Simple (and Fun!) Differentiated Review Practices

The end of a semester or school year can represent the best of times and the worst of times. High-stakes standardized exams and other major assessments coincide with the conclusion of lots of hard work, newly built relationships, and upcoming time off from school. To maximize student preparedness, reviews before any assessment, especially the high-stakes variety, are crucial components to student success.

Every student is different, and thus differentiating review benefits all students and sets up students to be as successful as possible on those assessments. This differentiation can take place through the whole class, individual, and after-hours review. 

Whole Class Review

One of my favorite review games is “I Have, Who Has?” To play the game,  every student receives at least one card with anything a teacher wants students to know, from a math problem to historical evidence to literary concepts. Teachers can even use one card per state standard or as many cards as they choose or the unit demands. Students just simply read the cards in the correct order. 

To start the game, the teacher asks, “Who has the first card?” and then one student reads, “I have the first card. Who has the primary author of The Federalist Papers?” Then, another student reads what their card says, “I have Alexander Hamilton. Who has…” and this keeps going until every card has been read, with the last card reading, “I have… and the last card.” I make these cards on a Google Doc using the table function, usually in a five-by-five format for 25 cards, and then cut them out to give to students. 

There are a variety of ways to differentiate this activity. The teacher can have students start over from the beginning if they get one wrong. In that case, I would offer an extra credit incentive to help motivate students to really strive for perfection. Another way to play, especially if you have many English language learners, is to use the cards like a puzzle.

I suggest putting students in groups of three to four and giving each group a complete set of cards. Then, have them put the cards in order on their desk or table. I often play “I Have, Who Has?” multiple times for each unit and have found that repetition helps students remember historical evidence.

I also love using sidewalk chalk for review with the whole class. Outside of the school building, I allot sections of sidewalk for each unit in the class. Then, I have students use chalk to write down everything they remember for each unit. 

Seeing what other classmates remembered often jogs their memories to write other aspects of a historical development. After students write down everything they remember, we go through each unit or time period and talk through what they wrote and what they did not remember. 

Individual Review

To further differentiate, individualizing review benefits some students more than whole class activities. About two weeks before the standardized exam, I publish all of my Kahoots and provide links to them for my students. These are the same Kahoots that students have already played as we reviewed individual units throughout the course. During this review time, they can be played anytime over those two weeks, until the time of the standardized assessment. 

If students earn an 80 percent correct or higher on each Kahoot, they receive extra credit. They usually don’t earn 80 percent accuracy on the first try, so they’re encouraged to play the game multiple times. For example, AP U.S. History has nine units, so I have a Kahoot for each unit. If a student plays each Kahoot and scores 80 percent or higher on each one, they will receive nine assignments’ worth of extra credit. I have found that a low-stakes, easy way to review, like a Kahoot, is something students will do outside of class. 

Beyond Kahoot, there are many other websites that function in a similar way, such as Gimkit, Blooket, Quizizz, and Quizlet Live (to name a few). 

Another review option for individuals involves note cards. For non-standardized assessments, I give students a blank note card where they can write whatever they want to use on their assessment. This “cheat sheet” motivates students to review and engage with the material, and usually they don’t even use it on the exam, since they remember the material by writing it down. However, the note card encourages all students to review because of its open invite to “cheat.” 

Night-Before Review

I have taught at a private school, a Title 1 public high school, and a public magnet high school, and in each setting, I have done a “night before” standardized assessment review session. I often buy pizza (or ask the PTA to purchase it) and offer extra credit for students who participate. At this session, we play more “I Have, Who Has?” and Kahoot, and we also walk through past exam questions, especially recent AP free response questions. 

Some students just like being in a quiet corner of the library as they review their own notes or watch review videos on YouTube. There is something special about being together outside the school day that motivates students to want to succeed, and students often document how they are more motivated to study while at school instead of at home. 

Good review activities can help so many students do their very best on the approaching assessment, whether it is teacher-created or high-stakes from their state government. Differentiating these review activities, from whole class “I Have, Who Has?” to individual Kahoots, gives all students the best possible chance for success, plus offering extra credit toward the end of a semester or school year helps improve many grades. It is important to finish well, and differentiating review activities offers the opportunity to do just that.