How To: Pre-Quiz Jeopardy!

• Lesson Objective: Review content in preparation for an assessment

• Grouping:  Whole-Group

• Methodology: Jeopardy-style review immediately before the quiz.

• Duration: 10-15 minutes

  
  

Pre-Quiz Jeopardy! Explanation for $500, Please.

Just kidding, you can have this for free. You can find my Jeopardy Lab Games online and the

recording template free on TPT. I like to make our quiz reviews competitive to keep students engaged. Am I giving away the answers directly before a quiz? Yes. And I think that’s fair—especially for my last-period class that’s already powered through six periods of instruction before they reach me. It’s just a quick refresh to boost their confidence and reinforce effective study strategies. A little support goes a long way.

🖍 How the Routine Works

For this review activity, students stay at their desks. It’s open-note, and I encourage them to grab their capture sheets from day one of the unit. As I hand out the Jeopardy Recording Sheet, I suggest they take a few minutes to skim through their notes. If the sheet isn’t pre-filled with categories, that’s step one: students write them in.

Once the game begins, I challenge students to flip their packet over and try answering without peeking. They may choose to work in pairs or solo, but everyone is expected to record an answer for each question. No hands go up until the answer is written down.

Hopefully, you’ve seen one of the most iconic shows on television and know how this works! A student chooses a category and point value, and everyone attempts to answer.

Sample question. Pre- for 200 points.

Yes, I know this isn’t true Jeopardy-style. Technically, students should answer in the form of a question. Wonderful for TV, not so wonderful for a classroom review on a specific concept. It’s unnecessarily confusing when time is limited.

I’ve found that the point-value range keeps everyone in the game. Even a student with zero points can jump back in with a 500-point win. Questions increase in difficulty with higher values, and the 500-pointers? Definitely not multiple choice.

Check out the Interactive Unit Guides to see how this lesson fits within each unit. You can find my Jeopardy Lab Games online and the recording template free on TPT.