Explore 6 Economic Activity & Population review games designed by a teacher to engage students and reinforce curriculum. When students are having fun, they forget they are reviewing, making games a great way to practice Social Studies.

• TRASHKETBALL™ gets teams racing to answer correctly, then rewards them with shots at the trash can to score points.
• BUMP combines fast-paced question review with a competitive challenge where students land shots and knock other teams off the platform.
• With SCOOT, students move around the room answering task cards, turning curriculum review into an active classroom game.
• Keep students on their toes with FRAZZLED, where every answer can reveal points, help the opposing team, or uncover a bomb that resets the score to zero.
• 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 keeps the whole class involved as up to eight teams answer together and watch their scores swing above and below zero.

When it’s time to review, a little competition can go a long way toward getting students focused, participating, and having fun. Students who normally sit back during review often jump into the action, working with their teammates and getting caught up in every question and result. When games become a regular part of review, students quickly learn that knowing the material gives them an advantage, and they start showing up ready to compete.

And it isn’t just something I’ve seen in my own classroom—research has found significant learning benefits from using educational games with students. See the research.