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 game ideas:

Oh Hamburger!  (like Hangman)

Create a few key phrases/ vocabulary words/ related terms for your kids to solve. Divide your students into teams.  Alternating teams, ask content questions that 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 term).  If the letter isn’t there, the team, regrettably, earns a part of a hamburger.  Teams answer questions until one team can correctly guess the key phrase.  The team who guesses the key phrase earns 0 points. Each team earns 1 point for each part of the hamburger they have accumulated.  At the end of the game, the lowest scoring team wins.

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 teams.  Ask one question to a student from the first team.  They can answer it or use one of their team’s ‘lifelines’.  Lifelines may each only be used once by each team.  When a question is answered correctly, that team earns one point and the next question goes to another student on that same team.  Points are accumulated until an incorrect response is given.   When this happens, the other team gets to begin answering questions in the same fashion.  When the game ends, the team with the most points wins.

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!