Have you ever played Jeopardy with your students? If so, you know that it’s a great way to combine fun with subject review, which of course leads to improved learning outcomes. To help you utilize this tool to its potential, we’ve gathered the best tips and tricks for playing Jeopardy in the classroom. Below, we’ll dive into a few of the most important details, from ideal times to play to useful online Jeopardy game makers. Read on to start planning your next classroom game.
Things to Consider Before Bringing Jeopardy to Your Classroom
When the time to create your game, begin by asking yourself these three questions:
- What do you want your game to teach? Jeopardy can be used in all subjects, from math and science to second language learning. It can be used as a lesson review or long-term study guide (think midterms, finals, etc). Consider making a list of questions and answers to use in your game.
- How much time would you like the game to take up? For shorter games, use fewer question-and-answer squares. You can create games with anywhere from 2×2 templates to 6×5 templates. You can expect shorter games to take around 20 minutes, while longer games can take up to 40 minutes.
- How much time do you want to put into creating the game? Creating Jeopardy games via PowerPoint or Google Slides is time-consuming, but you can cut your prep time significantly by using an online Jeopardy game maker like Factile.
The Best Times to Play Jeopardy in the Classroom
Once you know the details behind creating your game, it’s time to think about how it will play out in the classroom. Here are a few thoughts on Jeopardy game timing for your lesson plans:
- Break the Beginning-of-the-Year Ice — Introduce Jeopardy, classroom rules and routines, class subject fun facts, teacher fun facts, or even student “get-to-know-you facts” with a beginning-of-the-year Jeopardy game.
- Take a Brain Break — Short rounds of Jeopardy serve as the perfect “Brain Break.” Consider keeping a few review rounds on hand to pull out when you notice your students need to switch gears for a little while.
- Unit and Lesson Review — Jeopardy makes review fun! Even when it’s played after every unit, it’s unlikely to get old. Save a list of questions and answers throughout your lesson, and put them into a Jeopardy game maker to wrap things up in a fun and simple fashion.
- Robust End-of-Term Review — Jeopardy also works well for those larger review periods. Add to your question-and-answer list throughout the term to make creating the game easier when the time comes.
These are just a few Jeopardy game placements that we’ve seen successful in the past. Feel free to use the game anywhere in your lesson plan — whether it’s on this list or not. You know your class best, and Jeopardy can help boost student learning at any time of day.
Save Time With the Best Online Jeopardy Template
Once you feel ready to bring Jeopardy into your classroom, we recommend looking into an online Jeopardy game maker. Our favorite tool is Factile. Factile offers free and affordable subscriptions with a wide variety of features to not only make Jeopardy game making simpler, but also more fun and effective.
You can find our full, personal review of Factile here. But as a quick overview, some of Factile’s stand-out features include:
- Quick games (create your own in minutes)
- Question banks (save and reuse for future games)
- Premade games (play Jeopardy without having to make your own game)
- Additional playing styles, including multiple-choice, quiz bowl, flashcards, and memory match
- Play from computers, tablets, or smartphones
- Fun features like buzzers, thinking music, team mascots, and more
- AutoGen AI assistant for creating quick games
Sign up for a free Factile account today to get a feel for the site. We’re confident that Factile can positively impact your classroom Jeopardy experience.
All in all, Jeopardy in the classroom is a fun and effective learning tool. It can be used in all age groups and all educational subjects. It’s easy for teachers to create with the help of an online Jeopardy game maker. Give it a try this year and let us know how it goes!
