My ZAP! board has been lurking in my classroom closet most of our CC year and this week it makes its grand debut in my Masters/Journeymen class of 3rd-5th graders. This game holds the edge-of-your-seat suspense of not knowing whether you’ll be rewarded or punished each turn. You may inflict the agony of losing points on the opposing team, or (GASP!) lose your points instead! Who knows? The uncertainty is thrilling!

ZAP! is a simple game that you can adapt to any subject you’d like to review. Make up a game board. Mine is on a tri-fold that was cluttering up my garage. You could use a poster/foam board as well. I used library pockets in bright colors with large numbered circle punches . Glued them down in the middle of the board and printed ZAP! cards from 5th Grade Rocks 5th Grade Rules to slip inside the pockets. You can also find print/fold/glue make your own pockets on her site.

But, you don’t have to get all fancy with printed cards. You could go the old school 3×5 index card route and just write-up your own. Some ideas to write:
ZAP other team
Switch scores with the other team
Add two points to your team score
ZAP both teams
Add to points to the other team’s score
ZAP your team
ZAP the other team (second time)
Subtract two points from your team’s score
Both scores stay the same
Add two points to the other team
Blank (which means nothing happens)

Or, you could make cards that don’t give/take points, but the reader has to perform an action. Such as:
Jump Up and Down
Run Around the Room Twice
Do 5 Push-ups
Crab Walk Back to Your Desk
Bunny Hop
Shark Attack

The possibilities are endless!

Depending on your class tolerance for torture, you can mix in just a few ZAP! cards, or have the majority drawn be some kind of negative result. I made mine about a 70/30 mix. Enjoy!

Print ZAP Instructions