From my observations, for lessons to be engaging to students, activities must be relevant, creative, and meaningful. These simple guidelines can be provided to end of year reviews. Using a well-defined rubric, have students develop a game for a specific topic. For example:
- Place students in small groups.
- Each group chooses a specific topic (which may be defined by you or the class as a whole).
- Provide each group with well-defined instructions and a rubric. The groups may be given the choice to complete the game on a poster board (like a board game), use technology (for example, a PowerPoint version of Jeopardy), or create something (with approval) that is beyond what any educator could even imagine. I would recommend 2-3 days for the completion of the review game -- AND always make your expectations clear in a detailed rubric.
- Considerations:
- How many students (players) should be able to play a game?
- How much time should a given game take to play?
- After the games have been developed, you could set the games up in a learning station format. Groups would be given a set of time (for example, 10 minutes) at each game. At the end of the activity, students would have reviewed all of the content.
- Don't forget to have students reflect on their products and the learning process!
Good luck ~
