Making Exam Review FUN!

Keeping students engaged and exciting during exam review is tough! Here are some ways I combat the end of year brain.

Let's be honest. End of semester review is tough, but the review at the end of the year can be painful! It feels like the days get longer and longer as the end of the year approaches.

Everyone, students and teachers alike, can see summer break just at the edge of the horizon and cannot wait for it to finally arrive. I have found myself dreading review every year and I knew my students felt the same way. Selfishly, I forced myself to find other ways to ensure my students were reviewing while also having fun!

1. Student Teachers

I'm sure many teachers over the years have used students as teachers in their classroom. When it comes to reviewing, I always felt like I had to be the one teaching to ensure all students got the best explanation possible. I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't even consider allowing students to be in charge of teaching each other during exam review until this year. However, I couldn't be more proud of how wonderfully my students did with playing the role of me!

I made each student responsible for 2 - 3 questions. They had to work the problem at least 2 different ways and be able to explain their reasoning to both pathways. I allowed them to schedule a meeting with me during lunch prior to the day they were teaching if they wanted to practice teaching before having to get up in front of the class. I learned so much about my students during this activity, and even more about myself as a teacher! So many of the students tried to portray my mannerisms, including my silly voices and song. Their explanations were outstanding! It was a humbling and proud moment, to say the least!

This is a sample of a student poster created using Canva

2. Student created review posters

One review tool I have my students create is review posters by unit using Canva. Canva is an amazing free resource that has infinite possibilities. It is an online design tool that allows a user to create professional looking designs. They have millions of images, filters, and tools that allow you to design presentations, social media posts, menus, collages and so much more. They also have special resources just for teachers!

This activity does take some work ahead of time, but gives the students so much artistic freedom! For each unit, I made a list of expected topics to be covered in their review poster.

Students are split into small groups of 2 - 4 students, depending on the size of the class, and are assigned a unit. Each unit is only assigned to one group, and posters will be shared with the class when they are completed. I have found that students take even more ownership knowing they aren't just creating a review for themselves, but their classmates as well. I also provide my groups with a grading rubric so they fully understand my expectations. If any group does not meet my requirements, I require them to attend a lunch tutorial with me to update their poster so it is ready to be shared with the class.

Students working on the first clue in our Breakout!

3. Breakout Review

Escape rooms are becoming more and more popular, and it's easy to see why! Competition and puzzles bring out the best (hopefully) in all of us. At a Math Drive-In, I was introduced to the "teacher version" of Breakouts. I immediately became obsessed! There are so many possibilities to how to implement and plan them to use in your classroom. The one pictured above was a scavenger hunt around the school. The answer to each station was a coordinate point of where the next clue was hiding. It took a LOT of planning ahead of time and I had to start over more than once. But... it is so worth it!! The kids loved it and I had such a blast watching them race around the school looking for clues and puzzle pieces. I have used breakouts for unit review as well as full course review and they have always been a hit with the kids! If you don't know where to begin, I highly suggest visiting https://www.breakoutedu.com/. It is an amazing website full of resources to help you get started planning your own breakout.