Game On! 7 Review Games to Play in the Classroom (EP18)

Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Elementary Math Chat. Today is going to be such a fun episode because I am sharing seven of my favorite review games to play on review days. Most of these review games can take the place of your lesson that day, but a few are a little shorter and a little quicker, and they can be a supplement to your lesson.

So, for each game, I’ll give you just a quick overview and explain how they work, I’ll share what I like most about each game, and I’ll give you tips to help the games run smoothly. And just a reminder, everything I talked about today will be linked in the show notes.

The first review game I’m going to share is called Survivor. The goal for Survivor is to be in the game when the last question is called. What’s unique about Survivor is if they miss a question and they get out, there is always a chance that they can get back in, and that will definitely keep them interested and keep them on their toes.

The only prep on your end is to have questions prepared. You can use a set of task cards and just show one at a time on a doc camera, or you can create questions and type them up within PowerPoint. But that one is going to require a little more prep on your end. Another option is to use a set of Boom Cards and show them on your screen. That’s probably the easiest way since they are self-checking, and that way you don’t have to worry about putting the answers in yourself.

To play Survivor, your students will need a dry erase board and a marker, and then you will need a set of popsicle sticks or something similar with either their classroom numbers on them or their names on them. So, before you even start the game, make sure they have their popsicle stick.

Something students really like about this game is they get to sit on top of their desks, and as long as they’re in the game, they stay sitting on their desks. If they miss a question, then they have to sit back down in their seat.

So, to begin the game, give them one question to solve on their whiteboard, and after some time, have them hold up their boards to show you their answer. If they are correct, they remain in the game and they keep their stick. If incorrect, they are out and sit down in their seat. They will also need to give you their stick if they get the answer incorrect. So, you’ll want to have a cup or jar to put these sticks in. But like I said before, they have a chance to get back in, and here is how.

From the second question on, once students hold up their whiteboards to show you their answer, you first pull a stick from those students who are sitting down because remember, you collect these if they miss a question. If that student has the correct answer, they are back in the game. They also get their stick back, and they get to sit on their desk. But there’s even more! They then get to pick another player who is still in the game and take them out. So, that person will have to give you their stick and sit in their seat even though they got the question correct. So, that’s a little fun twist to the game of Survivor.

And this continues for each question. Again, students answer a question. They hold up their boards to show you. You pull a stick first to see if that person has the correct answer. If so, they are back in the game and take someone else out. In the end, those students still in the game after the last question are the survivors.

I do recommend on that very last question when you pull a stick for a student to get back in, don’t have them take someone out on the very last question. I would just let that student come in and they survived the game.

What I love about this game is it requires very little prep, just a set of questions, and I think 15 questions is just the right amount. You don’t want it to run too long or they’ll get bored, but you want enough questions to get a good review in.

Another thing I like is they really enjoy taking each other out and getting revenge for who took them out. But make sure you tell them not to get upset if someone takes them out. I always told them to consider it a compliment because they think that you’ll get all of the answers correct and that’s the only way to get you out. So, I would have that conversation with them before playing this game for the first time.

If you’re interested in playing Survivor, I have a free PowerPoint with the directions linked in the show notes. So, you can show these directions and then use a set of task cards or Boom Cards for your questions.

Speaking of Boom Cards, if you teach fourth grade, I have Boom Card sets that review each unit in fourth grade, and they would be ideal for Survivor because they include questions over each lesson in the chapter. I will link the bundle in the show notes so you can see all 13 sets.

The second review game you can play is called the Mystery Point Review Game. This one I learned about from my colleague, and I believe she heard it from Mix and Math on TPT. She has amazing ideas, by the way, so follow her on Instagram if you do not already.

The goal for this game is to be on the team with the most points in the end. What’s extra fun about this game is the values of each picture are hidden. So, there is a little element of surprise at the end when the values are revealed.

To play the game, you will need to print about six full-page clip art graphics, and you’ll also need a stack of sticky notes, and then questions to use for review. You actually don’t need to use clip art; you can print any picture. But I always used clip art, and I made it themed. So, when we played this game in February, I printed Valentine’s Day clip art. When I played in March, I printed St. Patrick’s Day clipart. You don’t have to do a theme, but I think it’s really fun to have one.

So, once you’ve printed your pictures, clip them to your board so everyone can see them, and you don’t have to cut them out or even laminate them. I recommend you don’t because your students will be putting sticky notes on them, and they will stick better if they aren’t laminated.

So, here’s how the game works. Before students arrive, you’ll need to put a point value on the back of the pictures so they are hidden. So, maybe one picture is worth zero, and the others are 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500. You’ll also want to write these values on sticky notes so you can easily change them because if you teach multiple classes, they will tell the other classes which picture was zero and which was 500. So, after each class, you’ll want to change the values of the pictures.

As I said before, you’ll also need questions to use as a review, and I just used the questions from the Chapter Review that were in their workbooks, which was nice because we needed to complete those anyway, and this was a fun way to do so.

Students begin by solving one page at a time on their own, which is usually around four questions. And then once everyone on their team is finished, they discuss their answers, and they all have to agree on the same answer. So, if someone disagrees, they must work as a team to decide on the correct answer.

Once they all agree, they raise their hand for you to come check. If they have all correct answers, they receive a sticky note. You will need to remind them to put their team numbers on the sticky notes, and that way you can tell whose is whose. Or, if you want to use different colors, they can each have a different color of sticky note, and that would just be their team color, so they wouldn’t have to write their team number on it.

Either way, once they earn a sticky note, they place it on a picture, and they will earn the value of the points behind the picture for each sticky note that is on that picture. For example, if team three has two sticky notes on a picture worth 500 points, they will earn 1000 points for that picture. But remember, they don’t know the value of the pictures. So, it’s a little bit of a guessing game.

There will be times when the teams have an answer that’s not correct, and in that case, I will tell them you have three out of four correct and see if they can fix it on their own. If not, I will just tell them, hey, look, your number eight is incorrect or your number 10 is incorrect. Eventually, I will help them with the answer if they can’t get it, but that at least directs them towards which number to look at.

Once they finish the first page of the Chapter Review, they move on to the second page, and this continues until they finish. I also rewarded them with additional sticky notes if they were working quietly and if they were working well as a team and not arguing. This game does take some patience, because some will finish faster than their teammates, and they will have to wait on them. So, I always rewarded patience.

You know, because they are earning sticky notes for working quietly, this will be the quietest review game you’ve ever played. That’s probably the best part about this game. If it did start to get loud, I made sure to remind them that the quieter teams were getting more sticky notes, and that helped get them back on track.

You are going to have teams that finish early, and in that case, they can work on other things while they wait, and they can still earn sticky notes for being quiet.

When all teams are finished, then go through one picture at a time, reveal the point value, and award teams their points for that picture. And then, of course, the team with the most points in the end wins the game.

This is probably my favorite game of all because it’s quiet, and it requires little prep on my end since I’m not creating the questions. Again, I’m using the Chapter Review questions, and students love this game too. Whenever they walked in and saw the clipart posted on my board, they got so excited. So, your students are sure to love this game too.

The third review game I am sharing is called Stinky Feet. You may have heard about this game. It was created by the TPT seller Teaching in the Fast Lane, and she sells editable templates where you can insert your own questions.

The goal for this game is again to be on the team with the most points in the end. If they are on the winning team, then they get to take their shoes off the next day in class, which is why the game is called Stinky Feet.

Here’s how the game works. Students solve each problem on their own first, and then check with their team to decide on a final answer. One person writes their final answer on a whiteboard and holds the board up when you are ready. The questions are all multiple choice, so they just have to write A, B, C, or D.

After each question, it goes to a slide with a whole bunch of different socks, and if students are correct, they get to choose a sock that has a mystery value, and then add those points to their total. If their team gets it wrong, then they just don’t get to pick a sock for that round.

Here’s what makes this game so exciting. Some of the socks will reward them with points, but then others will take points away, and the values of the socks change for each question. So, they never know what they’re going to get, which makes this game really exciting.

Also, I made an additional rule that once a sock is chosen, another team can’t choose that same sock since they already know the point value. So again, after each question, if they are correct, they choose a sock, they either get points added to their total or it’s taken away, and then it repeats for each round and each question after that.

What I love most about this game is the element of surprise that comes with each question and the simple reward that they receive if they win. They are always wanting to know what they get if they win, and I think they’d much rather take their shoes off than receive a piece of candy.

So, those are my top three review games to play for math. But I know many of you teach other subjects too. So next, I’m going to share four more review games that can be used with any subject.

The fourth game you can use for review is called Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. This one is an editable PowerPoint template that you fill in, and it’s just like the game on TV. Now, this game is a little different because they play individually, and they keep track of their points. So, I suggest using whiteboards so you can see their answers from a distance.

The fifth game you can use for review is one you have probably already used, but it’s worth mentioning, and that is Kahoot. I do really like this game, but it can get a little rowdy. So, I gave my classes three strikes and then they were out. You know, there were times when the majority of the students missed a question, but they were so crazy that they weren’t even listening to me explain why the answer was what it was. If they’re not listening and if they’re not learning, then the review game is a waste of time.

What’s nice about Kahoot is it doesn’t take an entire class period like some of the others do. So, it’s a good one if you need a time filler of like 15 to 20 minutes.

Another game you can use for review is a Jeopardy-style game called Factile. You will need to create an account, but it is free, and it works just like Jeopardy. So, you will have to create the questions and the answers. This game is super kid-friendly, and they get to choose their team mascot, which is the fun element. It also keeps track of their points, so they don’t have to worry about that part, and it has a Final Jeopardy question at the end. So, definitely check that one out.

The seventh and final game I’m recommending is Quizlet Live. The link I’m providing in the show notes is actually a YouTube video that explains how this works. It also has the website listed so you can find it when you finish watching. I was so bummed when my district blocked Quizlet. I think it was because of the ads, and I completely understand, but man we loved Quizlet.

The goal for Quizlet Live is to be the first team to reach the finish line, and they work their way down to the finish line by answering questions correctly But they have to be careful because one wrong answer will make them start over to play the game.

You will give them a 6-digit code, and the program will give you that code, so you don’t have to worry about making that up. And then it will put them in teams. It does work best if they sit with their teams, and they will also need their computer. The best part is, once you press start, the game will take care of itself. So, you can walk around and watch, or you can just sit back and relax.

Another fun element is that when they read a question, only one person on their team will have that answer. So, let’s say the question is what is seven times five? Each person in their group will see the same question, but they will all have different answer choices. Only one of them will have 35, and they’ll need to select that for their team. Because they are sitting with their team, they can help each other if someone doesn’t know the answer.

I have tried this game with them sitting in their seats and not in their teams, and it still works, but it is harder for them to collaborate. The rounds do go by pretty fast. So, I would keep the same teams for about three rounds and then switch teams. This is really easy to do because there’s a button that says create new teams, and that’s all you have to do to put them into new teams. I really hope you’re able to access Quizlet Live because it is so much fun to play, and it’s a great review.

So, there you have it. Seven of my favorite review games to play in the classroom, and don’t forget, they are all linked in the show notes.

All right, it is now time for today’s teaching tip of the week.

Today’s tip is an organizational tip for all of your internet favorites. Just like you organize your files into folders, you can do the same with your favorite websites. To set this up, right-click on your internet tab bar at the top of your screen, select add folder, and then name the folder.

What I found really helpful when I was in the classroom is I made a folder, and I called it Daily Websites. I put all of the websites that I accessed daily in this folder. So, things like attendance, the website I used to clock in my gradebook, Schoology, dismissal, and so on. Anytime I needed to access one of these websites, I would click on that folder, and then I would see them all listed for me to choose from.

You will need to mark these websites as favorites first, and you do that by clicking the star that’s on the right side of the URL bar, and once it’s marked as a favorite, you then select which folder you want to put that website into, and it will stay in that folder.

You can actually even open them all in one click. You just have to right-click on the folder, and then it gives you an option to open all tabs. This was such a time-saver when I needed to open multiple websites in the morning, but you won’t always need to open all of them. But, at least they’re in the folders, and they are easy to find. Before I organized mine into folders, I would have to scroll down a long list of internet favorites trying to find the one I wanted. So, this makes it much easier to find.

So, hopefully, this simple trick saves you time just like it saved me, and it helps you get your internet favorites organized.

Well, friends, that is all for today’s episode. Have a great week, and I will see you next Tuesday.