Here is your 7 step guide to Jenga for the history classroom. This is a great idea for revision or for cementing that key knowledge that needs to be remembered. The idea is simple. Kids play jenga and revise / learn. It really is all about having fun and learning.
What will you need:
1. You need enough games of jenga for your class. I think students working in groups of 4 is about right.
2. Raid the departmental budget and buy in your jenga games. You can pick them up from amazon or ebay for a decent price.
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3. The game is so simple to play. When someone takes a block they have to answer a question about the topic you are studying. They get points and the person with the most points, wins.
4. You could write the questions / definitions on each jenga block. But this way you need a new jenga set for each topic you are working on / revising. We would recommend that you write the questions on cards. So, if you were trying to revise a GCSE topic on Germany your questions would be things like:
- What was the stab in the back theory?
- When was the Munich Putsch?
- What was the Munich Putsch?
- Who was Gustav Stresemann?
5. When each student takes a block out they have to answer the question. They simply randomly pick a question card and they have to attempt to answer it.
For a points system:
- 5 points for a correct answer
- -1 for not answering
- 5 point for answering a question that someone has passed on.
- For the twist, the person who knocks them over loses 30 points.
6. If you wanted to do this as a revision activity, why not get the students to write the questions and answers first?
There are 50 blocks in a jenga game. Remember this when you are preparing your questions. If you are writing the questions on cards you will probably only need about 30.
