(Zero Pinterest fluff. 100% chaos-approved by teenagers who hate reading)
I used to give vocabulary quizzes in silence while questioning my life choices.
Now the same kids who “forgot” to read chapter three are screaming “THAT’S FORESHADOWING YOU TRAITOR” at 8:12 a.m. because someone just tanked the team on symbolism.
These are the only eight English kits that have survived 1,400+ live games with actual teenagers who can smell weakness from three hallways away.
Copy → paste → watch your review days become the loudest, highest-retention lessons of the year.
1. Vocabulary “Murder Mystery” Kit – My Friday Religion
80 semester words split into 8 rounds of 10
Each round titled like a Netflix true-crime episode:
- Round 1: The Body in the Library
- Round 2: The Missing Alibi
- Round 8: The Final Confession
Every question uses a sentence pulled straight from the current novel.
Example:
“His ALLEVIATE smile did nothing to ease her fears.”
A) fake B) genuine C) nervous D) relieved
Run in Trust No One mode.
The betrayal screams when someone deliberately picks wrong on “ephemeral” are better than coffee.
2. Literary Devices “Who Did It?” – The One That Ended My Symbolism Lectures Forever
Quote from current text with device underlined.
Four choices: metaphor, personification, irony, foreshadowing (the big four they always confuse).
Twist: the three wrong answers are devices that actually appear elsewhere in the same chapter.
Result: They can’t guess. They have to think.
Lord of the Flies Piggy’s glasses question sparked a 15-minute student-led discussion better than anything I’ve ever planned.
3. Quote ID “Suspect Lineup” – Turns Quote Recall Into Blood Sport
20 major quotes.
Four character names as answers.
Winning team picks the next week’s class playlist.
I’ve endured more SoundCloud rappers than any human should, but quote evidence on essays jumped from 42% → 89%.
Worth it.
4. Grammar “Fix This Trash” – Uses Their Own Terrible Sentences (Anonymously)
Every question = one real sentence from their previous essays with exactly one error.
Nothing teaches comma splices faster than seeing their own run-on projected for 30 peers to roast and repair.
Proofreading rate went from ~30% to ~95% overnight.
5. Gatsby “Old Money vs New Money” Civil War
Class split into two permanent teams for the entire unit.
Questions alternate sides:
- West Egg question → New Money answers first
- Wrong = Old Money steals
The trash talk when someone misses “Daisy’s voice is full of money” should be studied by linguists.
6. Poetry “Line-by-Line Boss Battle” – Accidentally Writes Their Analysis Paragraph For Them
Take one poem (14–24 lines).
One question per line/stanza from literal → inferential.
Run in Boss Battle mode with poem projected.
Every correct answer = damage to “The Final Exam Boss.”
When they finally kill it, they’ve just co-written the entire explication out loud.
I transcribe their discussion → hand it back as study guide.
Zero prep. Maximum rigor.
7. Real SAT/ACT Reading Passage Kit – +38 Average Point Gain (Actual 2025 Data)
Paste one official College Board/ACT passage directly into Gimkit (educational fair use).
15 real-test-style questions.
Run every Thursday for juniors.
Average EBWR score jump last year: +38 points
One student went 480 → 690 and brought me homemade cookies.
Still the best cookies I’ve ever eaten.
8. Character Relationship Web – The Evidence Machine
Every question = two characters → their relationship or key interaction.
Romeo and Juliet example:
“Mercutio & Romeo”
A) cousins B) best friends C) rivals D) brothers-in-law by Act 3
Run right before essay writing → watch their analysis paragraphs suddenly contain actual textual evidence instead of “I felt like…”
Golden Rules for English Teachers (Break These and Die)
- Always use quotes from texts they’ve actually read
- Include page/line numbers in questions → trains evidence habits
- Never use “all/none of the above” — trains guessing, not thinking
- Put correct answer explanations in actual quotes when possible
- Keep every kit under 90 questions max (40–60 is perfect)
- Recycle kits 3–4 times per unit — intensity > volume
The One Template I Regret (So You Don’t Have To)
The 300-question “everything we ever read” monster.
Played once.
47 minutes of slow death.
Never again.
English class doesn’t have to be quiet to be rigorous.
It just has to make teenagers care.
These eight kits turned my review days from silent misery into the loudest, highest-achieving periods of the week.
Try the Vocabulary Murder Mystery first.
When the kid who reads at 6th-grade level hits a 31-streak because he’s desperate to solve the fake crime, you’ll delete your paper quizzes the same day.
Literature is supposed to make students feel something.
With Gimkit, that feeling is usually competitive rage.
Close enough.
Save this post.
Steal these templates.
Your classroom is about to sound like March Madness at 8 a.m. on a Tuesday.
And your test scores are about to thank you.