There are five minutes left in class. Your students are tired. It’s too late to start anything new and you don’t have an exit ticket idea to fill the time. What do you do? It’s always a good idea to have some quick, fun “filler” activities up your sleeve for just such a time. Here is a great one…
For years I’ve been using Encyclopedia Britannica instead of Wikipedia. (I want a reputable source for my information, rather one that literally anyone can edit.) I have NEVER noticed, until today, that they have a tab at the top of their page called “Quizzes.” I clicked on it and, what do you know, they have a bunch of free quizzes. Wouldn’t it be convenient if they happened to have some about US history? Well, they do! These quizzes are usually around 10 questions and are graded immediately after you answer each question. The only catch is that each question must be answered within 10 seconds or it is counted wrong, and those 10 seconds go by really fast! The faster you answer, the higher your score is. On the score page at the end of the quiz, you can scroll down for detailed answers to each question.
How can you use this? Bookmark these quizzes and put them in a folder in your browser labeled “Filler” (or maybe something less obvious to your students, like “5 Minute Fun”). Then, you can pull one or two of these up on your projector or interactive board and let your students try them. Since this is a filler activity, you can let the kids just yell out the answers and quickly decide what they collectively think is the correct answer.. If that is too loosey-goosey for you, have them answer silently and keep track of their points on a scratch sheet of paper.
There are over 150 history quizzes! (They also have a Geography section.) I’m providing links below to the ones that I like best. You can also click here and scroll down to browse all of their quizzes. One other thing to note: you don’t have to do a quiz that is associated with the content you are currently covering. Sometimes it’s good to throw some random knowledge out there and remind students that any learning is good, regardless of whether it will “be on the test.”
First Ladies of the United States
John Adams or John Quincy Adams
Soldiers in Petticoats: Fact or Fiction
19th Amendment and Women’s Suffrage
Which of these quizzes is your favorite? What’s the highest score you or your class achieved? Let us know how you did in the comments below!