Electronic Quiz Boards

This is one of those easy things to make that students get excited about. An easy set of review questions can be turned in to a kinetic activity for students. Students use the boards using a small circuit made of a light bulb and a small battery. I use a bulb and wire cut from an old strand of Christmas lights and a AA battery. Students connect one end of the wire to the hole near the question, for the orange vocabulary one on the right for instance they would hold this wire to the hole under #1. That wire connects to the light bulb and to the battery and the other end connects to the answer choice the students use. If their answer is wrong, the light bulb won't light up. If they are right and choose D. Ampere the light bulb will light!

These are easy for you to make or for your students to make. You can use use either card stock or a manila folder, the advantage of the manila folder is that the back can be hidden. You or your students must write questions with multiple answer choices on the front of the paper. Ample spacing will be necessary. Using a single hole punch, make a hole next to each question and near each answer choice.

Cut small strips of foil half an inch wide. On the back of the paper connect the question to the hole of the correct answer choice so it covers the open hole at each end. Be sure this strip doesn't block any other holes. Cover the strip with masking tape, it's easiest to cover it by matching the length of the foil to the length of tape. Put a small piece of foil behind the other answer choices, this foil can block more than one answer choice as long as it does not touch the correct answer choice foil. Again cover with masking tape. From the front there should be no differences in the look of the multiple choice answers.

On the left the orange example board is  the vocabulary matching one shown above. In this type the insulating masking tape is important so that the light bulb only lights when the correct term is matched with that question. The other answer choices not used are given foil and tape but aren't connected to the question side and thus will never light the bulb if chosen. On the right a close up of the example one I added red circles to show you where the original hole punches are. Make sure the foil you added to the wrong answers (so that they don't look any different from the front) don't touch the piece of foil that connects the right answer to the question.

 

This takes a small amount of prep but the engagement is much higher. Students are more excited to check their answers to problems when they can visually see the light bulb light up. You can also use a small electrical buzzer the same way. How else do you think you can use this technique?