REVIEW ACTIVITIES

Beneath their array of bells and whistles, most “gamified” edtech softwares amount to a shallow parade of low-level fact recall questions. Our students deserve better than brightly colored Scantrons, and these activities help them lock in serious learning. Browse libraries with variations on a single “game” like pedagogy in the collections of Review Activities inside of the blue section located just below, or scroll down to the white section to explore an ever-expanding array of totally unique Review Activities that you can start using right away.

REVIEW ACTIVITY COLLECTIONS:

Emc2 Resources

Badge Battle Peer Review

Peer review days can often result in cases where “the rich get richer” while struggling students find themselves on the outside of quality feedback looking in. This collection provides a clever bit of gamification to help this staple of student-centered classroom run more smoothly for all parties involved.

Carnival Corner

Step right up to Carnival Corner! These time-tested classics of boardwalks and midway games get a classroom-friendly twist in this high-energy collection! From ring toss to mini golf, each game is packed with instant familiarity and fun—plus a step-by-step guide and editable slideshow to make setup a breeze. No tickets required!

Classroom Jackpot

Classroom Jackpot is a collection of high-energy review formats built around risk, reward, and strategic decision-making. Students might collect playing cards, wager poker chips, press their luck, or protect their points. Each game invites teams to weigh choices, manage momentum, and keep the excitement building from round to round.

Clothespin Bumper Cars

What happens when you take a staple of an old-school baby shower game and put it in play into your student-centered classroom? In a word: absolute chaos! But in the best way possible. Clip into this colorful collection of Clothespin Bumper Car game variants to ditch those “gotcha” tests once and for all.

Devilish Debates

Any parent of a two-year-old or a teenager will be quick to tell you that our kids really love to argue. But helping young people craft arguments that are more than just bluster can be a bit of a challenge for any teachers of any content area. This resource collection helps students hone their argumentative abilities.

Egg Dash Challenge

The Egg Dash Challenge is one of the fastest ways to get students of any age up and out of their seats. Inspired by the original #EggDashChallenge that first appeared in the pages of EDrenaline Rush in 2019 and the hundreds of spinoffs that have taken place since, this collection is guaranteed to crack your classes up.

Guild Builders

This epic classroom activity is unlike any other resource collection in the EMC² Learning library, and uses engine-building board game mechanics to foster teamwork, strategic thinking, and all kinds of student-centered creativity. Level up your skill trees, unlock tech tracks, and let the cascading power-up mechanics flow!

Last Plan Standing

What if concepts from your current unit had to battle for survival? With Last Plan Standing, students defend their knowledge in epic themed showdowns — from casting characters on reality TV showdowns to hand-picking the ultimate team of survivors to take on a teeming horde of zombies! Pick your favorite variant and get in the game!

Mystery Box

Whether it’s at the sight of a wrapped present for a birthday or what might just be a top secret government facility hidden behind a “No Trespassing” sign — humans are fascinated by information that they cannot see. The Mystery Box collection taps into this power for a review game that your students will never forget.

Penny War Panic

Penny War Panic brings the spirit of the classic school fundraiser into the classroom! These fast-paced review games turn learning into a battle of brains and strategy as teams earn, spend, and sabotage with every correct answer. From Grudge Buckets to Cauldron Chaos, each themed variant delivers chaos, laughter, and classroom-friendly competition.

Resource Rumble

The premise of the Resource Rumble collection are simple: student teams earn building blocks for correct answers. But there’s a twist: every team is answering different questions simultaneously — so there is zero time spent “on the bench,” and every team has a chance to fall out of the lead (or get back in it!) at all times.

Save Our Students

When the COVID-19 Pandemic forced the world into quarantine, the sneaky and madcap social deduction game “Among Us” quietly took the planet by storm. The Save Our Students collection borrows the most addictive elements of this addictive party game to transform any in-class review into a hilarious whodunnit.

Slip & Slide Sinkers

Grab your whiteboards and get ready for a whole new way to lock in some seriously deep knowledge. With Slip & Slide Sinkers, your students will try to rack up the maximum number of collectibles while slipping their way across an oversized game board in hopes to wipe their opponents into the icy waters below. Give a click to make a splash!

Stack Skirmish

Discover Stack Skirmish: a collection built for serious play and deeper thinking. Students analyze, design, create, and defend their ideas while energy stays high and prep stays low. Grounded in Bloom’s upper levels and aligned to UDL, this is engagement with purpose. Any way you stack it, it sticks.

Storage Unit Surprises

Looking for a fun way to break up the horde of information that inevitably piles up as your classes cram to review for the end of their latest unit of study? The activities we’ve stockpiled inside of the Storage Unit Surprises collection are here to help your students do a cleaner job of separating the proverbial “junk” from the gems.

Tower Topplers

Looking to help your students develop a keener eye for detail as they spot check literally HUNDREDS of work products generated by their classmates? Repetition and consistency is the name of the game with Tower Topplers, which is designed to create a perpetual motion machine of student-centered excitement and review.

Track Attack

Go from zero to sixty in less than a minute with a new school twist on a classic “teacher makes up the questions on the fly” review game that will have your students racing with delight! Zero prep for teachers. One hundred percent engagement from students. Put the pedal to the medal and take Track Attack for a spin!

Triple Threat Throwdown

Many believe it was Albert Einstein who once said “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The Triple Threat Throwdown collection gives your students not one, not two, but three different ways to unleash their inner genius.

EVEN MORE REVIEW ACTIVITIES:


Ditch the electronic guessing games for a review day activity that offers even deeper learning (with less teacher prep)!

Force Finders

Do your students have what it takes to become One with The Force? The Universe is calling for heroes across all grades, subject areas, and content strands to join together and discover the mystical ties that bind our galaxy together. Tap into your creative side to play!

Pathways to the Past

Grab your gear: Pathways to the Past sends students back through prior units to uncover connections from previous units that still matter today! Build chains, test ideas, and see how today’s learning links to everything that came before. How far back can your team go?

Red Herring Roundup

Have your students step into the role of private eye detectives in Red Herring Round-Up! Teams build clue sets tied to your content—but some clues are traps. Can your students spot the red herrings, crack the pattern, and defend their thinking before the case goes cold?

Clock Crackers

Tick tick tick! Race the clock in Clock Crackers, a fast-paced brainstorming showdown where teams generate ideas before the breach window closes. But beware—duplicate answers are wiped out! Only the most original thinking survives the final comparison. Give it a spin!

Detour Dust Up

Build a path, trade routes, then take a detour! In Detour Dust-Up, teams create routes to a shared destination—then must reach it again without repeating any stops their rivals used. A lively challenge that pushes students to think flexibly and make creative connections.

Ranks a Lot

In Ranks A Lot, teams debate and rank items according to a mysterious mission set by the teacher. Then comes the reveal! One rank at a time, students discover the official order. Perfect for sparking discussion, defending ideas, and turning review into a lively showdown.

Vocab Lab Lockdown

Race against the clock in the Vocab Lab Lockdown! Students generate topic connections using a mystery letter spinner — but duplicate answers across teams are eliminated! Only accurate and original responses survive in this fast-paced battle of knowledge and creativity.

Mix Up at the Miniature Museum

Mini models. Massive thinking. In Mix Up at the Miniature Museum, students earn LEGO materials through fast-paced review, then construct miniature exhibits tied to a secret theme. Creation, collaboration, critique: this is content mastery you can actually see on display.

Building Vocab

Are you ready to raise the roof? In Building Vocab, the more you know the higher you’ll grow! This hands-on STEM activity gives students the chance to construct massive skyscrapers. But to do so, they’ll have to become expertly familiar with all sorts of unit vocabulary.

All Dice On Deck

Set sail on a high-energy classroom adventure with All Dice on Deck! In this fast-paced game, students use dice as ships, play cards, and race to activate special powers while mastering course content. Easy to learn and endlessly replayable, this resource blends strategy, luck, and learning into one unforgettable voyage.

Red Flag Roundup

Fall in love with “Notice, Like, Wonder” all over again. Red Flag Roundup turns close reading into a playful judgment call. Teams size up a “single” from your unit in a team-based showdown that’s all about nuance, evidence, and defending your thinking—no swiping required.

Diorama Drama

Diorama Drama turns mastering vocabulary into a gallery of 3D models. Teams earn bricks by proving word mastery, then place each mini-build into a growing diorama. Every decision matters—where models go, how they connect, and what the scene reveals about understanding.

Commercial Appeal

Get your popcorn ready! In Commercial Appeal, students become rival old-school production companies designing 30-second TV commercials tied to your content. Persuade a target audience, screen the ads in class “prime time,” and let a live test audience vote for the winner.

Spon Con Chaos

Spon Con Chaos turns students into digital marketers navigating algorithm-driven attention economy. Teams analyze a hyper-specific audience, design sponsored content, and defend their choices—building media literacy, persuasion skills, and ethical awareness along the way.

Canyon Dig It?!

Canyon Dig It?! turns old school review into a high-stakes mining mission. Teams earn building supplies by answering questions, then use limited resources to construct and defend a 3D model that proves their thinking. Strategy, creativity, and content knowledge collide!

Midnight Snack Attack

Craving something fun to spice up review time? Midnight Snack Attack serves up a fast-paced mix of creativity and press your luck fun. Students complete quick challenges to earn a random draw from the “fridge.” But will their grab & go snacking score big or spoil it all?!

Seven Deadly Spins

Spin your way to victory! In Seven Deadly Spins, teams build webs of connections between course content and earn the chance to draw cards with the power to send rival teams reeling. Solve, score, and spin! Luck, logic, and strategy collide in this twisted review showdown.

Two Do Voodoo

The cards control your fate! In Two Do Voodoo, teams draw cards to reveal content challenges and race to complete them before time runs out. Unique combinations score points, duplicates vanish into the void! Grab a deck of cards and break the curse of any ho-hum review,

Civolution

Step into Civolution. Part Civilization, part Sim City, this epic resource is a gamified “second skin” for your classroom. Rival dynasties rise, tech trees unfold, and achievements await—perfect for teachers ready to push their gamification experience to the next level.

Tic Tac Takedown

Take Tic Tac Toe to the extreme! EMC² Learning’s Tic Tac Takedown is a fast-paced, team-vs-team race to dominate the Mega Wall of Fame — nine boxes at a time! Complete short review challenges to claim your space. Think fast, move smart, and score big before time runs out!

Center Stage

Ready to put a clever game of charades into the spotlight? Have your students taking to the stage in this twist on a classic where they will have to act out a scene from your content without using words or sounds. It is bound to be a funny and fact filled class period!

Lumber Jacked

The timber’s tall, the stakes are high, and your students are about to go log-rolling for glory! In Lumber Jacked, student teams work collaboratively to solve academic challenges and earn the chance to roll “logs” in pursuit of points, wildcards, and strategic sabotage.

Remnant Recon

The mission is live! In Remnant Recon, elite student agents connect present-day intel to long-forgotten lessons from earlier operations. Teams must decode, defend, and outsmart their rivals to earn points for unique, meaningful links. History isn’t lost—it’s classified.

Flavor Factory Free for All

In Flavor Factory Free For All, rival teams compete in a high-energy, multi-day classroom content cook-off! With each new challenge, they’ll whip up creative, content-rich concoctions to impress the judges and rack up stars. Stack multiple rounds to maximize the learning!

Second the Best

Think you’ve got what it takes to win… by not winning? In Second The Best, teams battle it out to craft work that’s good—but not too good—aiming for that elusive #2 spot. It’s clever, chaotic, and packed with strategy. Outsmart your rivals in this metacognitive showdown!

Wanna’ Bet?

Take it to The House and place your bets! Wanna’ Bet? is a high-energy classroom casino-style review where students wager chips on their answers, risking it all to climb the leaderboard. Perfect for review, strategy, and fun—knowledge is power, and bold moves win big!

Ripped from the Headlines

Stop the presses! Ripped from the Headlines is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud game where students race to write the catchiest news headlines using stackable “magnetic” word tiles. Perfect for review, media literacy, & sparking creativity—hot off the press and ready to roll!

Suit Yourself

Shuffle up a deck of playing cards and bring the heat! ? In Suit Yourself, teams draw, sculpt, or act out vocab words—plus play power cards to twist the game in their favor. Fast-paced, fun, and fully customizable, this activity keeps every student engaged every round.

Backlink Keepaway

Keep your wits, think fast, and keep the conversation moving! In Backlink Keepaway, students race against their rivals to answer prompt questions, linking each response to the last letter of the previous word. Quick recall, smart defense, and team spirit rule the day!

Wiki Wars

How many creative connections does it take to link a Lysosome to Leo the Fourteenth? In Wiki Wars, students will race the clock to bridge classroom concepts to wild destinations in exactly six steps! Boost critical thinking, research skills, and creativity — fast and fun!

… Or a Gorilla?

Could your course content defeat a gorilla? In this hilarious classroom debate, savvy teams of students use creativity and critical thinking to argue whether a concept from class stands a chance in a wild showdown. It’s brains vs. brawn in the ultimate battle. Go ape!

Ticker Tape Timelines

Ticker Tape Timelines turns your classroom into Wall Street! Students track the “performance” of key concepts like stocks—analyzing highs, lows, and future forecasts. It’s timeline meets investor pitch in a creative challenge packed with analysis, strategy, and style.

Cluster Busters

Bust through confusion and build connections with EMC² Learning’s Cluster Busters! This high-energy, team-based activity challenges students to group related concepts using sticky notes. Perfect for review, collaboration, and critical thinking — with zero prep required!

Candlestick Chaos

Looking to invest in a review day that will compound your students’ interest in your current unit of study? Say hello to Candlestick Chaos, a fast-paced stock trading activity where you only need to make up the questions on the fly, and send the marketplace into a frenzy!

Everything Must Go

Ready for something totally radical? In Everything Must Go, your classes will be transported to the nineties, where they’ll compete as rival retailers in a once thriving mall that’s now struggling to survive the changing times. Drop in before it’s going, going… gone!

Mega Tic Tac Toe

Think you know Tic Tac Toe? Think again, because this zero prep review activity puts an exponential upgrade on one of the most famous games ever played. Nine simultaneous game boards. Three warring teams. One giant scoring grid. And a million strategic decisions await.

Table for Three

Table for Three is a fast-paced, debate-driven activity that challenges students to analyze, justify, and persuade their peers. Inspired by the classic Sesame Street game, this classroom-friendly version presents students with four related options—but only three can stay.

Clever Clover Keepers

Clever Clover Keepers is a fast-paced concept association challenge where students work to build the most interconnected chain of ideas possible using plus-shaped “clover” cards. Each leaf of the clover contains a different keyword, and you score points by linking them!

Grudge Ball

Grudge Ball is an electrifying mix of strategy, teamwork, and skill that turns a review day into an all-out battle for dominance! In this fast-paced game, students answer questions to attack their opponents’ points while defending their own. Fair warning: it will get loud!

H.O.T. Question Firestarter

Heat things up with the H.O.T. Question Firestarter! In this super low prep review activity, rival teams of students will compete to add proverbial fuel to the fires of what they’ve learned in your classroom, collecting physical building blocks as rewards as they go.

Wager on Wisdom

Wager on Wisdom transforms review into an exciting, casino-style showdown where students bet on their knowledge, read their opponents, and compete for the biggest payout. This activity blends critical thinking, teamwork, and a bit of luck to keep engagement sky-high.

Content Dominoes

Content Dominoes is a thought provoking review designed to reinforce key concepts by challenging students to create and connect meaningful ideas. Teams design dominoes inspired by your current unit of study, then swap with rivals and try to make all kinds of connections.

Tooth or Consequences

Sink your teeth into a review activity that your students will absolutely love! In Tooth or Consequences, the classic Crocodile Dentist board game takes on a whole new life as a press-your-luck style chance to take home big risks and huge rewards (some assembly required)!

Royal Review Rumble

Step into the Royal Review Rumble, where your classic review day recap becomes a high-energy, game-show-style competition. This simple resource turns classroom content into a fast-paced battle of wits, strategy, and speed. And the best part is? There’s zero prep required.

Tricky Sticky Sasquatch Trackers

Step into learning and track the elusive Bigfoot in Tricky Sticky Sasquatch Trackers! Teams compete to predict and outsmart their opponents, using sticky-note bingo boards and wild storytelling to uncover Sasquatch’s secrets. Fully editable for any course or content area!

Promo Mania

Step into the ring with PROMO MANIA! This larger-than-life classroom showdown transforms content review into an epic battle of wits, persuasion, and performance—all inspired by pro wrestling! Will your students rise to the challenge? Lay the smack down on sleepy review!

Sneaky Genies

Unleash the magic of Sneaky Genies! Teams craft clues to help their “Diamond in the Rough” guess secret passwords while rival players try to sus out their secrets. With strategy, deduction, and a dash of Genie magic, your students will be wishing to play again and again.

Action Packed Jacks & Stacks

Stack up your learning in Jacks & Stacks as teams connect ideas from the lesson to earn blocks and build the tallest tower. Choose EASY, MEDIUM, or HARD challenges, then brainstorm, stack, and compete in this action-packed, high-energy game. Take learning to new heights!

Lock In

Lock In gives your students the power to review your course content in a “press your luck” style showdown where teams get to choose when they want to lock in their answer. Up to four clues are given, but with each clue, those point values drop. When will you Lock In?!

Black Sheep

In the Black Sheep review protocol, you’ll have the chance to challenge students to pick the correct odd option in a list of four. They need to explain what all parts of the question mean. It is an awesome game and pushes students to higher and higher levels of Bloom’s!

Contraband Content

Test your knowledge and bluffing skills with Contraband Content! In this clever content review game, students create real or fake answers to outwit their rivals. Spot the truth, expose the lies, and rack up points in this exciting game of strategy and deception!

Shady Business

Shady Business is a classroom game where students invent a quirky product by combining two random household items and pitch it to a unique customer tied to their studies. It’s a fun way to spark imagination and reinforce course content through persuasive storytelling!

Facts & Fibs

Challenge your students’ critical thinking with Facts & Fibs! Teams will mix true and false statements about lesson content, while their peers must separate fact from fiction. This playful review activity sharpens knowledge and teamwork in a fun, low-prep format.

Whopper Stoppers

Test students’ ability to spot truth from lies with Whopper Stoppers! In this fast-paced game, teams answer questions, but when they don’t know the answer, they can bluff their way through with a “whopper.” Can your class catch the lies or will they be tricked?

Rank and File Free for All

Atten-hut! We’re looking for a few good student teams to join the “Rank & File Free For All”! In this strategic showdown, rival squads rank items and try to match the majority’s consensus. It’s a fun, tactical game of predicting your peers and thinking ahead!

Skill Tree Smashers

Do you have what it takes to harness the power of the mightiest elemental forces that the world has ever known? In Skill Tree Smashers, rival teams will compete to summon elemental powers from the realms of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. Become a Force of Nature!

AlphaBids

Are you in the market for a new way to review? If you’re looking to invest in an activity that will challenge your students’ ability to fuse content knowledge with all sorts of fast-paced thinking and creativity, then you’ll definitely want to take stock in AlphaBids.

Sticky Situations

In Sticky Situations, students will need to try to come up with as many clever and creative connections between concepts that you’ve studied as possible. To succeed, you’ll need teamwork, lateral thinking, and all sorts of mental dexterity! Can you stick the landing?!

Order Up!

Ever Play Kitchen Rush? Your students have! This game is filled with 12 different activities that will have your students serving up details with a side of creativity. Fire up this resource to keep hungry customers fed with a steady diet of content knowledge and fun!

Spin to Win

Ready to press your luck to test just how much you know about our current unit of study? Welcome to Spin to Win — a fast-paced game of spinning wheels, wits and wagers where students need to work together with their teammates to leave the game as the day’s big winner.

25 Words or Less

Giving students the chance to speak their mind can be a game-changer when you’re looking to increase engagement at any age. And in 25 Words or Less, your students will have the chance to do exactly that… but they only get 25 words. Brevity is the soul of wit!

Pyramid Party

Unlock the power of the pyramid! Whether you’re a fan of the original “$10,000” version of this beloved gameshow or more familiar with it’s souped-up $100,000 counterpart – this low prep, high energy review provides an epic alternative to traditional Jeopardy.

Instructional Islands Peer Review

Welcome to Peer Review Paradise! At the Instructional Islands, students will have the opportunity to soak up the good vibes of a free-flowing peer review as they island hop in order to punch up any writing assignment under the sun. Get your passports ready!

Secret Recipe Rumble

Serve up a spicy surprise with the Secret Recipe Rumble! The competition heats up in this team against team review activity inspired by some of our favorite reality TV cooking competitions, where student chefs must work together to cook up all sorts of creative answers.

World Class Connections

Want to capture all of the fun and drama of soccer’s biggest stage while “kicking” ?student engagement up a notch in your classroom? World Class Connections is a ball! This fast-paced review combines speed and strategy for a game that will leave your classes cheering.

AlphaBLAST

AlphaBLAST is an out of this world review activity that blends speed, strategy, and a ton of quick thinking. Your mission: work as a team to blow away the competition by explaining topics related to your course content using a stellar display of creative descriptions.

Don’t Get Ghosted

There’s a bad moon rising, and the Ghosts are out in full force! Do you have what it takes buddy up with your classmates to serve up some serious strategy and beat back these baddies? Don’t Get Ghosted is a hilarious game of secret identities and spooktacular bluffing.

Mind Meld

We know what you’re thinking… and this low-prep, high-energy classroom review activity does too! Mind Meld puts a supernatural, student-centered twist on a classic parlor trick with a simple question: can you read my mind? Easy to learn but hilariously challenging!

Roll Them Bones

Ahoy matey! Roll Them Bones is a low prep, high stakes review game that will challenge student crews to work together to summarize course content while trying to navigate all kinds of stormy seas that come their way. All you’ll need is a galleon full of six sided dice.

Content Con Artist

In this hilarious review game, your students will have the chance to mingle with fellow artists review course content as they try their hand at a bit of creative work of their own. But keep your eyes peeled: Because there is a Content Con Artist hiding in their midst!

To The Letter

This review activity uses a random letter generating spinner to fire up prompt questions related to your course content. How many words can you think of to describe concepts that are related to your current unit of study… that start with the letter Z?! Give it a spin!

Cancel Couture

Cancel Couture was inspired by the game “Banned Words,” and it helps turn a simple vocabulary review game into a frantic team-against-team vocabulary smackdown — with *zero* teacher prep needed! Click the link to bring this notorious game of no-no words into your class.

Four Round Showdown

What happens when you cross Password with Taboo and a splash of Charades thrown in for fun? Get ready for a classroom where your students will be doing all kinds of review and having tons of fun while thinking about vocabulary or concepts related to what you’re studying.

Nation Builder

This Google Slides activity puts your students right in The Room Where It Happens to create a “nation” inspired by whatever content you are currently studying. Their goal? Manage resources to strike a delicate balance for five equally thriving sectors of a new economy.

Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass puts a classroom twist on the party game “Chameleon,” and can be used for lightning fast review of any content area. As players try to share the secret word, a sneaky snake in the grass player tries to sniff out just what, exactly, the secret word is.

unSPEAKable

Inspired by the timeless party game “Taboo,” Unspeakable turns a simple vocabulary review game into a frantic team-against-team vocab smackdown – without any teacher prep! Just give a click to this resource to join in the fun of this notorious game of unspoken truths.

Spies in Disguise

Inspired by the party game “SpyFall,” this activity throws students into a high stakes chase through the world of your content area. Their goal? Share intel with fellow agents without giving away the secret to the Spies in Disguise. The only question: who can you trust?

Caveman Grammar

Think you make words good? This game will make you prove it. Me tell you how to play! Set clock. Try to guess all words that are on each card. Score points. Oh yeah! Me forget. One last twist to game… you are only allowed to use single syllable words! And it’s a riot.

Snowflake Scribble

In Snowflake Scribble, no two scribbles are ever alike. For this game, students will use dry erase boards and try to help a player on their team guess the secret word in question. Everybody writes, and the game is on! But there’s a catch: no duplicate words are allowed.

Danger Cards Pro

Let’s get dangerous! Danger Cards Pro is a game of risks, rewards, and pressing your luck in pursuit of an ever-elusive high score. Faster to set up and easier to run than a traditional game of classroom Jeopardy, this one is sure to hook your students’ again and again.

Jenga Tower Topple

This activity requires a bit of advance prep and a willingness to ruin… er, “improve” on an ordinary box of Jenga blocks. But once you’ve completed the one time setup, it can be used for countless classroom review games for any age. What goes up must come down, right?
Emc2 Resources