Explore 7 Methods of Social Change 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.

• 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.
• BUMP combines fast-paced question review with a competitive challenge where students land shots and knock other teams off the platform.
• In GRUDGEBALL, teams answer questions to fire on their opponents’ ships, then make baskets to earn even more shots.
• The TERRIBLE Game rewards correct answers with positive or negative points that students can strategically assign to their own team or their opponents.
• Get students moving with SCOOT, where they travel from desk to desk answering task cards and recording their answers along the way.
• In TRASHKETBALL™, students compete to answer questions quickly and correctly to earn chances to shoot and score for their team.
• 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.

Review works a lot better when students actually want to participate, and games give them a reason to jump in. 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. Once students know another game is coming, winning becomes a reason to pay attention, practice, and make sure they’re ready for the next one.

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.