Low-Prep STEM Review Games for Kids

Engaging review games can be an effective way to help students reinforce their STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) knowledge. Here are some low-prep STEM-focused review games to add to your STEM resources:

Oh Hamburger!  (like Hangman)

Create a few mystery phrases (vocabulary words, related terms, etc.) for your kids to guess.  Divide your students into up to six teams.  Alternating teams, ask content questions related to the unit they are learning.  For each correct answer, let the team choose a letter.  Reveal that letter (if it appears in the mystery phrase).  If the letter isn’t there, the team, regrettably, loses part of their hamburger.  Teams answer questions until one team can correctly guess the mystery phrase.  The team who guesses the mystery  phrase earns 5 points; Any team without any hamburger pieces is out of the game .  Gameplay continues until time runs out or until one team reaches the point value determined by the teacher.  For more detailed instructions and an interactive game board,  get the Oh Hamburger! Review Game.

Basketball

Divide your students into teams.  Alternating teams, ask content questions that related to the unit they are learning.  As students answer correctly, they may shoot a ball into a hoop or basket.  Students my try for one point (closer to the basket) or two points (farther from the basket).  When the game ends, the team with the most points wins.

Who Wants to be Awesome? (like Who Wants to be a Millionaire)

Divide your students into up to three teams.  Ask one question to a student from the first team.  They can answer it, pass play to the next team or use one of their team’s ‘rescues’.  Each of the four Rescues may each only be used once by each team.  When a question is answered correctly, that team moves one step forward and the next question goes to another student on that same team.  Teams who pass don’t get penalized, but if the next team can answer the question correctly, they get to move two steps forward.   When a team gives an incorrect response, they move one step back. Gameplay continues until one team reaches the last step or time runs out.  For more detailed instructions and an interactive game board,  get the Who Wants to Be Awesome Review Game.

STEM Pictionary

Create different key phrases/ vocabulary words/ related terms for students to draw.  Divide students into teams and select a term to be drawn.  Have each team select an Illustrator (who will draw the term for their team) and a Caller (who will call on teammates).  Set a timer for 2 minutes and let the Illustrators draw the term.  The Caller will call (or point to) students to provide their guesses so that only a few students are guessing at a time.  (This is important to determine who guesses the term correctly first.)  The team who guesses the term first earns a point. When the game ends, the team with the most points wins.

Dice/Card/Spinner Math Games

It’s always a good idea to review and refine math skills.  The Mental Math STEM Games are an easy, low-prep way to make that happen.  Each of the bundles features five different games created around a different tool (cards, dice, spinners).  Just copy the game cards, provide one to two easy items (cards, dice, paperclips) and get the games started!  These make for a great sub plan too as they are all standards-aligned, easily implemented and fun for kids!

Criminal Dealings

A fun way to build STEM teams and showcase the power of observation.  My students absolutely loved this game and would ask to play it all the time.  Plus, as an added bonus, the game is completely silent.  Use a deck of cards to determine the roles that each student will play.  One student will play the part of the Sheriff and one student will play the part of the Criminal.  All of the other students will try to figure out who committed the crime by using their power of observations.  As the Criminal winks at students to recruit them to their side (without alerting or recruiting the Sheriff by accident), the Sheriff is left to figure out who the Criminal is. Criminal Dealings teaches kids how to work as a team, hone observation skills and use deductive reasoning.

All of these low-prep STEM review games can be tailored to various grade levels and STEM subjects, making them versatile options for engaging students in the review process.  To help kids further review the concepts and learn how to study, I used to give each student 5 index cards and have them create questions to prepare for our game!

Need more STEM ideas?  Find them here!