Episode 21: How I Review for Semester Exams

🎙️ Ep. 21 – Simple Semester Exam Review Strategies that Keep Students Engaged

Episode Intro

In this episode of The Confident Chemistry Teacher Podcast, I’m sharing my favorite strategies for reviewing before semester exams — without losing your sanity or your students’ attention. You’ll discover how to keep students engaged during review days, balance independent and active learning, and design meaningful practice materials that actually prepare them for success.

By the end of this episode, you’ll learn how to:

✅ Create and organize a semester exam review that balances student independence and active learning.

✅ Use warmups, practice tests, and collaborative review games to reinforce essential skills.

✅ Set up simple systems to reduce teacher burnout while still helping students feel prepared and confident. ✅ Incorporate technology (like ChatGPT!) to build custom practice tests when you don’t have access to a test generator.

Activities / Labs Featured:

• Warmup Questions – Short, high-impact review problems that align with the semester exam format.
• Practice Test Creation – How to build a student-friendly practice test using ChatGPT screenshots.
• Partner or Group Review Games – Examples include quiz-quiz-trade, whiteboarding, slide decks, and rock-paper-scissors review.
• Task Cards Around the Room – Engaging movement-based review with problem sets and friendly competition.
• Graphic Organizers & Flip Books – Tools for helping students visualize key unit relationships and concepts.

Next Episode Teaser Next time, I’ll be sharing what I do each day for my mole unit. Don’t miss it!

For more information or to join the Confident Chemistry Teacher community, check out:

🌐 Website: chemschemistryclassroom.com

👩‍🏫 Facebook Group: The Confident Chemistry Teacher Community

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