It's no secret that a student's experience in elementary school can have a tremendous impact later on. Students might pick up a love of learning or a curiosity for a topic that will stick with them for life. I never recovered from my early love of space! It's also a time when we can foster skills like study habits that will serve them well in future classes.
With in-class review games, students learning that practicing material can be fun! Here are some suggestions for review activities to use with your elementary students:
📒"Who (or What) Am I?" Guessing Game - This role playing game really encourages students to think creatively about a specific topic. If a student takes on the role of a "vegetable seed", for example, they need to understand "what do seeds look like?" and "what do they do?" This higher order thinking helps students to make connections beyond simple memorization.
📒 Matching Card Games - Similar to the classic memory game, students can create two cards for each concept or vocabulary term. Students draw the term on one card and write the definition on another. When the cards are placed face down, students can find matches individually or as a group. Hint: as much learning happens in making the cards as in matching them. 😉
📒Pictionary - More drawing! Have a student secretly choose a term and draw the object for others to guess. At younger ages, this review works best for concrete vocabulary terms instead of abstract concepts. If students are intimidated by being on the spot, let a pair work together for the drawing. They'll discuss the topic and learn more as they work together!
📒Create a Review Game - Having students create the game brings it to a whole new level. Quiz shows are fun, or use manila folders to make board games. The value of the activity lies in students creating questions of varied levels with the correct answers. Push them to ask a range of easy and tough questions.
I feel like I'm just scratching the surface here! I'd love to hear any ways that you get students excited through review games in your classroom.
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