Day 3--Jeopardy Rules Review

Days 1 and 2 were spent going over classroom rules and procedures. Day 3 ended up being a Friday. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I don't like starting a new unit on Friday for several reasons--absences, the weekend to forget which requires review on Monday, the antsy behaviors on Friday in general. Also, I wanted to be sure that my classes were processing the massive amounts of information that I was sharing. Finally, I wanted a quick recap to ensure I told all my classes the same things and to fill in gaps for students who missed anything.

I decided to use a game of Jeopardy to review the large amount of information. Jeopardylabs is a great free tool for creating online Jeopardy games. The game can be displayed using a projector or SmartBoard. Here's a quick screenshot of the board.

 

    
jeopardylabs.com/play/stairs-class-overview-1
I can choose the number of teams and the game allows me to keep track of the score. I can make the questions anything I want. Students were given group numbers based on the six groups they were sitting in. I do Jeopardy a bit differently than the gameshow since I want all groups to have a chance to answer the question. Each group gets a dry erase board and marker (a white three-ring binder works if you don't have a dry erase board). I go around to each group to pick questions; if there is a question that I know I want them to answer, I will take a turn picking. After I read the question, groups have 10 seconds or so to answer by writing on their boards. Then I say3-2-1 show me! Groups show me their answers and I award or subtract points. If groups choose not to answer, they do not show me their board.

Using Jeopardy as a review works well. Groups get a chance to briefly discuss. They must come to a consensus quickly. Opportunities to speak and listen purposefully and negotiate are abundant. As a review of any information, it helps students to first activate the organizational hierarchy of their schema and then learn from their mistakes.

As an activity in general, Jeopardy is flexible enough to fill varied time constraints; the round can end at any time with a double jeopardy question. One class may play for six minutes and one class for fifteen. I usually give candy to the winners; often the winners get first choice and three out of a candy grab bag and then the rest of the class gets one piece of candy. I have also given bonus points on tests or quizzes for the top team(s).