Explore 7 Comparing Democratic & Authoritarian Systems review games designed by a teacher to engage students and reinforce curriculum. Give students a break from worksheets and bring Social Studies review to life with a classroom game.

• In TRASHKETBALL™, students compete to answer questions quickly and correctly to earn chances to shoot and score for their team.
• In BUMP, correct answers earn students shots at the platform, where they can score even more points by bumping off opposing teams.
• SCOOT gets students out of their seats and moving around the classroom as they rotate from desk to desk answering task cards.
• FRAZZLED turns review into an unpredictable competition where teams win points, lose points, steal points, and try to avoid the dreaded bomb.
• The TERRIBLE Game rewards correct answers with positive or negative points that students can strategically assign to their own team or their opponents.
• The BIG TERRIBLE Game gets up to eight teams answering every question while unpredictable positive and negative points keep everyone guessing until the end.
• In GRUDGEBALL, teams answer questions to fire on their opponents’ ships, then make baskets to earn even more shots.

I’ve always found that students are much more willing to review when they feel like they’re playing instead of studying. The competition gets students paying attention to every question, communicating with their team, and getting genuinely excited when the answer is revealed. The real change happens when students start looking ahead to the next game and realize that the more prepared they are, the better their chances of winning.

Don’t just take my word for it—research shows that game-based learning can improve student achievement, retention, and motivation. See the research.