Making Review Weeks Meaningful: How to Teach Intentionally Before Breaks and During Catch-Up Weeks
Review weeks and the days leading up to a break can easily slip into “filler time,” especially when students are tired, excited, or out of routine. But these pockets of time are some of the most valuable instructional moments we have. They allow us to slow down, revisit essential skills, remediate gaps, and strengthen what students need most in order to move forward confidently.
When used intentionally, review weeks are not downtime. They are strategic learning windows.
Why Review Weeks Matter
Students need time to revisit skills before they can grow. Whether it is right before a break or during a planned review week, slowing down to reinforce objectives helps students strengthen retention, rebuild confidence, and prevent regression.
Meaningful review:
Deepens understanding
Helps students correct misconceptions
Prepares them for upcoming units
Gives teachers clarity on what to reteach
Creates opportunities for student-led practice
Reviewing isn’t about doing the same lesson again. It is about strengthening the skill through new, engaging formats that make it stick.
Why Reviewing Data Should Guide Your Review Week
If review weeks are going to be effective, they must be grounded in data. Looking at exit tickets, quizzes, bell work, benchmark data, or even small group notes will show you exactly where students need support.
Data helps you answer questions like:
What do most students still struggle with?
Which standards need reteaching?
Who needs small group intervention?
What skills are essential for the next unit?
When review time is aligned to real student needs, remediation becomes meaningful instead of random. Students get the targeted support they need, and teachers avoid teaching “in the dark.”
How Remediation Helps Prevent Regression
Regression happens when students are expected to move forward without fully mastering foundational skills. Review weeks give you the chance to close those gaps before they grow.
Intentional remediation:
Strengthens long-term retention
Prevents skill decay over long breaks
Supports struggling learners without singling them out
Builds academic confidence
Creates smoother transitions into new content
When skills are revisited in a structured, engaging way, students maintain progress instead of losing it.
Engaging Ways to Review and Remediate
Here are practical ways to make review weeks meaningful, whether you are reviewing before a break or during a mid-unit reset:
1. Stations or Rotations
Set up multiple review stations targeting different standards or skills.
Examples:
Vocabulary review
Skill-specific practice
Task cards
Mini assessments
Technology station
Students move through each station, giving you time to pull small groups for focused remediation.
2. Game-Based Review
Turn practice into competition or collaboration.
Ideas:
Jeopardy style games
Kahoot or Wayground (Quizizz)
Relay races with task cards
Whiteboard challenges
Students stay engaged while practicing core skills.
3. Choice Boards
Give students structured options for how they want to review.
Choices might include:
Create a summary
Complete practice problems
Record an explanation video
Create a diagram or graphic organizer
Teach the concept to a partner
Choice increases ownership and motivation.
4. Spiral Review Warm-Ups
Use bell work as smaller, daily review opportunities.
Examples:
One question from each unit
Short constructed response
Error analysis problems
Spiral warm-ups help you catch misconceptions quickly.
5. Small Group Mini Lessons
Use data to create targeted small groups.
Focus on:
Reteaching missed skills
Practicing foundational skills
Modeling strategies
Correcting misunderstandings
These quick mini lessons make a big impact during review weeks.
6. Exit Ticket Challenges
Simple exit tickets daily can show immediate growth.
Prompts might include:
“One skill I mastered today is…”
“One thing I need to review again is…”
Standard-specific short answer questions
These give insight into what needs attention the next day.
7. Review Through Projects
Allow students to show understanding through creative projects.
Examples:
Posters
Podcast-style summaries
Concept maps
Demonstrations or models
Projects make review feel fresh and meaningful.
Reflection Questions
How often am I using data to drive review and remediation?
Are my review weeks meaningful, intentional, and aligned to student needs?
What engagement strategies help my students review best?
How can I use review time to prevent regression instead of simply filling time?
Review weeks are not “extra time.” They are essential instructional moments that allow students to strengthen foundational skills, rebuild confidence, and prevent regression. When guided by data and structured through intentional, engaging strategies, review weeks can transform understanding and set students up for long-term success.
