Looking for test review games to gently transition your students into a testing mode?
Here you’ll find the best test review games and activities for students. All of these activities engage learners, promote higher-order thinking skills, and require little prep time.
So include a few of these fun test review games in your lesson plans this week to get your students ready to boost their test scores!
Test Review Games
1. Have Fun With Dunk It!
To play Dunk It!…
- Divide students into two or three teams. Each of the teams stands in two separate parallel lines, with all students facing the same direction.
- About 10 to 15 feet in front of the first student in each line, place a basket. The basket represents a hoop.
- Gather 4 to 5 crumpled pieces of paper. These are your “balls”. (Discarded 8.5 x 11-inch pieces of paper balled up work well.)
- The first person in line on each team takes a “ball”.
- Now you ask a review question from any subject that you’d like to review for test prep. The first students in each line compete to answer.
- Each child who answered will throw the “ball” once, but the one who answered the quickest (and also correctly) will receive two chances to dunk the “ball” into the basket.
What makes Dunk It! fun plus engaging is that even the kids who didn’t answer the fastest have an opportunity to throw!
Points accumulate based on how many “balls” actually make it into each team’s basket.
2. Play Jeopardy.
Jeopardy is a classic test review game that is quite easy to set up if you use online Jeopardy templates.
Simply choose categories based on topics within a subject area that you want to review with students.
3. Toss a Beach Ball to Test Comprehension.
For this test review game, purchase or create a reading comprehension beach ball with open-ended comprehension questions or sentence stems written on it.
As a class, read a grade-appropriate text, short or medium in length. Afterward, throw the ball to a student.
The student answers the question stem from the beach ball on which her right thumb landed.
After responding, that student throws the ball to another student who then answers another question/sentence stem from the beach ball.
The game continues as such.
To make this game even more fun, have students play while sitting atop their desks.
Related Post: More Super Super Fun Test-Prep Games Students Love
4. Review Using Mini White Boards.
Small rectangular whiteboards are great for reviewing a variety of concepts.
When test review games become monotonous, simply adding a whiteboard to the mix does wonders for students’ engagement.
Here’s a suggestion for using the whiteboards…
- Put students in small teams. Then ask a question that requires them to explain their thinking and/or show their work using the whiteboard.
- Learners collaborate to answer the question, and all teams with the correct answer receive a point.
- The group with the most points at the end of the activity gets polite bragging rights. Using a point system is another option.
The possibilities for using whiteboards with test review games are endless.
5. Incorporate Reciprocal Teaching.
Reciprocal teaching is when students take on the role of teacher.
This instructional strategy is based on the four strategies of summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting.
So use this technique to have students teach their peers a skill or strategy. They love it!
To implement this test review game…
- Put students into groups of 3 or 4.
- Assign each in the group a skill or strategy. When it is a student’s turn, each teaches her skill or strategy to the group using a mini whiteboard.
- After about 10 to 15 minutes, the students rotate.
- The activity continues as such until everyone has had the opportunity to be the “teacher”.
6. Create Anchor Charts.
Encourage student pairs to create an anchor chart based on a skill/strategy you provide.
Throughout the school year, you’ve probably created tons of anchor charts with your students.
So they already know what they are and how to create them.
7. Discuss In Inside-Outside Circles.
Inside Outside Circles, also known as Concentric Circles, gets students moving and talking a lot.
Here’s how Inside Outside Circles works…
- Give each individual student a concept to address. Maybe it’s sequencing, context clues, steps to math problem-solving, etc. Each child should have a unique topic.
- Assign every child a number, either 1 or 2. Ideally, there should be an equal number of each.
- All the 1s form a group, and all the 2s form a group. Each group forms a circle, with the 1s circle inside of the 2s circle.
- The inner circle faces outward, and the outer circle faces inward. Every child should face another student, directly in front of each other.
- At the teacher’s signal, the inner students initiate a discussion of their topic with the child in front of them.
- After a minute, signal for the outer circle partner to discuss his topic.
- Now you’ll signal again for the inner or outer circle to rotate to the right (only one circle needs to rotate).
- With the new partner, students repeat the process.
NOTE: To make this strategy more effective, have the listening partner provide feedback to the one speaking. Was the student’s description or example of the topic accurate? How could she have explained more clearly or added to the topic?
Doing this allows students to reflect on their conversations, with responses ideally becoming more detailed and in-depth based on the feedback received from each previous partner.
8. Play Prove It!
Prove It is one of those test review games that never gets old. Students love it! Read all the details about the Prove It strategy.
9. Make Some Graffiti.
The Graffiti game promotes critical thinking, builds movement, and encourages students to summarize their learning.
Here’s how Graffiti works…
- Take 4 to 5 pieces of large chart paper. The number of charts you need coincides with the number of table groups you have. (It’s best to have no more than 4 learners per group.)
- Attach a one-word problem or short reading passage at the very top of each chart. Leave plenty of space below for students to show work.
- Assign each group a chart paper. Each team answers the question or problem presented on the chart. They may use words, visuals, or graphs to explain their thinking process.
- After about two minutes, the teacher prompts a rotation. The charts move from table to table until all groups have completed each task on the chart paper.
10. Play Headbands Test Review Game.
- Put students into groups of 3 or 4.
- One student from the group gently places a sticky note with an important concept written on it on his forehead. (This student shouldn’t see the word written on the Post-it.)
- The other members of his group then give the student clues so that he can figure out the word.
- After the student with the sticky note on his head guesses correctly, it’s another child’s turn. Continue until everyone has had a chance to be the recipient.
11. Do Multiple-Choice Movements.
Add movement to multiple-choice type review questions with this simple, yet fun game.
After you ask a review question or give a statement to complete, students respond by completing an action.
For example, answer choice…
A = Position hands above your head in a pyramid formation.
B = Put one hand on your forehand.
C = Lift arms to make a “V” position.
D = Place hands behind back.
Choose whichever movements work best for you and your students.
Final Thoughts
Motivate your students to get into test mode using these exciting test review games.
Whether you have one week or one month to prepare, these games will complement the teaching and learning process well.
So include a few of these engaging activities in your lesson plans this week.