9 Ways to Make Worksheets More Fun & Engaging

We all want our students to be engaged and have fun while learning. Yet, we know it takes a lot of time to create engaging lessons that don’t involve worksheets. There are times when our resources are limited to a worksheet. What if you could transform worksheets into engaging activities? These activities would truly grab and keep your students’ focus. And you wouldn’t spend tons of time and effort creating them. Here are some ways you can do this:

1. Reciprocal Learning

How It Works: This is a fun activity. You and a buddy will team up to use flashcards. Test each other’s knowledge in three exciting rounds! First, each pair gets a set of flashcards. In the first round, Student A picks a card and gives hints to help Student B guess the answer. They can give as many clues as they want! After that, it’s Student B’s turn to quiz Student A. In the second round, things get a little trickier. Student A can only give a couple of clues. If Student B can’t guess the answer after one or two hints, the card goes back into the pile for later. Finally, in round three, it’s all about going solo—no clues allowed!

How to Set It Up: To get started, you’ll need a set of flashcards for each pair of students. This might take a little time to prepare, but you can make it easier by having students create their own flashcards using a worksheet, their textbook, or their notes. This part is super helpful for learning and makes the flashcard game even more fun!

2. Everybody Knows

How it works: Here’s how to play the game: First, split everyone into groups of four and give each person a number from 1 to 4. Then, ask a question from the worksheet and give the teams about 30 to 60 seconds to come up with an answer together. It’s super important that everyone in the group understands the answer because you won’t know who will be called on to answer!

Next, pick a number between 1 and 4 at random. The person in each group with that number will write down their answer on a small whiteboard or a piece of paper. But here’s the catch: the other team members can’t help them at all, or their team will lose a point! When you say go, that person will hold up their board or paper to show their answer. You or a student helper will keep track of the points. At the end, the team with the most points is the winner!

3. Quiz, Quiz, Trade

How it works: Playing “Quiz, Quiz, Trade” is a super fun way to blend learning and social interaction! First, get your hands on some index cards and write different questions on one side—these can cover anything from math problems to vocabulary words. Each player should have a stack of these cards. To start the game, students pair up with someone nearby and take turns quizzing each other using their cards. When one partner answers correctly, they trade cards so they can keep the learning going! After a set time or when all cards are traded, players switch partners—this shuffles things up and ensures everyone gets to learn from different friends. Keep it casual; the goal is teamwork and fun while reinforcing knowledge. It’s like a game of tag but for learning—perfect for classrooms or informal study groups!

How to set it up: The teacher will need to prep the index cards with the question on one side and the answer on the other side.

4. The Flashcard Game

How It Works: In this activity, students pair up and use flashcards to review in three rounds. Each pair receives a set of flashcards. – In **Round 1**, Student A uses the flashcards to quiz Student B, providing as many clues as needed for Student B to guess the answer. Afterward, they switch roles, and Student B quizzes Student A. – In **Round 2**, fewer clues are provided. If the student doesn’t know the answer after one or two clues, the card goes back in the deck to try again later. – In **Round 3**, no clues are given at all.

How to Set It Up: This activity requires a set of flashcards for each pair of students, which may take some time to prepare. To save time, consider having students create their own sets of flashcards based on a worksheet, textbook, or their notes. This process is a valuable learning activity in itself and serves as a great precursor to the flashcard game.

5. Competition

How it works: Enhance the engagement of any worksheet by turning it into a group contest where the first team to answer all the questions correctly (or the most questions correctly) wins. The key is to assign specific questions to each student. For example, if the worksheet contains 20 questions and your students are in groups of four, write on the board:

Student A does #2, 4, 6, 10, & 15
Student B does #1, 5, 7, 11 & 14
Student C does #3, 8, 9, 12, & 13
And so on.

Everyone can help each other as needed. With this method, each student feels personal responsibility. No one can skate by simply sitting around watching the rest of the group work.

How to set it up: Minimal setup is needed on this one. Simply divide your class into groups, hand out the worksheet, and write on the board which student does which problems. That’s it! An alternative would be to cut out each question and lay them face down and student pick from the pile — those are the questions the student will answer. Have students discuss each of their findings, followed by a class discussion.

6. The Scavenger Hunt

How it works: Students have 7 sections to complete. Students will complete one section at a time, and once they have correctly answered the section they are working on, they will be allowed to move on to the next section. They are given two opportunities to answer the questions correctly, earning points for each correct answer.

How to set it up: Take a worksheet and reformat the question into however many sections you want to have. This lesson requires instructor active participation throughout the entire process as he/she will be continually assessing the students answers to give them points and the “go-ahead” to move to the next section. Students will be moving about the room and actively engaged in the learning process.

7. Double-Die Scavenger Hunt

How it works: Divide students into groups of 2-4. Team one will roll two dice, one at a time. The first die determines the zone, while the second die determines the question within that zone. For example, if the team rolls a three with the first die, they go to Zone 3. If they then roll a six with the second die, they will answer Question 6 within Zone 3.

How to set it up: The teacher will want to reformat the worksheet into 6 zones, each zone having 6 questions underneath each.

8. Reader, Writer, Runner!

How It works: Each team of three is given a role of reader, writer or runner. The question will be read aloud. The reader will find the answer. The writer will write the answer on a sticky note. The runner will take the sticky note and place it on their assigned place on the wall. We use white adhesive paper and place one on the wall for each team. The first team to reach their answer will place it on their designated area on the wall. They will get points if they answer correctly.

How to Set it Up: Each team of three is given a role of reader, writer or runner. The question will be read aloud. The reader will find the answer. The writer will write the answer on a sticky note. The runner will take the sticky note and place it on their assigned place on the wall. We use white adhesive paper. We place one on the wall for each team. This makes it easier for the sticky notes to stay and a designated place for each team to display their answers.

9. Lines of Communication

How It works: Have students stand in two rows facing each other. Choose a question or problem from a worksheet and read it aloud to the class. Give students 30-60 seconds to discuss their responses and reasoning with the person across from them. Give a signal for each student to then move one position to the right (the student without a partner at the end simply walks to the other end to find his or her new partner.) Continue playing until students have discussed all the questions. You may also try giving student an answer, and having them work with their partner to brainstorm possible questions/problems for that answer.

How to Set it Up: There is very little preparation other than the teacher mentally preparing which question to ask and preparing the answers.