Wednesday, January 4th is National Trivia Day. Fun yet educational trivia games and contests are an excellent way to get your students back into the swing of things after the holiday break. We’ve rounded up some cool facts in a variety of categories, perfect for sharing with students. Classroom trivia works well in a Jeopardy-like game format, but can easily be adapted to flash cards for small groups or quizzes for individual work.
Amazing Animals
For early elementary kids, superlatives are usually an easy way to introduce animal trivia, while older kids can handle more complex questions. You can tailor animal trivia to review your most recent science unit.
Q: Which member of the monkey family lives farther north than any other? A: The Japanese macaque
Q: What is the most endangered sea turtle species? A: Kemp’s Ridleys
For plenty of cool animal facts to share, check out National Geographic’s Animal Quiz page.
Surprising History
Whether it’s state, American, or world history, there are tons of fascinating history facts that kids will enjoy.
Q: Who was the only President to serve more than two terms? A: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Q: Who developed the first successful printing press? A: Johannes Gutenburg
For more history quizzes, try PBS or The History Channel.
Strange Science
From basic biology to astrophysics, the scientific world is full of mind-blowing trivia.
Q: What is the largest living structure on Earth? A: The Great Barrier Reef
Q: Which planet in our solar system has the lowest density, and would therefore float on water? A: Saturn
For more, check out LiveScience.
There are dozens of other categories that are perfect for trivia activities, like pop culture, general knowledge, and sports. You’re bound to find an abundance of shareable facts on the topic of your choice with a quick search on trivia and quiz sites like PlayBuzz, Sporcle, FunTrivia and MentalFloss.
