Exam Review that Isn't Torture

Let's be honest - for a teacher, the month of May is a NIGHTMARE.  The kids check out as soon as they return from spring break.  Because spring break came so early this year, my children have STRUGGLED to stay interested in the literature that we're using.  I just so happen to teach 6 sections of the big scary EOC class every year and I KNEW that this semester was going to be touch-and-go when it came to exam review.  Even though I knew my children needed a lot of extra review, I also knew that it would be best if they were left with a good feeling about me as their teacher and the class in general.  

I SWEATED over what I could possibly do to make review less painful for them.  I tried to think of ways to spice up the content or maybe change the reading passages...then it hit me.  Ya'll, if there's one thing I LOVE it's a party.  I enjoy every part of planning the details and crafting the perfect theme.  I'm that person that will look for a reason to throw a good party no matter the time of year.  So, why not make review into a celebration?

For very little time, effort, and $$$ I was able to have the most successful review days in the history of my time teaching English 2.  Kids from other classes were begging me to join the review and my students NEVER COMPLAINED or WHINED. IT WAS AN EARLY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!  

I had two days designated completely for review so this is how I planned:

Tuesday: Pirate Day: "Arrrr You Ready to Review?"
Supplies:
- 6 buckets (Dollar Tree)
- baseballs (check with your PE teachers)
- one piece of wood (for walking the plank, luckily my fabulous inclusion teacher had this at his home!)
- Red solo cups
- Hooks (Lowe's)
- glow stick bracelets (5 for $1 at Dollar Tree)
Total spent: $10

Activities:
As soon as my students entered the room they were surprised to find a pirate paradise! We had a plank to walk: 

And a Hook Hand Toss!

And my inclusion teacher and I even dressed the part! 

They knew it would be a fun day when they read this on the board:

The real fun started when the review began.  I set a timer for exactly one minute and gave the students a small worksheet where they had to match literary elements to their correct defintions.  The group that answered the most correctly in one minute receieved an extra turn at "Cannon Ball Blast"!  

For the cannon ball blast, we set up 6 buckets and used a sharpie to write different point values on them.  Each group received 5 baseballs or "cannons".  They could each fire a cannon and try to make it into a bucket.  The team that won the literary matching contest was able to "fire" ten "cannons".  I kept up with the point values on a separate sheet of paper at my desk.

Next, I used my practice EOC book to copy an article + multiple choice questions.  Again, I set a timer (they need to feel the pressure of time/quick reading).  This time, the students had ten minutes to read an article and answer 8 multiple choice questions.  I let them know that I knew this wouldn't be enough time, but if they practiced good testing skills like reading the questions first, answering questions that don't require them to read the whole article, etc. then they could do a pretty good job with a short amount of time!  The group that got the most answers correct could walk the plank for extra points!

My students LOVED this!

Finally, one of the most difficult sections on the EOC asks students to understand which claims are subjective and which are objective.  I gave them a list of pirate details and had them sort the papers into a subjective stack and an objective stack.  The first group that finished received an extra round of Pirate Hook Hand Toss! Each Hook was worth 10 points for their group. We used glow stick bracelets as the hoops to toss!

At the end of the day, we added up all of the points.  The group with the most points received the treasure!

Tomorrow I'll be posting our second review day theme: Beach Day! Do you do any fun activities to help your secondary students prepare for their finals?