Explore 7 Historical Transitions 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.

• The TERRIBLE Game makes review wonderfully terrible as teams answer questions, uncover unpredictable scores, and use positive and negative points to get closest to zero.
• GRUDGEBALL combines question review with a battle for survival as teams fire cannons, sink opposing ships, and fight to be the last one afloat.
• BUMP gets teams racing to answer correctly, then gives them a chance to score points by knocking other teams off the platform.
• In FRAZZLED, teams answer questions to uncover mystery points, but one wrong answer or unlucky bomb can completely change the game.
• The BIG TERRIBLE Game gets up to eight teams answering every question while unpredictable positive and negative points keep everyone guessing until the end.
• Turn review into a team competition with TRASHKETBALL™, where students answer questions, earn shots, and try to outscore the other teams.
• SCOOT combines review with movement as students rotate between desks and work their way through a set of topic-specific task cards.

I’ve always found that students are much more willing to review when they feel like they’re playing instead of studying. 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. 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.

Games may feel like fun to students, but research shows they can be serious learning tools, with measurable benefits for achievement, retention, and engagement. See the research.