Games and Review Activities

Overview

Children (and many adults) love to play games and participate in activities. These activities can be used to enhance learning and enjoy fellowship together. God made people to enjoy connection with other people, and playing games is a great way to have fun and build connections with others.

Games are also a great way to review what has been learned. A review activity or game allows the children to play while, at the same time, reflect and remember.

Choose a variety of activities so children with different kinds of skills feel good about participating. If games include both skill and chance, then everyone has a chance to win. As a rule, I don’t give out prizes for games. We play for the fun of it in my lessons.

1. Answer Circle

Materials:

A small object, such as a bean bag or a soft toy

Description:

Children sit in a circle and pass a small object (such as a bean bag or soft toy) from one person to the next, moving around the circle. Either you or one of the children should turn your back on the group. Wait a few moments, then clap your hands or ring a bell and turn back to the group. The children should stop passing the object when they hear the sound. The child holding the object when you clap your hand must answer a Bible question.

2. Artistic Review

Materials:

Printed picture from Bible stories you have learned together

Description:

Print a picture from each story you have recently covered and ask the children to put them in chronological order.

3. Bible Verse Drill

Materials:

Bibles

Description:

Have “Bible drills” where you call out a scripture reference (book, chapter, verse), and the children race to find it in their own Bible and read it aloud.  The first child to correctly read the verse wins. Keep in mind that some children in the group have never been taught how to look up a verse in the Bible. Take the time to show them the table of contents, names of the Bible books, chapters (big numbers) and verse numbers (little numbers). Even very young children like to look up Genesis 1:1.

4. Bible Wordz

Materials:

Letter tiles

Description:

In this adaptable game, children form words from letter tiles. The words relate to words found in the Bible lesson. Bible Wordz instructions here.

5. Bottlecap Word Puzzles

Materials:

Bottle caps, letters of the alphabet cut from paper, and glue

Description:

Bottle caps can be used to create fun word puzzles that help children focus on important words in a Bible lesson. Letters of the alphabet are glued inside bottle caps, and children unscramble the letters to form words. Children use a Bible to help find the answers. Keep the letters and use the puzzles over and over. Find instructions and examples here.

6. Describe the Character (with Cards)

Using characters from the Bible that you have taught about, make up character cards with the names (or pictures for younger children) of each character. On each card, include a description of the character and perhaps a little of what happened in the story. Let the children take turns drawing the cards and reading the description out loud. Other children must guess who the character is. Don’t forget the obscure characters for unusual discussion, such as the innkeeper, donkey, man asking Jesus the questions, etc.

7. Drawing Out an Idea

Materials:

Pen or pencil and paper. Alternatively, a whiteboard or chalkboard could be used.

This simple teaching tool gives the teacher and the children an opportunity to participate together in discovering the important words and ideas in a Bible story. The teacher or the children draw shapes on the paper. The shapes can relate to the story if desired. Working together, participants fill in the spaces with words and phrases that relate to the story you have just studied together.
Click here for more examples and instructions for Drawing Out an Idea.

8. Dress-up Review

Materials:

Costume for a Bible character (use a pillowcase, tie, towel, etc.)

Description:

Dress up as a Bible character and tell the Bible story from that character’s point of view. Your costume might be as simple as a towel or pillowcase on your head with a man’s tie for a headband. You could also let the children take turns being the characters.

9. Finger Puppet Review

Materials:

Pen, small cloth or rubber band (optional)

Description:

Use a pen to draw a simple face on your finger. Use this as a puppet to tell the story or ask the children review questions. You could also “dress up” the character with a small cloth for a head covering or a man’s headdress. You could use a rubber band as a headband to secure the fabric. You have ten fingers, so you could be ten characters if you have the talent!

10. Freeze!

Materials:

Paper, pencil

Description:

Before the lesson, write various Bible scenes or life application scenes on pieces of paper. During the lesson, each child will get a piece of paper. When it is their turn, the child reads what their assigned scene is. When you say “go,” the child starts acting out the scene. When you say “freeze,” they should stop where they are and hold the position. At this time, everyone can guess which scene they are acting out.

11. Guess the Character (blindfolded)

Materials:

Paper, pencil, blindfold (use a cloth, scarf, handkerchief, etc.)

Description:

Write the names of the main characters in the lesson’s story on slips of paper (or show their pictures if the children are too young to read). Blindfold one child. Hold up the name of one of the characters so that the other children know which one it is. Let the children give hints to the blindfolded person so they can guess which character it is.

12. Hangman

Materials:

Paper or whiteboard, pencil or whiteboard marker

Description:

Play hangman using words from the story. For a change, you can try using different pictures that relate to the story instead of drawing gallows. For example, when studying manna and quail, you could add parts to a quail (head, body, wings, beak) when an incorrect letter is chosen.

13. Keep Them Guessing

Materials:

Items related to the lesson that you want to hide

Description:

In this guessing game, children are given clues to guess story-related items that are hidden from view. This can help create interest in what the Bible story is about before the lesson even begins. Instructions and examples here.

14. Memory Game Match-Up

Materials:

Pictures printed on paper, scissors

Description:

Print pairs of pictures depicting words or pictures from the story you have covered and cut them into equal sizes, like playing cards. Make sure the paper you use is thick enough that the word or picture cannot be seen through the paper. Lay all the cards on a flat surface such as a table. The cards should be facing down. Children take turns turning over two cards at a time. If the cards do not match, then they turn them back over. The next child then takes a turn, turning over two cards. If any child turns over two cards that match, then they take that pair of cards off the board and get to have another turn. The player who has gathered the most pairs of cards by the end of the game wins.

Variation: Write a question on one card and the answer on another. This becomes a pair, and children have to turn over matching pairs of questions and answers.

15. Memory Roll

Materials:

Dice, prepared activities (see below)

Description:

Before the lesson, think of actions or activities that go along with whatever you are reviewing. Assign a number 1-6 to each activity. Children can take turns rolling dice to see which activity to perform. Here is an example of activities for reviewing the parable of the lost sheep:

• Roll a 1. Recite one of the memory verses.
• Roll a 2. Name one thing people in this story might have smelled.
• Roll a 3. Say something you have learned from this parable.
• Roll a 4. Choose two people to help you sing “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
• Roll a 5. “Baa” like the lost sheep.
• Roll a 6. Ask the teacher to say the memory verse.

Another way to do this is to let the children think of the six activities before you start.

16. Parent Participation

Materials:

Parents or adults!

Description:

Invite parents or other adult guests to join the group for games. In addition, children can demonstrate what they have learned. Children love to have competitions with adults.

17. Pass the Parcel

Materials:

Wrapped gift, paper instructions, prize

Description:

This great kids’ party game can be adapted to any lesson! A wrapped gift is passed from child to child until the music stops. The child holding the gift unwraps it and finds instructions on a card. The child completes the action, and then the music starts again. This is repeated until a final wrapped prize is revealed. Instructions for this game.

18. Press Conference

Materials:

Microphones and costumes (optional)

Description:

Conduct a “Press Conference” with one or more children acting the parts of the main characters in the story. The rest of the students can be reporters asking questions you have prepared. For fun, provide microphones or costumes (they can be toys or makeshift props)

19. Puppet Review

Materials:

Hand Puppet

Description:

Use a hand puppet to tell or review the story from a different point of view.  For example, if you were reviewing the story of Daniel and the Writing on the Wall, try telling the story from the point of view of Daniel, Belshazzar or even – with great imagination – one of the cups.

20. Puzzle Hunt

Materials:

Picture coloured in or printed with colour, scissors

Description:

Before the lesson, colour a picture depicting the story and cut it into jigsaw puzzle-type pieces. Hide the pieces around the room. At a suitable time during the lesson, have the children hunt for the picture and put the puzzle together. You could do the same thing by writing letters of a word or parts of a phrase and hiding them. Have the children find them and then put them together.

21. Spinner Game

Materials:

Paper, pencil/pen/marker, paper clip

Description:

Create your own game by drawing a circle on a piece of paper and drawing lines to divide it into equal wedges (like a pizza). Write a question on each wedge. Hold a paper clip down in the centre of the circle and spin the clip around. Whichever wedge the paper clip lands in is the question the children answer. Click here for complete instructions.

22. Story with Sound Effects

Materials:

None

Description:

Let one of the children retell the story while the other children provide sound effects.

23. Teacher, Teacher

Materials:

None

Description:

Children take turns “teaching” the group. They can take your place and ask the group review questions.

24. What’s in the Bag?

Materials:

Review questions on paper, bags/boxes/containers, prizes, and number labels

Description:

Write a list of review questions. For this example, write 20 questions and number them 1 to 20. Collect 20 bags, boxes or any other containers (they don’t need to match). Put a little prize in each container. The prizes don’t need to be elaborate (I always throw in some “special” ones and some silly ones).  Attach a number (from 1-20) on each container. Question number 1 will correspond to container 1; question 2 will correspond to container 2, etc. One at a time, each child gets a chance to choose one bag. If they choose bag number “5,” then read question number 5.  If they answer the question correctly, they get to keep what is in the bag. If they get it wrong, then it goes back into the pile. Other children will choose the same bag (and the same question) later. This allows you to throw in some tough questions.

25. Who’s Holding the Bag?

Materials:

Bag, questions prepared to ask during the game

Description:

Children sit in a circle or around a table. The bag will be passed from child to child around the circle as the teacher sings a song or plays music. Whoever is holding the bag when the song stops must answer a question about the story. Once the child has answered, the song starts again, and the bag continues to be passed around. Instructions and a video example found here.

26. Win, Lose or Draw

Materials:

Paper, pencil, whiteboard (optional)

Description:

Write simple phrases from the story on small pieces of paper and fold the papers. For example, if you were studying the parables of Jesus, you would write phrases like The Lost Sheep, Wise Man, Salt of the Earth or Treasure.  Children draw one of the papers and look at the phrase. They have one minute (or longer if you wish) to draw the phrase and get everyone to guess what it is. They cannot talk, write words, or signal with their hands while drawing.

27. Word Scramble

Materials:

Paper, pencil

Description:

Scramble phrases or words from verses and write them on paper before the lesson starts. Let the children work in teams to unscramble the phrases. For Example: “het slot eehps” is “The Lost Sheep.”

28. X and O Review Game

Materials:

Bible, pencil or pen, scissors, paper, coloured paper or game markers, small bag, bowl or basket

Description:

This simple game is a great way to review a Bible story. Children list words and ideas and then play a game similar to “tic-tac-toe” or “noughts and crosses.” Each child can prepare their own game board to take home later, or alternatively, the game can be done as a group. This game can be played over and over and adapted to any Bible story. Instructions here.

29. True or False Toss

Materials:

An object to toss, such as a beanbag or a ball

Description:

In this activity, children determine whether a statement is true or false and then toss an object into a container to score a point. Complete instructions for this game here.