ELA review games: my secret weapon for the post break blues. I know the struggle—coming back from a break, students feeling the lingering holiday joy, and the challenge of reigniting their focus. That were ELA review games save teh day. These aren’t your ordinary games; they’re my answer to turning the struggle of refocusing into an exciting and engaging adventure. Let’s dive into a week-long ELA competition that will not only reenergize your students but also make learning an unforgettable journey.
Now, here’s where the magic happens! If you’re ready to effortlessly transform your ELA review games and infuse your classroom with excitement, I’ve got the ultimate tool for you—the Literary Elements Bundle. Imagine having a comprehensive resource at your fingertips that allows you to review any story with a week’s worth of activities ready to go. This bundle isn’t just a game-changer; it’s your golden ticket to engaging and effective ELA review sessions. With hardly any prep, you can seamlessly integrate these activities into your week-long competition, turning learning into an adventure your students will cherish. Now that you have everything that you need, keep reading to see how I use these review games for class.
Ready to take your literary analysis writer’s workshop to the next level?
Teaching how to write a literary analysis essay can be tough. If you want to simplify the writing process for your students while making sure you don’t forget any steps, then this toolkit is made for you!
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ELA Fun Review Games Competition
The best way to start the high school review games is to create hype and excitement. Start off by giving your competition a fun name. My students are required to take the state-mandated Keystones. So, my ELA review games are called the Keystone Kompetition. Once you have your name, it’s time to set up the teams. Build a sense of community by allowing students to choose their own teams. Or, you can strategically form groups based on diverse strengths.
Ready for more hype and excitement? Start the competition by having each team create a team name and poster. Give them 15 minutes to design their banner. Then, have them submit their banners to you for points. Rank each poster and give them points based on their ranking.
Side note: I keep it easy by creating a simple Google Sheets that has each team name in the rows and each column is the ELA review games we play. Using the SUM formula, I have the Google Sheets total up the points for me as they are entered. That way English teachers don’t need to worry about math #iykyk
Now that our competition is all set up, we are ready to get started so check out how I play the Keystone Kompetition!
Fiction Frenzy: Day 1
I always love to start our fun review games with fiction. I find fiction elements and terms are the easiest for the students to understand. Picture a Kahoot session that feels like a literary rollercoaster, exploring all the vocabulary related to literary elements. But that’s just the warm-up. Afterward, we delve into a mind-bending fiction passage where anything can happen. I like to choose an example passage from the standardized test. But any short story will work great. Then, multiple-choice questions will pop up, testing our understanding of the intricate plot details. And here’s the secret sauce – those graphic organizers from our Literary Elements Bundle will be the best part of the competition day. Have students race to complete each one on the story that they read. Students can earn points for correctness and for quickness.
Nonfiction Navigator: Day 2
Shift gears to the world of facts and real-life narratives on Day 2 with nonfiction. The day begins with a Kahoot session focused on various nonfiction genres, from informative articles to biographies and persuasive techniques. Dive into a thought-provoking nonfiction passage, presenting teams with real-world scenarios to analyze. Have your multiple-choice questions focus on their comprehension of factual content and the author’s purpose. To further enrich their exploration, provide graphic organizers designed for nonfiction, fostering skills in summarization, identifying main ideas, and extracting key details.
Dramatic Discourse: Day 3
Once we have mastered the two biggest genres, it’s time to move on to drama. Begin with a theatrical Kahoot, exploring elements of drama, from character dynamics to stage directions. Next, I have students read a dramatic passage from a play. I like a passage where dialogue and conflict take center stage. My multiple-choice questions challenge their understanding of dramatic structure and character motivations. The day’s graphic organizers focus on the unique features of drama, allowing teams to dissect scenes, analyze character interactions, and explore underlying themes. Don’t forget to update the points tracker chart by this point and announce everyone’s place. A little reminder of whose winning always fuels my competition.
Poetry Prowess: Day 4
Transition into the lyrical world of poetry on Dy 4. As always, I start the day with a Kahoot. The poetry Kahoot dives into various forms and devices that make poetry a captivating genre. Teams then immerse themselves in a carefully chosen poem, unraveling its layers through multiple-choice questions that delve into poetic devices and meaning. My students then use this Graphic Organizer for Poetry. By using the T. S.W.I.F.T. acronym, students will analyze the Tone, Structure, Word Choice, Imagery, Figurative Language, and Theme of any poem. With so many graphic organizers in this resource, students have a chance to earn lots of points for their team on poetry day.
Grand Finale: Day 5
The best way to end the ELA review games is with a culmination of all the activities. The final Kahoot session revisits key elements from each genre, reinforcing the terms used for all four genres. Afterward, I tackle a thought-provoking passage, but here’s the twist—it’s a genre surprise! Choose the passage type that your students need the most help with or your favorite genre. Multiple-choice questions will be our guides through the twists and turns, testing our genre expertise. And for the grand finale, we’re switching gears to short-answer responses. It’s the perfect opportunity to flex our literary muscles and showcase our in-depth understanding. The last step is to read the responses, tally the points, and announce the winner of your fun review games for students.
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And there you have it, champions of literature! Setting up and playing our ELA Review Games is as easy as pie. Just follow the steps we’ve laid out, infuse a bit of creativity, and watch as your students dive into a week-long literary adventure. But hey, why break a sweat when you can work smart, right? Take the load off your shoulders and snag the Literary Elements Bundle. With graphic organizers ready to roll, you’ll be sipping coffee while your students conquer the literary world. Now, it’s your turn to unleash these games in your classroom. Got questions or epic game tales to share? DM me or shoot a message on Instagram @theteacherrewrite. Let’s keep the literary excitement alive, one game at a time with these ELA review games!
Ready to take your literary analysis writer’s workshop to the next level?
Teaching how to write a literary analysis essay can be tough. If you want to simplify the writing process for your students while making sure you don’t forget any steps, then this toolkit is made for you!
Click HERE to learn more!