Game Board Review

Subjects

• All Subjects

Grades

• K-2
• 3-5
• 6-8
• 9-12

Brief Description

A twist on the old classic, this game gets the whole class involved in reviewing material. No one has time to not pay attention!

Objectives

Students will use this game to review previously taught material.

Keywords

review

Materials Needed

• white/chalkboard
• markers
• butcher paper
• dice (optional)

The Lesson

Before the Lesson
Create a giant game board for use in whole-class review. You might create a "generic" game board that can be used to review any topic. It's fun to add positive and negative squares to the game board. For example, lose a turn, go back two spaces, or take a free turn. Or you might create a game board specific to the topic of the review. For example, if you're studying rivers, the game board might be a long winding river that students must "travel." Positive/negative squares might say things such as Caught in the rapids -- move forward two spaces or Boat tips over -- lost 1 turn.

You might create the game board path on butcher or craft paper. Or you could draw a permanent game board on a sheet of whiteboard:

• Go Home Depot, Lowe's, or another of the building supply chains and pick up a sheet of whiteboard material. (It's the same material sold in sheets to line shower and bathtub stalls.) Most building stores are willing to cut down the large sheets for teachers at no extra charge.
• Use paint to create a permanent game board path. If you have no artistic talent, the art teacher in your school might be willing to sketch out the game board path and add some decorations for you.
• Students/groups can use colored markers to mark their spots as you play the game on the whiteboard.

If you create a game board on a chalkboard, you can create magnetic game pieces for your students to use by printing out Internet clipart, laminating it, and putting a magnet on back. (You can buy a roll of magnet tape for around $3 at craft stores.) Or, instead of clipart, you might use your word processing software to create a tag with each of your students' names on it. Then laminate and magnetize the nametags.

Playing the Game
To play the game, follow these simple rules:

• Arrange students into groups of any size. (I've found that groups of four seem to work best.)
• Provide a small whiteboard (a foot square is a good size) and a marker for each group.
• Read a review question to the class. Give groups of students 15-20 seconds to talk among themselves and write the answer on the whiteboard.
• When time is up, call out Boards up! All groups show their answers.
• If a group has the correct answer, they roll a die and move forward that many spaces on the game board. If the group has the incorrect answer, they do not roll or move.
• The first group to land in the final square is the winner.

Assessment

By seeing group responses immediately, you know what topics are clear and which ones need to be reviewed. If only one group gets an answer right, then you can take a minute to explain the concept during the middle of the game. The entire game acts as a broad assessment for the upcoming test.

Submitted By

Kris Gazdziak, Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois

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