Review Game Strategy That Works: Knockout Games

Overview of Knockout Games

Knockout is a whole class review game with a couple of twists. Here’s the gist of it: a student chooses a character or icon from the screen and a question appears. Then, all students answer questions that are projected on the board. If they get the answer right, they get the points. Three times per game there’s a bonus. The student who chose the character or icon gets to then choose a bonus. They don’t know if it will be good for them or bad for them. Students love the bonuses, and I love that in a 20-30 minute game we get some really good practice.

The game starts with the game board (as seen above). Students choose an image which then reveals a question. I’ve used a few different game boards over the years. I started with Pac-Man ghosts and then moved onto animals. Then, we jumped to donuts and Taco Tuesday. One year I added a Halloween version. There are just some many different themes possible. No matter the theme, students really love this game.

Materials

-Knockout Game Powerpoint File

-Student Record Sheet or Individual Whiteboard

-Projector

Instructions

Sometimes it’s hard to explain how to play this game, so first let me show you with this quick video:

Step 1: Project character/icon page onto the screen and explain the rules to students. Remind them that they’ll each answer all questions, and they’ll keep track of their own points.

Step 2: A student chooses a character or icon. You click on the character or icon and a question/problem is revealed.

Step 3: All students show their work and answer the question. They can do this on their student record sheet or a whiteboard.

Step 4: All students show you their whiteboards and then you click on the background of the slide, revealing the answer.

Step 5: Student record their points if they correctly solved the problem or answered the question.

Step 6: Keep playing until all the questions are completed or you run out of time. Students count up their points and you declare a winner.

Bonuses: There are bonuses throughout the game. The student who chose the character or icon is the one who gets the bonus or gets to choose the bonus.

Try one for FREE

If you want to try out, or just look at a knockout game, you can download this freebie. It’s a simple probability knockout game. It has a variety of questions and uses a lot of pictures for students calculate simple probability. Open it up and see what it looks like and then come back and check out some other knockout games to review with the whole class.

Tips and Tricks

I’ve used knockout games in my classroom for the past 6 years. They work great in both my regular 7th and 8th grade classes as well as in my Title I Math Lab classes. I use them frequently as a review for tests. Playing this game always gives me a picture of where the kids are at. When I see a common misconception during game play, we can deal with it right then and there. Also, kids really get into it. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a game that all kids love. This one gets them all involved.

I strongly suggest that you use whiteboard or SmartPals when you play knockout or any whole class game. This really gives you a chance to see what each student is doing. Some of them will peek on other people’s boards and you can just deal with that as it happens. I count down 3-2-1 and then they all show their boards before I reveal the answer.

Keep students accountable during knockout games with dry erase sleeves, whiteboards, or record sheets. Read why knockout games are such a hit with my students!

When I first started teaching I taught a class of newcomer ELL students in middle school. I had them in class for 4 hours per day. We played a lot of games and this is where I learned to give “points”. Sometimes the kids ask what the points are for and I say something like, “They are invisible and imaginary. You can redeem them wherever invisible and imaginary points are accepted.” Some of the kids get it and others try to figure out where that is. I don’t give prizes out for knockout games, but students still like to work for the satisfication of getting points.

Create a Knockout Game Today

Now that you know why knockout games are so great for classroom review, let me show you 2 simple ways to get started. Option #1- If you want to DIY your game, I have 4 fun game templates that walk you through making your own game:

These templates have fun visuals and all the animations set up. All you need is 16 questions about your topic and you’re good to go. You can create a review game for any topic you’re working on in your classroom.

If you want an even more low-prep option, we’ve got you covered for that too. Which brings us to option number 2…

Find Knockout Games Here

Most of our knockout games are listed below or you can click here to see all of our knockout games. These are the ultimate low-prep, high-engagement activities:

Middle School Topics

Holiday Topics

Fractions Topics

Try Knockout in Your Classroom

Whether you’re looking for a whole class practice activity or a review activity later in the year, knockout games will engage your students. Try one in your class and see how your class reacts. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how engaged students can be in reviewing and there is no prep on your part. This is the perfect activity to have ready in your back pocket for when you have extra time here and there. Let’s play some knockout!

Thanks so much for reading. Until next time!