Interactive Revision Games
Revision can be daunting and many students find going over the same information boring. Revision is frequently used to consolidate learning and to help students prepare for exams. Using games can make revision more fun and lead to students revising without being aware of it. A 2010 report for the U.S. Department of Education stated that as games provide immediate feedback, they are highly engaging and have the potential to motivate students to learn. There are many types of games that educators can utilize to help their students.
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Team Games
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Use a traditional quiz to revise information after a unit is complete. Establish mixed-ability teams; higher-ability students will benefit from acting as leaders and the less able will gain from their knowledge. Include bonus or joker rounds and link scores to the school reward system.
Use the Whiteboard
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Use whiteboard games or create your own. Get a student to sit with her back to the whiteboard. Place images representing key facts on the board. The class explains the image without using certain words the teacher places on the board. The student should be able to guess what the picture is.
Another game to revise key terms involves putting a number of letters in a grid. Each letter is the first letter of a key term. Students try to make a chain across the grid by choosing letters that form a line across the grid and identifying the key terms from clues given to them by the teacher.
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Adapt TV Game Shows
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Get students to particapate in games like the ones they've seen on TV. Many students will have watched TV shows which could be adapted to revision games. A good example is "Who wants to be a Millionaire." Use progressively harder questions and a prize to take the place of the jackpot on TV. Students play in a team and have the same lifelines as in the TV show.
Board Games
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Get students to create their own board game. Instruct them to write their own questions and ensure they know the answers. Introduce a few chance cards to include a fun random element and allow students to play the games they have created.
Bingo
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Bingo is a way to revise definitions, events and people. Students select any nine terms from a list and write them into a three-by-three grid. The teacher reads out explanations of these words. The students circle words when they think the teacher has read a definition. The first one to get a line of three calls "bingo!" and if they are correct and remember the definitions they win the first round. A second winner gets all nine answers on her grid and calls "house!" and explains all the words.
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References
Resources
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