Last year, I talked about designing my own escape room to prepare students for the ACT. To get students excited for the escape room, we spent the three days beforehand playing the Test Prep Olympics. For the Olympics, students were divided into three teams, and the teams cut across classes. The winners of the Olympics received two advantages in the escape room.
The best part about the Olympics was that it required nearly no set up and no cost. Plus, it’s a model that can be adapted to any review scenario, and the model can be extended or shortened to fit different time periods.
Since I was preparing my students for the ACT, we just used released ACT questions. You could do the same with any released questions for your state assessment or current unit. You could also choose questions from these great resources:
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Test Prep Olympics Games
While I had three class periods to play the Test Prep Olympics and one for the escape room, you could make the Test Prep Olympics last more time or less. Here are the three games my students played.
- First, we played a version of hangman called Mascot Meltdown. Since hangman has questionable beginnings, that’s not a game I’m comfortable playing. Instead, we drew our cartoon mascot and erased him bit by bit. Students answered a question. If they were correct, they were able to guess a letter. The team to solve won the prize. All of our mystery words were also related to the ACT. This was an unexpectedly popular game.
- Second, we played Trashketball. As with Mascot Meltdown, students who answered a question correctly got to take a shot and earn a point. Anytime we play Trashketball, there has to be a tape line on the floor. As we ran out of time, we did a final 5-question set, and the team with the most questions answered received the most favorable shooting line.
- Finally, we played Attack the Castle. I had never played Attack the Castle before, but my teacher neighbor introduced it to me. Here’s how we played: each team draws a castle on the board. When they answer a question correct, they get to “attack” the another team’s castle by placing a sticky note. The team with the most sticky notes at the end loses a point.
Honorable Mentions
Since this was the first time I’ve hosted the Test Prep Olympics, I brainstormed several other options before committing. I think if I do the Test Prep Olympics again next year, I would swap Attack the Castle for another option. The placing of the sticky notes in Attack the Castle got a little too personal for my taste. Here are my honorable mentions:
- Tic-Tac-Toe was an option until I decided to have three teams instead of two. Each time a team answered a question correctly, they would have made a play. I was planning to use bean bag Tic-Tac-Toe to make this game more engaging.
- Similarly, Board Races was an option until I decided to spend a longer period of time playing. Board Races are perfect for a short amount of time, but anything longer than ten minutes disintegrates into chaos. I prefer keeping Board Races in my back pocket for when I need to keep students from lining up at the door.
- Additionally, Concentration was high on my list. I think this is what I will do next year instead of Attack the Castle. Each team to answer a question correctly would get to flip two cards (perhaps from this concentration game), and each “match” is a point.
- In a one-day test prep Olympics, my juniors played the dot game, and they loved it. I could not believe how much they enjoyed such a sime premise.
- Finally, I considered Chutes and Ladders and Tiddlywinks. I know these are odd choices, but one of my classroom neighbors already has these games and speaks highly of their ability to engage students. I think the nostalgia factor is a strong motivator with these games. Each team to answer a question correctly would get to take a turn.
What does test prep look like in your classroom?
