Explore 7 Natural Monopolies 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.

• BUMP gets teams racing to answer correctly, then gives them a chance to score points by knocking 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 adds strategy to review as correct answers uncover positive or negative points that can help your team or hurt your opponents.
• SCOOT combines review with movement as students rotate between desks and work their way through a set of topic-specific task cards.
• TRASHKETBALL™ gets teams racing to answer correctly, then rewards them with shots at the trash can to score points.
• 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 FRAZZLED, teams answer questions to uncover mystery points, but one wrong answer or unlucky bomb can completely change the game.

Turning review into a game is one of my favorite ways to get students participating without making practice feel like more work. 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.

There’s research behind the fun too, with studies finding better academic performance and greater student engagement when games are brought into learning. See the research.