12 Revision Lesson Ideas: Set Students Up for Success

When exams loom large on the horizon and all thoughts turn to revision, how do your students respond? As teachers, we’ve all experienced the pressure of that time of year, and the despairing cries of classes who try to convince you - and themselves - that they’ve forgotten everything they were ever taught. 

But revision lessons don’t need to be painful. Pacy lessons using effective and engaging revision strategies can make all the difference in consolidating knowledge, boosting confidence and improving your student outcomes. 

Here are 12 tried-and-tested revision activities tailored for UK secondary school teachers supporting GCSE students. Each one is simple to run, time-efficient, and adaptable for a range of subjects, so you can set your students up for success.

Retrieval Grids

Create a 3x3 or 4x4 grid of questions across different topics. Include a range of difficulty levels, starting with simple recall and building to more complex questions. Students can choose which ones to answer, earning more points for the harder ones.

Retrieval practice builds memory and makes students think harder about what they know and don’t.

Flashcard Frenzy

Give your students the opportunity to create flashcards with questions on one side and answers on the other. Encourage them to include key definitions, keywords, and information on the ‘answer’ side. Students can use their flashcards to quiz one another. You can ‘gamify’ this stage by using time limits or scorekeeping.

Flashcards promote active recall and spaced repetition, two of the most powerful revision techniques. Students will leave your lesson with a useful resource to use at home.

Digital tools such as Quizlet can help with this process. These can be shared across classes or used for collaborative revision online.

Past Paper Carousel

Print out exam questions and place them around the room on large sheets of paper. In groups, students rotate through them, answering and peer-assessing as they go.

This helps students familiarise themselves with exam formats and sample questions, while developing time management and critical thinking skills.

Brain Dumps

Give students a topic and two minutes to write down everything they know. Then ask them to compare notes in pairs, in a small group or as a class. They can add anything they missed out originally in a different colour.

Brain dumps are a great way to build memory and encourage collaboration.

Teach It Back

Ask students to explain a revision topic to a partner or the class without notes. If they can teach it, they probably understand it well enough to answer exam questions on that topic.

Teaching others is one of the most powerful ways to learn.

Revision Clocks

Divide a sheet of A3 into 12 segments, like a clock face. Put the name of a different subtopic in each section. Students will spend just five minutes completing each segment. Across the hour’s lesson, they will build up a wheel of information on a topic, racing the clock to fill in each section.

This is brilliant for breadth of revision and keeping the session pacy. At the end of the lesson, students will have a completed knowledge organiser to consult in their own revision time.

Graphic Organisers

Use mind maps, flowcharts or concept maps to represent key information visually. You could scaffold these or let students design their own. Encourage the use of colour and diagrams, if appropriate.

Visual representations help students make links and structure their thinking.

Post-it Priorities

Give each student three Post-it notes. They write down three key facts or ideas from the topic, one on each note. Then they stick them on the board, group them, and discuss the most important ones as a class.

This encourages evaluation and collaborative refinement of key knowledge.

'Just a Minute' Explanations

Ask students to explain a topic out loud for one minute without hesitation, repetition, or deviation. They can do this in pairs or in front of the class.

This sharpens verbal recall and encourages a clear understanding of content.

Red Pen/Green Pen Review

Give students a sample exam answer, which might be a piece of work they have previously completed. Students use red pens to identify what could be improved. Then they make the improvements in green pen.

This encourages students to think carefully about answering exam questions successfully. If working on their own writing, it will help them to develop self-assessment and editing skills.

Card Sorts

Provide students with mixed-up cards, each containing definitions, processes, quotes or diagrams. Students work in pairs to match or sequence them correctly.

Card sorts support kinaesthetic learners and help organise information. Students can take these cards for their own revision, or you can show them how to create their own versions.

Silent Debate

Write a question or statement on large paper. For example, “Shahadah is the most important Pillar of Islam”. Students walk around and silently add evidence, counterpoints or questions using pens.

I’ve used this strategy successfully in Religious Studies revision. It promotes thoughtful analysis and inclusive participation, helping students build the depth of argument needed for high-mark responses. It can be easily adapted to subjects like English and History, where extended writing is key.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a good revision lesson activity?

A good revision activity encourages active recall, promotes engagement, and focuses on the specific knowledge or skills needed for the exam. 

Revision lessons should challenge students just enough to reinforce learning without overwhelming them. Activities that involve movement, discussion, and variety, such as low-stakes quizzes, flashcard games, or peer teaching, all help to keep motivation high while supporting retention.

How often should I run revision lessons?

You don’t need to wait until exam season, as regular, low-pressure revision lessons throughout the year help embed knowledge over time. As we all know, spaced, consistent revision is far more effective than last-minute cramming. 

In the run-up to exams, consider increasing the frequency of revision lessons to once or twice a week. You can offer a mix of whole-class reviews and more targeted sessions based on gaps in student understanding. 

How else can I support students with their revision?

Beyond the classroom, you can provide students with structured resources like revision checklists, practice questions and model answers. 

Teach students how to revise effectively in your subject area, showing them how to break down topics into manageable chunks. You can model techniques like retrieval practice and spacing.

Help your students to plan their own revision schedule and reflect with them on their progress. Encouragement, reassurance, and consistency all go a long way towards helping students stay focused and confident.

Boost Student Outcomes with Save My Exams

At Save My Exams, you’ll find everything you need to keep your students on track for exam success. Comprehensive exam-specific revision notes, flashcards, tutorial videos and clear illustrations will help to enhance your lessons.

Use our extensive range of questions with pre-written model answers to show your students how to score the most marks in their exams. Download exam questions as PDFs to share them easily with your students offline, or use our Test Builder tool to craft your own end-of-unit tests.

All of our content has been created by your fellow professionals, teachers and examiners who know exactly what you need your students to learn and what the exam boards are looking for. You’ll save valuable time, while giving your students the very best shot at success.

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