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Want to be cheered instead of complained about while studying for your exams? Review games are your best bet – with the right inspiration and resources, they can be more effective than your carefully crafted study guide! Get your students excited for their upcoming exams with review games for high school students on any subject.
Meaningful math games for high school students
One of the most important study skills for high school students is to check in with their own learning. When it comes to math study skills, these high school review games help clarify tricky concepts and allow students to assess their math understanding before the math test.
For innovative math review games for school, try these classic activities with math tips:
- Math Buddy Hunt: Half of the class received papers containing math problems, and the other half received solutions. Who can find their matching problem or solution first (and solve it)?
- Plate relay race: This classic group activity pits two team representatives against each other, first solving a problem on the board and then tagging another team member to solve the next problem.
- Math Baseball: The opposing team “asks” team members math problems. If they can find a solution quickly, they move to first base and allow the next player to try. Three out, teams swap!
Ace your next exam with algebra games
Algebra 1 can be complex for any math student, especially those new to the subject. Help high school students master discrete algebra skills with math review games that focus on tricky concepts.
Algebra 1 Games | Graphing Quadratic Equations and Main Characteristics
One-stop teacher shop
Grade: Grade 8-10
Subjects: Algebra, Mathematics, Math Test Preparation
Standard: CCSS HSA-SSE.B.3, 3a, 3b; HSF-IF.B.4, 5, 6, C.7, 7a
Can your high school student graph quadratic equations? After playing this algebra “I can” game, they can! Ideal for independent practice, small groups, or whole-class activities, this CCSS-compliant math game prompts students to answer “test-like” questions through an innovative review method that incorporates QR codes for instant feedback.
Integrate maths review into other subjects
Students who are not confident in their math skills may be a little concerned when math appears in other subjects. At this time, review games with a mathematical element in the high school curriculum (such as economics or science) can be helpful for both conceptual knowledge and mathematical practice.
Budget Task Cards – Graded – Good for review games
ontario octopus
Grade: Grades 9-12
Subjects: Applied Mathematics, Mathematics
Have your math students ever asked “When are we going to use this?” For an economics review game that incorporates applied math skills, the answer is “now!” Use the 12 applied budgeting task cards to review personal finance concepts such as fixed and variable costs, vehicle maintenance costs, monthly and annual income, and more.
Wonderful scientific research game
Whether you’re looking for high school chemistry review activities or learning games to reinforce physics knowledge, well-timed review games can add the right element to your lessons.
Try these science games for any level of high school science and add your own review questions to make each activity relevant to your own teaching.
- Science Q&A Group: Bring trivia night into your classroom with personal whiteboards, small groups, and a series of science test review questions.
- Laboratory escape room: Who can walk out of the lab first? Use review questions and logic puzzles as ideas for your own escape room.
- Don’t say: Students describe a key scientific term without saying that word or the five other words on the card! If their team guesses the word correctly, they get a point.
Biology review based on facts and fun
Biology is the study of life, so don’t be afraid to add a little life to your exam review! Bring biology review games into high school study sessions to get science students excited and working together.
Cumulative Biology Review Game
Author: It’s not rocket science
Grade: 7-10
Subject: Biology
Where do you start when it’s time to review a year of biology? Start with a cumulative biology review game inspired by the TV game show “The Code.” Small groups of guessers compete to guess one of 100 key biological terms based on clues provided by group members. If they get the answer correct within 20 seconds, they get a point!
Fun ELA reading and writing review games
Just because ELA tests involve more writing and fewer multiple-choice questions, it doesn’t mean students can’t review in a fun way. In fact, ELA offers some of the most engaging review games for high school students that spark creativity, ask thoughtful questions, and most importantly, be fun!
- Guess the character: During a novel unit or after reading a class novel, host a guessing game in which students act out the characteristics and actions of the characters in the book (or other books you have read throughout the year).
- Find revisions: Review proofreading and revisions by projecting unedited passages on the board and letting the team be the first to find all possible revisions.
- Synonym matching game: Help high school students memorize vocabulary with a quick matching game! Put ten synonyms of your current vocabulary on the board and see who can replace them first with words from the list.
Grammar games to review ELA basics
What does it mean that your students don’t like learning grammar? Their attitudes may change when they play a grammar game that combines body movements with grammar knowledge (and some team scoring!).
Active and Passive Voice Trashketball Review Game – Verb Voice Grammar Activities
Author: OCBeach teacher
Grade: 6-10
Subjects: English Language Arts, Grammar, Writing
Standards: CCSS L.8.1, 8.1b, 8.3, 8.3a, 8.6
If passive voice is the bane of your students’ writing, help them get “active” with the verb sound grammar review game “Trashketball.” This CCSS-aligned resource to get students excited includes PowerPoint and Google Slides versions of the game, as well as concept reviews, game rules, teacher notes, and answer keys.
A sensational social research game for future historians
No list of high school review games would be complete without a social studies game! Rich and conceptually rich social studies topics provide an excellent forum for review games surrounding trivia and important facts. Use these thought-provoking games to stretch your memory beyond history, geography, and other social studies classes.
- Set up “Chairman”: Have groups research a presidential candidate and then ask questions about what their president would do in a given situation. (Bonus points for role playing!)
- Put them in order: Assign each student a key event from a historical period and see if they can rank themselves in the order in which they occurred.
- Where in the world: Test students’ geography knowledge by showing them the outline of a country or state and see which team can come up with the correct (or closest!) answer.
Learn about history through period-specific learning games
Put the spotlight on a piece of history with a dedicated commentary game. Whether you’re researching all the statistics and dates of a war or looking back at an influential era in world history, there’s nothing like a review game to immerse students in your teaching.
Gilded Age Progressive Era Events Bingo Review Game EOC Review STAAR
Author: active history teacher
Grade: 9-11
Subjects: Social Studies, American History
Step into the Gilded Age of American history with an engaging bingo game. With 36 bingo cards and 2 sets of calling questions covering 50 topics, you can play this game over and over again to help prepare students for their upcoming late 19th century exams!
Easy-to-learn Spanish games for language learners
If your Spanish student is nervous Pruba than neighboring countries (“Next Test”), bring these high school Spanish review games to your upcoming study sessions. Not only are they more fun than flashcards and repetition, but they help students practice speaking and pronunciation as well as Spanish knowledge.
- Solo Pre-Gutas: Have students revisit the classic “Ask Only” improv game and challenge them to interact in class with just questions.
- pictorica: Using a Spanish vocabulary list, have students draw images on a whiteboard or a projected drawing app so their teams can guess the correct word (in Spanish, of course).
- one party: Give each student a card with a Spanish noun, verb, preposition, article, or conjunction on it and ask students to find the correct part of speech to form the first Spanish sentence in class.
Spend more time studying with Spanish review games
Break free from textbooks and have fun conversations with this Spanish review game for high school students! Test students’ basic knowledge of Spanish with review games to prepare them for the next exam and beyond.
Spanish Present Tense AR ER IR Verb Review Game Octopus Guard Unprepared Review
Author: Stress-Free Spanish Teacher
Grade: Grades 6-12
Subjects: Spanish, World Languages
High school students can master the present tense conjugation with a fun octopus-themed review game! Five versions of the game challenge Spanish students to choose the correct anagram to obtain a treasure guarded by a possessive octopus.
Select online games and digital resources
When 21st century students hear the term “classroom games,” they probably think of tablets rather than whiteboards. But how do you ensure that online and digital games are both educational and entertaining?
Incorporate learning standards into your school review games by choosing from teacher-created and curated digital games in TPT. If you want to use your own review questions in an online game, look for a reputable edtech website where you can create your own digital games and assign them for independent practice. (Talk about the homework your high school student looks forward to!)
Make school fun, make learning fun
When students enjoy their time in class, they are more likely to attend and more likely to succeed. Using review games is a fun way for high school students to combine learning, teamwork, and old-fashioned fun. What’s the biggest surprise? Class time with review games may be your favorite part of the teaching day!
Find more high school review game resources to keep students alert and on edge. For a more important way to engage teens in the classroom, life skills activities can be included for high school students to prepare them for graduation and beyond.
