With end of year testing coming up in just a couple of months, it’s never too soon to start brainstorming fun ways to engage your students in test prep. We’ve come up with three different games designed to entertain AND educate your students so that they can put their best foot forward later this spring.

???? Pass the Chicken

For this review game, have all of your students sit in a circle. Randomly ask a student a test review question while the chicken is slowly passed around the entire circle. If the rubber chicken arrives back at the student before they answer, the student will have to go and sit in the middle (chicken coop) of the circle. If a student answers correctly, then (and only then), can the student holding the chicken can squeak it in celebration!

The chicken is then passed to the next person, etc. If a student doesn’t answer the review question correctly, they can ask the student/s in the chicken coop if they know the right answer. If the chicken coop student is correct, they can re-join the circle and the student who was unsure of the question can remain in the circle as well. Naturally, consider creating some safety rules since students tend to get rough with the rubber chicken!

Time Commitment for Activity Prep
• Low, only test review question prep

Supplies Needed
• Rubber chicken
• Test review questions

???? Jeopardy!

Credit: Teachers Pay Teachers

Always a classic, this game can be done using a whiteboard, blackboard, Smartboard, or PowerPoint. There are a plethora of downloadable Jeopardy formats online, but essentially you’ll need to create questions and answers worth a specific amount of fake money (or points).

The prep for Jeopardy can be as simple or intensive as you have time for.  All you really need to do is determine the categories based on the topics you want them to review and simply glance at your notes and choose a question’s difficulty based on the dollar amount.

Credit: Teachers Pay Teachers

Divide the students into two teams where one student is elected team leader. Each team member should take a turn to select a category and amount, for example, “Poetry for $400, Mr. Jenkins”. If the student answers the question correctly, the team leader adds the cash to the “Jeopardy Jar”. Determine the winner based on which team has the most amount of accrued fake money and award each team member a small prize or “class coupon”.

Activity Prep Time Needed
• Medium, creation of game board and questions may take some time

Supplies Needed
• Whiteboard, blackboard, Smartboard, or PowerPoint
• Fake money or other way of tracking points
• “Jeopardy Jar” – Clear container for each team, or a fun money holder like this one
• Test review questions

???? Knockout, inspired by Ms. Torres’ Classroom

Credit: Laura Torres

This review requires a little bit of crafting, but you can re-use it for years! On a piece of foam board use hot glue to line plastic cups in rows making sure to leave at least half an inch between the rims. When the glue is dry, drop in a review question and a little prize.

Next, cut tissue paper into squares large enough to wrap around the cup that you’ll secure with a rubber band. In class, call students up one at a time and have them select a cup and punch through the tissue paper to get to the question and prize. If they can answer the question correctly, they can keep the prize. If not, the first student to raise their hand with the correct answer can claim the prize for themselves (limit 2 per student).

Activity Prep Time Needed
• High, crafting the board and cups and then adding tissue paper may be intensive depending on how big you make the board.

Supplies Needed
• Test review questions on slips of paper
• Foam board/s depending on how big you want it
• Plastic cups (we recommend 16oz)
• Tissue paper
• Rubber bands
• Prizes like “class coupons” or one of these to match the theme

Credit: Composition Classroom Blog

⭐ BONUS: Have students collaborate on a design for a trendy classroom test reminder poster called DAB:

D = determine what the question is asking
A = ask yourself what can be eliminated
B = best answer selection

Do you have a clever or creative way to help your students review test materials? Let us know in the comment box below!

Ready for more fun? We’ve developed 3 games, 44 episodes, 150 hours of lesson plans, game performance reports, and 24/7 support await you and your students—at no cost!