A recent entry into the quiz game arena is Gimkit. It was developed by a high school student and is free. You can use a gmail account to set up an account. They have kits which are the questions that can be played as an activity in class or it can be assigned as independent work but is automatically graded. You can also set up classes so students have to use their real names rather than coming up with a alias. Like so many others, you can type in a topic such as coordinate planes and it will do a search. What comes back is a list of possible kits with the number of questions, how long ago it was created and you can check out the questions all on one screen.
When you select the kit you want, you have a choice of playing it live, as practice, make a copy or export it which is nice because some places in the country have limited internet. What sets this apart from similar activities is that students earn "money" to spend in their store. I admit, I tried it with my students but they were so used to Kahoot, they didn't want to change. Check it out, give it a try.
To help students with vocabulary try Knoword which is a vocabulary game in which the teacher can choose to have students play it using a definition and the first letter or via multiple choice. There is a free basic account but if the teacher wants more, they can upgrade. The classic version has the official definition and gives the first letter so you at least know where to start. You can work out the letters because when you are correct, the letters are black but when you make a mistake the whole word turns red. The multiple choice version gives the definition with several words to choose from so you know its one of those. It is a nice way to have students practice vocabulary since vocabulary is extremely important in math. In addition, it has the possibility of getting help via hints in the classic version and at the end, it tells the student how long it took them and their score.
The basic does allow teachers to assign two or three packs to students before they have to go upgrade but it gives you a chance to try it out. The assignments does keep track of how many students submitted their assignment, how many questions answered and how many assignments you've made. I suspect you can assign the activity via a QR code containing the link but it will list you as the logged in person. It is easy to set up an account which can be done via your gmail.
Then there is Legends Of Learning, a site with games for math and science grades K to 8 and many of us teach middle school or we need activities to help fill in the gaps. It allows teachers to sign up using a gmail account. As far as I can tell it is free. When you set up an account and log in, you get to the dashboard which allows you to make assignments, load your classroom up via google classroom,
I chose a game from the 8th grade on exponents. The site had me do a pretest before assigning the game. The game went through a scenario of a space ship was damaged and reviewed or taught what exponents are, how they work etc including negative integers. The program explained and then gives students practice. At the end, they get another test. I like it because as the problem is explained it is done in both written and verbal forms so students who cannot read well, still know what is going on.
I will continue this list on Monday. I hope this helps you. Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear. Have a great day.
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