Top 6 Effective and Relaxed Methods for Reviewing Previous Lessons for Elementary School Students

Carefully preparing the questions for the lesson reinforcement section helps students prepare at home using a structured set of questions. It's important that the question system for reviewing the lessons is as effective as the system used for introducing new topics: comprehensive, focused, and suitable for the students' abilities. Teachers should choose review questions that are appropriate for each student and increase the level of difficulty gradually, offering all students the opportunity to improve. Teachers should avoid rushing to reprimand or criticize a student who has forgotten the lesson until they fully understand the cause.

Of course, not every teacher can do this perfectly, but with persistence and a methodical approach, success is sure to follow.

Reviewing previous lessons isn't just about checking at the beginning of the lesson; it can also take place throughout the entire class period. If teachers neglect or fail to adequately review previous lessons, students' learning progress will be interrupted, and they may miss out on important knowledge and skills that are essential for each class session. This disruption can have a significant impact on both the quality of teaching and students' learning outcomes.

Teachers should efficiently manage classroom activities. Avoid disruptions, frequent prompts, or unfair practices during the review process. Ensure that students stay focused and do not engage in unrelated tasks while their peers are being reviewed.

Teachers should use gentle and clear language. Be mindful not to present questions or instructions that could confuse students and affect the objectivity of the review. Additionally, a teacher's demeanor is crucial in creating a friendly atmosphere for students. Teachers should show kindness and avoid using phrases that could unintentionally offend students. Even if a student's answer or opinion is incorrect, teachers should tactfully guide them by asking other students for help, indicating that the student may be struggling because they forgot, rather than outright correcting them in front of the class, which could erode the student's confidence. Over time, this may lead to shyness and passivity in the students.

Teachers should apply a variety of methods and formats to assess as many students as possible on the same material. Group-based or collective assessments can be conducted for relevant topics.

The content and difficulty level of the assessments should align with each student's abilities. Teachers should refrain from interrupting students while they are speaking and provide timely feedback on any mistakes. This helps reinforce their knowledge and improve their ability to apply it effectively. Teachers may also gather feedback from other students during the review to gauge their understanding.

When selecting games, teachers should carefully consider which ones align with the lesson's content. The primary goal is to ensure that the game helps students reinforce the knowledge they have learned.

For example, in an English class, teachers can make vocabulary reviews more engaging by using games that stimulate excitement and active participation. One such game is:

• The “Golden Bell” Game: Students write the correct vocabulary words when prompted. Those who answer incorrectly must stand up and continue attempting to write. The student who remains seated the longest with the most accurate answers wins, and the whole class celebrates their achievement.
• The Vocabulary Picture Game: Divide the class into teams, and show them an image only once. Afterward, each team writes down as many vocabulary words related to the image as possible on the board. The team with the most words wins.

In mathematics, games can also be used during lesson reviews to relieve students' pressure while reinforcing their understanding. Some examples include:

The “Electric Current” Game: The teacher poses a math problem (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division based on the previous lesson). The student who answers first will then ask another student. This continues until the teacher signals for the game to stop. The student called upon must respond quickly. If they answer incorrectly, they face a penalty.

Not only do warm-up games maintain student enthusiasm throughout the class, but they also help alleviate the pressure students feel during the lesson review. Teachers should energize the class and create a lively atmosphere so that students do not feel anxious at the beginning of the lesson and can confidently participate in the review. So, what is the most suitable warm-up game? Here are some suggestions from Mytour:

• Warm-up game at the start of class: Pass the Flower

Materials: A rose, a question, and a prize
Game rules:

• The game leader starts a song, and the whole class sings along while passing the rose.
• When the song ends, the student holding the rose will answer a question hidden inside the flower.
• If the answer is correct, they will receive a prize.
• If the answer is wrong, the student will pass the opportunity to another student who volunteers to answer.

Note: In addition to the rose, you can use a gift box and do the same. In this case, the game will be called "The Mystery Gift Box".

• Warm-up game at the start of class: Arrow Shooting

Materials: No preparation needed
Game rules:

• The game leader will shout: "Shoot the arrow, shoot the arrow" and the whole class will respond: "What arrow, what arrow".
• Then, the game leader will call on a student and ask a question for them to answer.
• If the answer is correct, the class will cheer and clap.

Note: The questions can be related to previously learned lessons, allowing students to review the material.

• Warm-up game at the start of class: Hide and Seek

Materials: None required
Game rules:
The game leader simply calls out "hide" or "seek", and students must follow the instructions. Start slowly for students to get the hang of it, then gradually speed up. Anyone who gets it wrong will be given a penalty.

• Warm-up game at the start of class: Alibaba

How to play:
The game leader will sing along to the Alibaba song, accompanied by corresponding actions. Students must follow the actions and sing loudly "Alibaba", for example:

Once upon a time in the capital city of Bát-da, there was a charming young man named Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to stand straight - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to raise our right hand - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to raise our left hand - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to clap loudly - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to clap high - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to clap and shake our hips quickly - Alibaba
Alibaba asks us to study properly - Alibaba

• Warm-up game at the start of class: I Am the King

How to play:

Students are arranged in a circle, and the game leader stands in the center.
When the leader points to any student in the circle, that student must say: "I am the king" and the two students next to them will reply: "Long live the king" and kneel down.
The game continues as the leader points to different students at a fast pace to make the game more exciting.

Methods for reviewing previous lessons in some Vietnamese language subfields.

For reading practice:

• The teacher divides the class into 3-4 groups, asking the group leaders to test 2-3 students by having them read aloud or recite a passage or the lesson from the previous reading exercise. The group leader then asks questions related to the content of the passage from the textbook.
• The group provides feedback.
• Group leaders report the results of the lesson review to the teacher.
• The teacher provides overall feedback.

For phonics lessons: Students read words from the board (prepared by the teacher beforehand), read application sentences, and write on the board.

For writing practice: Students write characters from the previous lesson (on the classroom board or individual boards). The teacher reinforces the strokes and height of the letters, revisits the written phrase used in the application, and helps students practice writing the phrase with capital letters. The teacher emphasizes letter strokes, their height, and how to connect the strokes in the characters.

For dictation: Students rewrite words they previously misspelled in the previous lesson.