Survivor: an end-of-the-year review game

Hey look! First day of blogging and already on my second post! I can promise I won't be posting this often once I really get going. The reason I'm posting again so soon is to share with you a game we play at the end of the year to get ready for the EOG. The EOG (End-Of-Grade) tests are given to students every year; each year they take a math test and a language arts test, and in sixth grade they also have to take a science test. These poor kids are tested to death, but what can ya do about it :/
Not much, except try to prepare them, especially for the big ones that "matter". So here is how we do it. I have no idea where the concept for this game came from- for all I know the teacher down the hall created it. If this is wrong and you know where it came from PLEASE let me know so I can give credit.
We have managed to carve out two weeks before the test to play this game; the 7th grade is playing for about 3 or 4 weeks. I think 3 or 4 weeks would be ideal, but we just don't have that kind of time to spare. As a prep, I did research to find what percent of our test will be spent on each strand in our standards. We use Common Core State Standards and in 6th grade have 5 strands (Number Systems, Expressions and Equations, Geometry, Ratios and Proportions, and Statistics and Probability). I used these percentages to find out how many of our days we will devote to each strand in this game; for example, Number Systems is 27-31% of our test, so we are spending 30% of our Survivor days on this strand.
The first day with the students is a prep day. We randomly divide them into groups of 4, and each group is a "Tribe". Each tribe has a file folder and they get some time on the first day to come up with their tribe name and decorate their folder. We also introduce how the game will run and the rules they must follow. After that each day is the same.
Because of our time in class each day has 2 20-minute rounds. During each round the teams work on a worksheet; they all have the same 10 multiple choice questions, and I pulled these questions from SchoolNet (a bank of questions provided by our state). After 20 minutes working on those 10 questions the teacher calls time and all talking must stop (teams lose points if they continue to talk). Now each team has "cards" (full sheets of computer paper) with the letters A, B, C, and D on them. I tell my student I recommend they delegate a card to each tribe member, so Bobby only has to worry about the A card, while Susie covers the B card, and so on. I call out "Question 1" and each tribe holds up the card that matches their answer; so if they answered D for question one, they would hold up the D card. If they hesitate (look at the other tribes to find their answer) they don't get the point, if they hold up more than one card they don't get the point (even if one of the cards is correct). I look around at the cards in the air and give a point to each tribe that answered the question correctly. I do this until we have gone through all the answers. (Some side notes, I split the white boards around my room into sections for each tribe, this is where I keep track of the points, so the tribes can see how they are doing. I also keep track of which questions most tribes got wrong, so we can review those questions). After that we repeat this process for round 2.
After round 2 we see which two tribes had the lowest number of points. Those two tribes each vote someone off (by writing names on paper, so it's anonymous). Once a student has been voted off a tribe, they can't be voted off again until they are in a tribe where everyone has been voted off, so it keeps the kids from being picked on. The two students voted off their tribes "challenge" each other; they race to answer a math question correctly and complete 10 push ups or 15 jumping jacks. The student who "wins" gets to chose which tribe they go to and who-from that new tribe- they are sending back to their old tribe. The old tribe of the student who "loses" gets to chose where that person goes and who they get in return.
The last part of each day is a tribe quiz on the topics covered that day. Each tribe works together on the 10-question quiz, and the tribe with the most points from the two rounds is exempt (and I give them candy). The tribes take the quiz before any members switch tribes.
We repeat that cycle each day: round 1 (20 minutes), round 2 (20 minutes), vote (5 minutes), challenge (10 minutes), quiz (25 minutes). I also keep track of the number of questions each class answers correctly. The classes compete to have the highest percentage, because the highest class gets donuts and a movie one day after testing has finished (and I get the good donuts :) ).
Now, if you have a class (or classes) that you're thinking can't handle this- they can't stay on task, or they fight too much, or whatever reason- I'll have you know I was in the same boat last year. Our students were HORRIBLE; they were disrespectful, easy distracted from their work, had a lot of short fuses, etc.  But this game actually worked. The rounds are short, so they don't have time to lose interest, the teams fluctuate so students who don't get along won't  be stuck with each other long, and students who don't pull their weight our voted off. Keeping track of the class percentage also got them to work together as a class, encouraging other tribes to do well.
I do believe I have covered everything, but if you have any questions just let me know.

A Little About Me

This is my first post in my first blog, and I've been wanting to blog for a while but didn't feel I have much to say that anyone would want to read. I still don't have a lot to add to the world, but today is my last day of spring break and honestly, I'm procrastinating doing the work I need to do. Like if I avoid getting ready for tomorrow, then it won't come and I'll stay on break forever. (Wouldn't it be nice if it worked that way!)
Ok, so here is a little about me. My name is Emily Brown; I grew up in Ohio, went to college in Ohio (Go Rockets!) and then decided I was done with the cold. I'm not a fan of snow- I've seen enough of it to last a lifetime- I like warmth and palm trees. So I decided I would move south, and here I am :) I didn't get the palm trees, but I did get away from the snow, for the most part.
I'm wrapping up my second year down here, and I'm so glad I moved. I'm in a school with more technology than we know what to do with, and surrounded by awesome people I'm blessed enough to call friends. I teach in a rural middle school and let me tell you, there's never a dull moment. Our kids are rough, and some of their home lives make me cry and beyond grateful I grew up how I did, but I feel like I'm really making a difference for some of them. Not as many as I thought I would when I was in college- when every pre-service teacher thinks they're going to change the world- but enough to keep me coming back each day.
In Ohio I was actually certified to teach 7-12 grades, but got down here, North Carolina tacked 6th grade onto my license, and my principal put me in a 6th grade classroom, so here I am. My original plan had been to go to grad school right away. I wanted to be US Secretary of Education (because I figured at the top, no one could tell me "NO!" when I tried to make changes in policy) and change education policies, but I didn't get into grad school (they failed to mention- and I was too naive to know- teaching experience was required for the program). I then went to Plan B: Teach For America. They would find me a job across the county, provide a support system, pay off my loans, and look good on my resume. Needless to say that didn't work out, and I didn't have a Plan C- because I'm an overachiever and have always been fine with just a Plan A- so I spent a semester living at home, reading, and pinning like crazy (Pinterest, for those of you who may not know what it means to "pin").
So I think that's all there is to know about me. On a personal note, I have a cat I adopted in college, his name is Kolby, and he is the softest cat on the face of the earth. It's just the two of us here. The rest of my immediate family is in Ohio but my brother is moving down in August to go to law school at Campbell (congratulations Bubby!).
As I said before, this is my first time blogging, so forgive me (and PLEASE tell me) if I do something wrong, and I'll try to post as often as I can. I plan to focus on my math class; some of the crazy things that happen, the activities we do and just some reflections on how things are going. Our school is 1-to-1, so every student has a laptop; I have a laptop, desktop, SMARTboard, and document camera. I have also bought an iPad I use for different things relating to work. Our classes our 80 minutes this year and I have been doing my best to use/make Interactive Notebooks this year. I tell you this to give you a foundational understanding of what my classroom "looks" like.
And here my first blog post ends. Check back periodically for a window into the Madness in Math Class!