as simple or as complex as you like. In this game, students must defend their castle from opposing forces. They earn attacks against their opponent’s castle by correctly answering test review questions. The defending castle has a chance to block the attack by answering another question correctly.
Students may construct paper or cardboard castles to represent their team, or they may draw them on the board. For an added bit of fun, allow students to physically toss balls of paper toward the opposing team’s castle during siege rounds. At the end of thegame, the castle that’s taken the least number of attacks wins.
Connect the Dots
Just like the classic board game, the objective of this activity is to make a row of four connecting dots. Students get the opportunity to add a dot to the board by correctly answering a review question. Allow students to choose where to place their dot and work strategically to form rows as a team.
Projecting a grid onto a whiteboard and having students color in their dots is a fun and interactive way to engage them in this activity. Dots can also be made from sticky notes, construction paper, or magnets. Creativity is your only limitation.
Shaving Cream Speed Drills
Shaving cream speed drills not only provide a fun and engaging way for students to have a sensory experience while performing review–it has the added benefit of leaving desks sparkling clean. For this activity, you will require enough shaving cream to provide a writing surface on each student’s desk.
Students will write their answer to the review questions with their finger in the shaving cream. This activity works best for short yes or no answers, true or false questions, math problems, and other brief replies. At the end of the game, students clean the shaving cream off of their hands and desks leaving the classroom fresh and clean.
Glow Up
A little atmosphere goes a long way. For a fun and exciting test review game, cover the classroom windows, turn off the lights, and create a semi dark environment. From here use glowing accessories to enhance test review. Students could receive glow bracelets or glow sticks for correct answers. Consider preparing glow in the dark flashcards, or UV reactive posters that will capture students’ imagination.
Simply turning down the lights and introducing the novelty of glow-in-the-dark objects turns any test review game into an unforgettable experience that students will talk about long after the game is over.
Charades
They say the true indicator of understanding is the ability to explain a concept in as simple terms as possible. Can your students explain their lesson material with nonverbal gestures? To test your students’ true understanding of the material and their ability to communicate it to others, ask them to act out answers to test review questions in front of the class. Classmates can then shout out their guesses as to the answer based on these performances.
Geocaching
Geocaching is a fun and exciting activity that combines navigation and riddle solving. You can set up geocaches around your classroom that contain the answers to test review questions posed as riddles. Send your students on a scavenger hunt around the classroom or even outdoors while they review and explore.
Relating the material and answers specifically to the locations the answers are hidden in or the containers you hide them in is a great way to build memory cues in students’ minds to help them recall the information in the future.
Socratic Seminar
A Socratic Seminar can be an invaluable test review activity that provides insight into what and how students are learning. Invite students to present, debate, and discuss core material. This is an excellent opportunity to step back and take a facilitator role and quietly observe student ideas.
It’s not necessarily important to step in and correct or control the conversation. This is an opportunity to listen and determine areas of strength or opportunities for improvement. At the end of the seminar, explore which ideas are supported by the material.
Review Field Day
Physical movement is an often underutilized tool in academic settings. Staging a test review field day is a great way for students to get more active while engaging in learning. Set up a series of material related games for students to play through and compete against each other in. A relay race where the “baton” is a correct answer gets students thinking fast. Set up targets representing “true” or “false” answers for students to toss bean bags at.
Parody Sing Along
Everyone loves a clever parody, especially one they’ve written themselves. By asking your students to choose a song, potentially from a list of pre-approved selections, and write parody lyrics, you give them a chance to commit the information to memory in a way that is fun and easy to recall.
Songs are often used as mnemonic devices. It’s a proven technique. After review, encourage students who enjoy performance to share their parodies with the class. Be prepared to share songs on behalf of students who aren’t comfortable singing in front of others.
Escape Room
Escape rooms are wildly popular, and can make a fun and memorable way to review material. By working clues, characters, settings, and concepts from your material into an escape room scenario, you give your students a chance to learn while they play. There are many free examples of escape room activities that can be customized to fit your material.
Game Show
Trivia game shows are always popular, and for good reason. Set your students up like a classic competitive game show with buzzers and points to be won. These types of games can be played tournament-style allowing students to enjoy some friendly competition while learning from each other. Encourage students in the audience to take notes while competitors take their turn at the buzzers.
When you plan fun and engaging test review games for your students, you’re setting them up to enjoy learning and evaluation. The best test review games can be simple or complex, requiring little preparation or a lot. There’s so much flexibility and opportunity for customization that each of these activities would suit any subject or classroom. Treat yourself and your students to some fun and engaging review and make tests taking something they look forward to.
