The 5 Best ACT Prep Games

The 5 Best ACT Prep Games SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips There’s a new craze in test prep: games. Vocab games, math games, reading games- you might think you could study for the entire ACT with just ACT prep games! Unfortunately for you, this is not really true. The majority of ACT practice games are either downright bad or just far less helpful than completing actual ACT practice questions. In this article I’ll discuss the prep game trend, explain why most prep games aren’t so great, present some criteria on what makes a good ACT prep game, offer some game recommendations, and lend advice on how to incorporate them into your studying. ACT Prep Games: A New Trend The term â€Å"gamification† describes attempts to make regular, tedious life tasks more fun and exciting by making them like games. There are apps that gamify exercise, productivity, chores, finance, and even household shopping. Given the ever-increasing circle of things that have been gamified, it’s no surprise that so many companies have tried to gamify ACT prep. Both tiny app developers and test-prep giants like Kaplan and the Princeton Review have gotten on the ACT game train. The general principle seems to be that if studying for the ACT is fun, you’ll want to do it. Hence, ACT practice games will get you to spend more time preparing. But is this true? And even if it is, is the preparation you get from playing games comparable to that from less fun and exciting modes of studying? If cleaning my apartment was a game, I would probably do it more often. Why Most ACT Prep Games Are Sub-Par The sad fact is that there aren’t actually very many ACT practice games that will provide any kind of substantial help on ACT prep. In fact, some games may even be detrimental because you play them thinking you are getting in some valuable preparation when you really aren’t. The problem with many ACT prep games is that they are often glorified multiple-choice quizzes. Creators try to dress them up with competitive elements, power-ups, and other game-like features, but the fact remains that most operate under a basic mechanic of answering multiple-choice questions. This would maybe be fine if the questions in the games were high quality. But unfortunately, in many games the questions don’t resemble actual ACT questions at all. Answers are sometimes truly ambiguous or unclear, and explanations are often lacking or nonexistent. If a game’s primary conceit is presenting you with â€Å"ACT-style† multiple-choice questions, I advise you to stay away from it unless you can thoroughly vet that the questions actually resemble ACT questions. You are much better off using genuine ACT practice testsif you need more sample questions to prep for the ACT. It might be marginally more fun to see yourself get points for correct questions and advance on leaderboards in an app or on a website, but you’ll be much happier in the long run if you spend that time answering well-written sample questions that actually help you. Get real about the quality of your practice questions! What Makes a Good ACT Prep Game With all those warnings said, that doesn’t mean there are no games out there that might help you prep for the ACT. There are three main things that make a useful ACT prep game: #1: It Targets a Specific ACT Skill or Content Area A game doesn’t necessarily have to be specifically designed for the ACT to be helpful, but it does need to help you learn or review a specific concept or content area that’s tested on the ACT- trigonometry, the scientific method, punctuation, etc. Building skills or knowledge in a specific area you are struggling in will be much more useful to you for the ACT than a game that just offers half-baked multiple choice questions with poorly-worded answers. #2: It's Engaging A prep game doesn’t have to be the most exciting experience of your life, but if it’s really boring, you might as well just take practice tests instead. It needs to engage your brain so that it actually feels at least a little bit fun, or else what’s the point? #3: The Content Is Accurate It’s critical that any prep game (and any study materials you are using, period) present information and content that is accurate. There’s nothing worse than studying from an incorrect source, so be sure to vet any games before you use them! Additionally, in games with quiz-like interfaces, multiple-choice questions should actually resemble real ACT questions. May your test prep content be as accurate as your watch. 5Solid ACT Prep Game Sources There are several sources where you might look for actually useful ACT games. Sheppards Software This site has a variety of simple, educational flash games for pre-K through 12th grade. The math page has games for probability, algebra, geometry, and several other topics that appear the ACT. There are also word games in the Language Arts section that test your skill with punctuation and parts of speech. This is a solid resource if you find yourself getting stuck on a particular concept in math or Englishand you just need to drill recall in a non-boring way. FreeRice FreeRice is an online game in which you answer questions to fill up your bowl of rice; every correct question answered actually provides rice to someone in need, which is cool. I advise using the English grammar mode to study for the English section of the ACT. It will help fine-tune your ability to identify grammar mistakes in sentences. NYTimes Student Crosswords This page has printable crosswords (and answer keys) in a variety of academic subjects, several of which could definitely function as a fun review of some key subject-matter concepts for the ACT. For example, check out grammar, geometry, and algebra. Quizlet With a free account on Quizlet, you can make your own set of custom flashcards with the concepts you really need to learn. Once you make a set, you can play two game modes with the terms. There’s a matching game and a game where you prevent asteroids from hitting the planet by typing the correct answer. You can also access thousands of flashcard sets that others have uploaded to the site, including a variety of ACT prep sets. However, you’ll want to check out a set before you use it to study to make sure it actually has useful (and correct) information. ACT Math Jeopardy You can play this ACT math jeopardy game by yourself or in teams. A fun way to practice your ACT-style math questions. There are also SAT question categories, but they aren’t substantively different from the ACT ones. Find true test prep game love. How To Use ACT Prep Games in Your Own Studying ACT games won’t replace the bulk of your normal preparation activities. However, they can supplement your studying in a few key ways. Use 1: To Target Specific Skills/Concepts If you’re having trouble with a specific skill or concept, a game can be a great way to try to drill down on it. If commas or semicolons stump you, find a punctuation game! If triangles trouble you, play a trigonometry or geometry game. Use 2: To Keep Material Fresh Between Study Sessions A few rounds of an ACT prep game can be a solid way to keep material fresh in your mind during times when you aren’t engaging in dedicated prep for that subject. A couple ACT Jeopardy questions will help keep your math brain running smoothly when you spend a couple days studying English during your set-aside study sessions! Use 3: For Warm-Ups, Breaks, and Rewards Games are useful for warming up your brain at the beginning of a study session. They can also be used for breaks and rewards. This will help keep studying from getting too stressful while still keeping your brain working throughout a session! Another kind of warm-up. Key Takeaways Is it possible to completely gamify your ACT studying and be successful? Probably not. Because most prep games are just poorly-written ACT quizzes, you are better off sticking with more traditional practice problems and tests. However, there are some characteristics that make for a useful ACT prep game: It targets skills and content you need to know for the ACT It’s engaging It presents accurate information There are several sources you might look for to find game-like resources for SAT prep: Sheppards Software - Simple flash games for math and English concepts. FreeRice - Has an English grammar mode that’s useful for the English test. NYTimes Student Crosswords - For reviewing fundamental concepts in a subject. Quizlet - Make your own flashcards and then play games with them! ACT Math Jeopardy - Practice questions in a fun Jeopardy-style interface. While they won’t replace most of your studying, there are some targeted ways you might deploy SAT prep games as part of your preparation plan: To target specific skills/concept areas you are weak in Keeping material fresh between study sessions Warm-ups, breaks, and rewards during studying These tips will help you get the most out of your ACT prep games! What's Next? Looking for more ACT resources? See our master list of ACT study guides. Or see our list of the best 2016 ACT prep books. Stumped on a particular question type? Check out our guide to every ACT question type. Taking the SAT as well? See our ultimate SAT study guide!If you need a score boost, we have 15 tips to improve your SAT score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

7 Famous Quotes From American Writer Jack London

7 Famous Quotes From American Writer Jack London Jack London was an American writer, famous for The Call of the Wild, Sea Wolf, Before Adam, Iron Heel, and many other works. Many of his novels were based on his real-life experiences as an adventurer and sailor. Here Are a Few Quotes From Jack London I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.- Jack LondonPictures! Pictures! Pictures! Often, before I learned, did I wonder whence came the multitudes of pictures that thronged my dreams; for they were pictures the like of which I had never seen in real wake-a-day life. They tormented my childhood, making of my dreams a procession of nightmares and a little later convincing me that I was different from my kind, a creature unnatural and accursed.- Jack London, Before AdamThe soft summer wind stirs the redwoods, and Wild-Water ripples sweet cadences over its mossy stones. There are butterflies in the sunshine, and from everywhere arises the drowsy hum of bees. It is so quiet and peaceful, and I sit here, and ponder, and am restless. It is the quiet that makes me restless. It seems unreal. All the world is quiet, but it is the quiet before the storm. I strain my ears, and all my senses, for some betrayal of that impending storm. Oh, that it may not be premature! That it may not be premature!- Jack London, Iron Heel The one opened the door with a latch-key and went in, followed by a young fellow who awkwardly removed his cap. He wore rough clothes that smacked of the sea, and he was manifestly out of place in the spacious hall in which he found himself. He did not know what to do with his cap, and was stuffing it into his coat pocket when the other took it from him. The act was done quietly and naturally, and the awkward young fellow appreciated it. He understands, was his thought. Hell see me through all right.- Jack London, Martin EdenBuck did not read the newspapers, or he would have known that trouble was brewing, not alone for himself, but for every tidewater dog, strong of muscle and with warm, long hair, from Puget Sound to San Diego. Because men, groping in the Arctic darkness, had found a yellow metal, and because steamship and transportation companies were booming the find, thousands of men were rushing into the Northland. These men wanted dogs, and the dogs they wanted were heavy dogs , with strong muscles by which to toil, and furry coats to protect them from the frost.- Jack London, The Call of the Wild All my life I have had an awareness of other times and places. I have been aware of other persons in me. Oh, and trust me, so have you, my reader that is to be. Read back into your childhood, and this sense of awareness I speak of will be remembered as an experience of childhood. You were then not fixed, not crystallized. You were plastic, a soul in flux, a consciousness and an identity in the process of formingay, of forming and forgetting.- Jack London, The Star RoverDark spruce forest frowned on either side the frozen waterway. The trees had been stripped by a recent wind of their white covering of frost, and they seemed to lean toward each other, black and ominous, in the fading light. A vast silence reigned over the land.- Jack London, White Fang