How to Make Tests Fun



Testing is a necessary part of any education process. Without tests, there is no way of knowing whether anything has been learned. Most people dislike or even dread tests... but all is not lost - tests can be fun! There are many possible approaches; here are a few.

Steps   

  1. QUIZ: Split the group into small teams, and give each team a different noisy thing, for example, a squeaky dog toy, bell, hooter, etc. Ask questions that require relatively short and specific answers. Give one point for each time someone buzzes / beeps in with the correct answer.
  2. PASS THE PARCEL: Choose a cheap but suitable prize, and wrap it in several layers of newspaper. In each layer, place a short question on bright card, and a chocolate or boiled sweet (candy). Pass the parcel round in a circle, and play some music, stopping it at intervals. Each time the music stops, the person holding the parcel opens the outermost layer and reads the question. If they can answer the question, they get the sweet, if not, the question goes round the circle until somebody gets it right and wins the sweet.
  3. SPLAT: Get two inflatable hammers or similar equipment, and give one each to two people at the front of the class. On the wall, stick several words in very large letters, for example, "Europe" "Asia" "North America" "South America" "Africa", and ask questions where the right answer is one of those, such as "Which continent is France in?". It is a race for the two people to hit the right answer first. The first person to get 5 correct splats wins the game.
  4. CLUES: Make lots of little cards, each with one key word from your chosen topic, for example, "England" "Atlantic Ocean" "Canada". In pairs or teams, one person picks up a card and has to give clues so that their team members can guess what it says on their card. Whichever team manages the most in a minute is the winner.
  5. DOMINOES: Make cards to appear like large dominoes, where, on the right side of one domino is a key term, for example, "Large body of salt water between Europe and the Americas", and on the left side of another domino it will say "Atlantic Ocean". Each domino will have a key term on the right hand side, and a definition for a different term on the left hand side. Teams must fit all the dominoes together in the right order to win the game.


Tips   

  • Invariably, games require more preparation than a regular test or lesson would do, but it is likely to stick in their heads more, so it pays off.
  • Have desirable prizes on offer as an incentive - chocolate is always popular, but anything could be used, depending on the interests and ages of the pupils / students
  • Be able to check the right answers quickly. It will not go down well if your students have got the answers right but it takes you ages to check their answers. With the dominoes, it's a good idea to put a random number in one corner of each one, and make a note somewhere that the correct order is 12, 30, 5, 16, 22... etc.


Warnings   

  • Fun can quickly turn to chaos, especially with the noisy toys in the quiz. To cut down on this, why not deduct one point for anyone buzzing / beeping without giving an answer?
  • No matter what age the pupils / students are, it's very hard to calm down after a lot of fun and silliness, so leave these games until the end of the lesson / day.


Things You'll Need   

  • QUIZ:- Buzzers, bells, squeakers etc. Quiz questions.
  • PASS THE PARCEL:- Prize, newspaper, questions on bright paper, sweets.
  • SPLAT:- Inflatable hammers, A3 paper with key terms on, questions.
  • CLUES:- Clue cards.
  • DOMINOES:- The dominoes. Note of correct order of dominoes.
  • ALL GAMES:- Suitable prizes.
  • People to play the games!