A number or letter cube with six numbers or letters.  I do not use dice with dots.  I got the number cube from a specialty game store that has Dungeons & Dragons books and other card games.  The letter cubes I got at an educational supply store.

Different colors of marbles or other colorful items for group colors.  The amount is based on the size of your class and number of groups.

A bowl that the students can’t see through to draw items from (marbles or other items).

Books that the students can use to find the answers to your questions. Every student needs one.

Instructions: 

Groups can be set up in several ways.  Groups need to have six students, but there always seems to be one group that has fewer than six.  You can give the students two minutes to get in groups of six.  You can choose the groups or you can use six of the same color marbles/other item to give to each student as they come in the door.  You will need 36 or the number for your class with six items of each color.  If you don’t use this number of items just take six, or the number you need, different colors and have a representative of each group choose one.  I do this by having a student from each group reach into a bowl they can’t see into to make the choice random.

Each student in the group will represent a number or letter depending on the six sided cube you use.  Groups that have less than six students will have students that represent more than one number or letter.  Each group has a color.  Put the colors on the board.

Use a timer.  When used for review I give one minute to the students to look up the answers.  When used to teach new material I give two to three minutes depending on the difficulty of the question.  Time can be different for each question or the same.

Make sure to tell the students that one of them will be responsible to answer for the class.  Ask a question, start the timer, then roll the cube near the end of the time and choose a color from the bowl. When the timer goes off have the student that represents that number/letter from that color group answer the question.  I call the number first then the color to add a little drama.

I give one point for the correct answer within 30 seconds.  If the student has started to answer I allow that student to complete the answer.  If the answer is correct the group received a point.  If the answer is incorrect choose another color.  At this time you can also call a different number/letter if you wish and give a point to the group with the correct answer.

This is aimed at getting all students involved in learning and works well for all learners.