Puzzles and Games in the Science Classroom

You're giving a big unit test in a few days so you hand the students a study guide. A handful of the students dive in and get it done, while the rest answer about 3 questions and quit. You remind them that it is worth points, so the not-so-interested students wait for their neighbor to finish, take a picture of the completed study guide on their phone, and copy it later. Does this sound like your classroom? It happened in mine all the time. I needed to find a way to get students to WANT to review the material, and study guides weren't cutting it. I started using a variety of review games and puzzles before tests and it has made a world of difference.  Student engagement has risen, test scores have risen, and most importantly teacher headaches are a thing of the past. Here are a few games I like to play:

Bingo- This is a great way to review vocabulary. I especially love it for my ecology unit since there is so much vocabulary for students to learn. It's a cinch to create your own bingo cards! Head over to http://osric.com/bingo-card-generator/ and type in your vocabulary words. Choose how many boards you want generated, hit the generate bingo cards button, and voila! For the bingo card markers, I take old construction paper or scrap paper and cut it into small squares. Each student will need about 25 of the little squares to cover their board with during the game. Now the key to this game is to not just call out the words. I call out the definition and make the students cover up the correct word. It will keep them thinking and engaged at the same time. Check out my bingo cards HERE.

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Tarsia Puzzles- Another fun way to review vocabulary. In this activity, students pair up the matching term with it's definition and put them together like a puzzle (see image below). It will take a little time to cut out the pieces prior to playing, but you can use them over and over again. Check out my puzzles HERE.

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Snakes and Ladders- I like using this game format when doing a trivia review. If you played chutes and ladders when you were a kid, this is basically the same format. The only catch is you need to answer a question correctly before being able to roll and move. If you land on the bottom of a ladder you get to climb up, and if you land on the head of a snake you have to slide down. If you purchase my pre-made versions, you just need the library to print the game boards on large paper and get some dice and game pieces. Students LOVE playing board games, so check them out! 

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