Explore 7 Middle East & New States 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.
• 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.
• FRAZZLED keeps students guessing as correct answers reveal surprise points, wrong answers can reward the other team, and bombs can wipe out a score.
• Turn review into a team battle with BUMP, where correct answers earn shots and students can bump their opponents off the platform for extra points.
• Turn review into a classroom battle with GRUDGEBALL, where correct answers earn attacks and successful baskets give teams extra shots at their opponents.
• 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.
• SCOOT combines review with movement as students rotate between desks and work their way through a set of topic-specific task cards.

When it’s time to review, a little competition can go a long way toward getting students focused, participating, and having fun. Before long, students are cheering, discussing answers, and asking to play again—even when their team didn’t win. Over time, that excitement carries beyond the game itself, as students start preparing because they want their team to have a better chance of winning next time.

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