Worksheets get a bad reputation sometimes. Well honestly a lot of the time. Working through them can be very boring. But worksheets themselves aren’t the problem. In fact, I’ve shared 10 different ways to turn a worksheet into a fun classroom activity without completely reinventing what you’re already using. But one of my favorites is especially easy because it lets students check their own work as they go.
Sometimes students just need practice. And as teachers, we often already have perfectly good worksheets that give students exactly the practice they need. We’ve worked hard to create these worksheets that cover all the concepts, test knowledge, and challenge students to think further.
The problem is getting students to actually want to do them.
So instead of throwing out your worksheets and spending hours creating brand new activities, here’s one of my favorite ways to turn a worksheet you already have into something much more engaging.
Turn Your Worksheet Into a Game
One of the easiest ways to change the feel of independent practice is to give students something to work toward as they complete it. That’s exactly why I created my Magic Answer Checker.
The idea is really simple: Students still complete the worksheet you would normally give them. But instead of working straight through the entire thing and waiting until the end to find out whether they understood it, they check their answers as they go.
When they get an answer correct, they earn a turn in a game. Suddenly, the worksheet isn’t the entire activity. It’s what powers the activity.
And the best part is that you don’t have to recreate your worksheet, copy and paste every question into a new program, or spend your planning period designing an elaborate review game. You use the worksheet you already have!
How the Magic Answer Checker Works
Before class, you enter the answers from your worksheet’s answer key into the Magic Answer Checker Google Sheet. You can enter answers for up to 40 questions. The best types of questions are the ones that have a single correct answer. Think vocabulary terms, numbers, or other simple one word answers. Then, give students the worksheet like you normally would and share the Magic Answer Checker with them digitally.
Students can work individually on the questions while playing one of the included games in groups of 2–4. Once a student solves a problem, they enter their answer into the checker. Correct answer? They get to take their turn.
Incorrect answer? They know immediately that something went wrong and can go back to their work, find their mistake, ask a classmate for help, or call you over. Then they try again. Some of the games penalize incorrect answers, so this can really become a fun challenge.
The Immediate Feedback Is My Favorite Part
The games make the activity more fun, but I actually think the self-checking aspect is the most valuable part. Think about what can happen during traditional independent practice:
A student completes problem #1 incorrectly. Then they use the exact same incorrect process on #2. By the time they’ve turned in the worksheet and you get around to grading it three days later, that student “practiced” their mistake ten times over.
With a self-checking activity, students get feedback while they’re still working. If they’re doing well, they know they’re on the right track and can keep going. If they’re struggling, they find out quickly enough to actually do something about it.
Meanwhile, you’re free to circulate around the room, answer questions, work with struggling students, and keep an eye on how everyone is doing instead of standing at the front of the room checking answers one at a time.
You Don’t Need a 1:1 Classroom, Either
And if your school is moving away from 1:1 devices, you can still use the Magic Answer Checker! The actual student work in this activity is meant to happen on paper, not on a screen. Students solve the problems, show their work, and complete the worksheet just like they normally would. The digital piece is simply there to check their answers.
Instead of giving every student a device, set up one, two, or three computers or tablets at the front of the classroom as answer-checking stations. When students finish a problem, they can walk up, enter their answer, and immediately find out whether they’re correct before returning to their seats.
Depending on your classroom setup, you could assign each station to a section of the room or have students line up at whichever one is available. You still get the immediate feedback and self-checking benefits without putting a screen in front of every student for the entire class period. In fact, students might spend only a few seconds at a device each time they check an answer. The technology supports the paper-and-pencil practice rather than replacing it.
You Don’t Need Another Worksheet
This might be my favorite thing about this resource. It doesn’t contain any academic content. That sounds like a weird selling point, but hear me out. You don’t need another worksheet on balancing chemical equations if you already have one you love.
You need more ways to use the materials you’ve already spent years creating and collecting. The Magic Answer Checker is designed to work with your existing resources, regardless of the subject or grade level.
Pull out an old worksheet. Enter the answers. Pick a game. You’re ready to go.
And because the resource includes 8 different games, you can change the game throughout the year even if you’re using the same basic classroom routine. You can even let different groups choose which game they want to play while everyone works on the same assignment.
Great for Review Days, Too
This setup works particularly well when students need a lot of practice, which makes it perfect for review days.
Instead of “here’s your review worksheet. You have 45 minutes.” You can turn that exact same worksheet into a small-group game.
You’re not sacrificing the rigor of the assignment. Students are still answering the questions you wanted them to answer. You’re just changing the experience surrounding those questions. And sometimes that’s all it takes.
Stop Reinventing Your Classroom Materials
There are absolutely times when it’s worth creating an elaborate activity from scratch.But there are also times when students simply need to sit down and practice. You don’t have to feel guilty about that, and you definitely don’t have to spend Sunday afternoon transforming every worksheet in your filing cabinet into a brand new activity.
Instead, find ways to make the materials you already have work harder for you. That’s exactly what the Magic Answer Checker was designed to do.
