Revision Methods in History

by Jayne Ellmes,
Teacher of History

I've been looking at different methods to engage my class in revision, particularly with knowledge recall. We're currently hammering exam skills in class, so I wanted to try some new and different methods of revising to help them gain confidence with their knowledge recall.

Method 1: JENGA!

The premise is simple. I got some jenga style games and numbered the blocks 1-45. I then gave the students a set of 45 questions they should know the answer to. All that happens then is the kids play jenga. Every time they pull out a block they have to answer the question that coincides with the number of the block. If they get it right, they score a point. If they get it wrong, it's a good method of peer teaching. It worked very well as all students were engaged and the boys especially loved the competition element. So far this has worked a treat with my Year 11s and I'll be trying it with my Year 9 class too.

Method 2: Emoji revision

This is a 6x6 grid with an emoji in each box. The students roll two dice and work out which box they need to look at. They then have to explain how that emoji links to the course and the topic. Students get quite imaginative and also help each other out if it's a particularly difficult emoji!

Method 3: Revision pong!

No beer here! Student play the pong game as normal, trying to get the ball into the cup. When they succeed they have to answer a question on the topic we're looking at to score a point. It went down well with the competition element, though I think I'll get bigger cups next time!