35 Fun Kahoot Ideas, Tips, Topics, Games, and Questions for Teachers

When students have fun learning, everybody wins.

Kahoot Ideas and Tips. Text reads "Set Kahoot! expectations" and "Let Kahoot! read out questions and answers"
We Are Teachers; Hope Emhoff via pinterest.com; kahoot.com

Teachers and kids love Kahoot! This online quiz game generator is incredibly popular, and for a good reason. Teachers show the questions, and students use the completely safe app on their own devices (like Chromebooks or smartphones) to respond. Basic features are completely free, so you can make all the quizzes you like. If you really love Kahoot, it’s worth upgrading to the paid accounts, which offer tons of useful features. Many of the Kahoot ideas in this roundup require a paid account—find their pricing here.

New Kahoot user? No worries! It’s extremely simple to use. Check out this video guide for a full walk-through. Otherwise, dive right into these cool tips, tricks, and ideas!

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Smart Kahoot Tips for Teachers

Set Kahoot expectations

Poster of Classroom Expectations for Using Kahoot!
Hope Duncan via Pinterest

Kids can get a little competitive when they play games in class, so set some ground rules right up front. Remind kids this is all about the learning, and when they follow the rules, everyone benefits.

Explore the public Kahoot library

Need some quick Kahoot ideas? Save time by using a free public Kahoot from the huge library on the Discover page. It includes ready-to-play quizzes on pretty much any topic you can think of, all created by other teachers and educators.

Edit and customize existing Kahoots

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If you find a Kahoot you like but want to customize it for your class, you may be able to duplicate and edit it. Check out this video to learn how it works.

Let Kahoot read the questions and answers aloud

Empower younger students or those with visual challenges by enabling Read Aloud mode in Kahoot. Kids can hear the questions and possible answers read aloud before they choose their answer. Explore the read-aloud option here.

Enable the Friendly Nickname generator

Kahoot starting screen showing Nickname generator enabled
Friendly Nicknames via kahoot.com

Eliminate inappropriate names and save time by enabling the Friendly Nickname generator on the starting screen. Kahoot automatically assigns each player a silly two-word name, which also gives kids some anonymity while they play. Learn about the Friendly Nickname generator here.

Play without student devices

Square divided into four parts, with red triangle, blue diamond, yellow circle, and green square
No-Device Kahoots via theprimarypeach.com

Playing on devices like phones or Chromebooks is a lot of fun, but it can also cause problems. If you’d like to take devices out of the picture, use this free printable instead! Kids simply fold it to show their answer, then hold it up for the teacher to see. Visit The Primary Peach to get the printable and learn how to use it.

Use Vimeo to add videos to Kahoot

Screen shot showing how to add a Vimeo video to Kahoot
Kahoot and Vimeo via kahoot.com

There are a variety of ways to add videos to Kahoot, including their collaboration with Vimeo. Learn more about how it works here.

Spice up your Kahoots with animated GIFs

Screen shot showing how to add animated gifs to a Kahoot
Kahoot Animated GIFs via kahoot.com

Kids love animated gifs, right? So it’s totally awesome that Kahoot partnered with GIPHY to make it simple to insert pretty much any GIF right into your quizzes. Get the incredibly easy instructions here.

Ask kids to show their thinking

Screenshot of Kahoot! questions asking students to write a linear function to represent a table (Kahoot! Ideas)
Kahoot Reflection Time via mathycathy.com

Here’s a way to use Kahoot to explore topics more deeply. Break questions into multiple sections. Begin by asking kids to explain how they’ll come up with the answer. Give them more time to think, and don’t assign any points for this question. Then, follow that up with a question asking for the answer itself, in a shorter amount of time. Find out more from Mathy Cathy.

Encourage improvement with Ghost mode

Screenshot of Kahoot game results, showing some players marked with a ghost icon (Kahoot! Ideas)
Ghost Mode via kahoot.com

When you’ve finished a game, you have the option to play it again. This time around, repeat players can play against their own “ghosts” to try to better their scores. For each question, the “ghost” version will answer the same way they did in the previous round. At the end, players can see if they managed to improve their scores, showing how much they’ve learned. Explore Ghost mode here.

Add a theme to change the background

Screenshots showing how to add themes to new Kahoots
Kahoot Themes via kahoot.com

Make your Kahoots even more fun when you add a theme. Free users only have access to a limited number of themes, but there are still plenty of choices.

Gather feedback with slide reactions

Screens showing player and presenter views of Kahoot slides with Reaction emojis
Kahoot Reactions via kahoot.com

If you’re teaching a lesson with Kahoot, students can use the Reaction emojis to let you know how they’re feeling about the information in a low-key way. Immediately see if your class is following along or feeling left behind by monitoring their Reaction responses.

Get more tips from Kahoot Academy

Kahoot regularly posts new ideas, tips, and tricks for teachers to try in their Kahoot Academy series. Check it out here.

Clever Kahoot Ideas to Try

Use a Blind Kahoot to introduce new topics

This is one of those brilliant Kahoot ideas you’ll want to try right away. Instead of using the game to reinforce what students already know, teacher Stephanie Castle decided to try to use it to introduce new concepts instead. Through carefully structured questions based on her lesson plan, she gradually helped students understand entirely new material. She found kids were more engaged and truly had a better grasp of the topic. Watch the video to see what it’s all about, then give it a try yourself using this guide, which includes a free blank template.

Combine Kahoot with Bitmoji

Screenshot of a Kahoot! game personalized with Bitmoji (Kahoot! Ideas)
Kahoot and Bitmoji via kahoot.com

Kahoot teamed up with Bitmoji, and it’s a match made in heaven! Teachers and students can use their personal Bitmoji when they play, and it’s free for all users! Find out more here.

Use Reports for formative assessments

Kahoot! Reports page, showing difficult questions from a challenge
Kahoot Reports via kahoot.com

When you assign Kahoot challenges, you’ll receive detailed information about which questions were missed most often, along with score info pinpointing those who got less than 35% correct. This is a terrific way to determine which topics need more review and who needs a little extra help with the subject. Learn more about Kahoot challenges here.

Repeat quizzes using the spacing and testing technique

Illustration showing student stressed out before big test, and calmer after scheduling practice tests
Spacing and Testing via kahoot.com

Taking the same quiz more than once, spaced a few days apart, is a terrific learning technique. It helps students prepare in advance for bigger tests, too. Learn more about how it works here.

Hold lunchtime Kahoot sessions

Kahoot quiz question
Lunchtime Kahoot via www.readerpants.net

Need a way to fill up some indoor recess time, or want to build a sense of camaraderie and community? Try regular lunchtime Kahoots! Learn how one teacher uses them at her school at Mrs. Readerpants.

Collaborate with a jigsaw Kahoot

Jigsaw method anchor chart and screenshot of Kahoot! team mode
Jigsaw Kahoot via eslcarissa.blogspot.com

If you love using the collaborative Jigsaw Method in your classroom, consider adding a team Kahoot competition. With a variety of “resident experts” on each team, students will have even more fun competing. Explore the Jigsaw Method and discover how to use it with Kahoot at Melting Teacher.

Let students create their own quiz right in the app

When you teach something to someone else, you show that you’ve truly mastered it yourself. Have your students create their own Kahoot games for review, then share them with their classmates, right in the app itself! Learn how it works here.

Use a template for student-created Kahoots

Although kids can work right in the app itself, you can gain a little more control by using this template-based process instead. Find out how Minds in Bloom uses it with her students.

Assign Kahoot challenges for homework

Screenshot showing Kahoot! screen to choose between playing a live game or assigning it for self-paced learning (Kahoot! Ideas)
We Are Teachers via Kahoot

When you assign a Kahoot as a challenge, students play on their own, working only to improve their own score. You can turn the timer off if you just want them to focus on the questions and answers, or turn it on to practice skills like math facts that require quick responses. Students can also opt to replay questions until they get them correct, making this an excellent option for pre-test review. Learn how to assign a Kahoot challenge to Google Classroom here.

Follow up with a worksheet

Student playing a Kahoot game with an accompanying worksheet
Kahoot Worksheets via heidisongs.blogspot.com

If you don’t want to assign Kahoot challenges for homework, you can still give kids another chance to review. Create worksheets to go along with your quizzes, or (even better) design your quizzes from worksheets you already have! Learn more from Heidi Songs.

Include Kahoot in your sub plans

Graphic image showing students and teacher playing Kahoot!
Image via Kahoot

Kahoot review games are terrific for substitute teachers to play with students. Make the experience more meaningful by having students explain why each answer is correct before moving on. They’ll love the chance to teach the teacher and show off their knowledge!

Make money with Kahoot Marketplace

Screenshot showing Kahoot Marketplace
Kahoot Marketplace via kahoot.com

Are you a Kahoot expert? Turn your skills into cash! The Kahoot Marketplace allows you to offer your quizzes and other Kahoot activities for payment or donations. Explore your options here.

Kahoot Topics, Games, and Questions for the Classroom

Practice spelling with Kahoot

Kahoot quiz question for the correct spelling of the word "square"
Spelling Kahoot via goingstrongin2ndgrade.com

You really can use this versatile quiz tool for anything. Find out how to make the most of it for spelling practice at Going Strong in 2nd Grade.

Play Would You Rather?

By using the “poll” feature (or making all answers correct), you can turn Would You Rather questions into a Kahoot! Get some free starter questions and learn more from Minds in Bloom.

Host a Kahoot book tournament

Brackets on a wall for a book tournament held using Kahoot
Kahoot Book Tournament via erintegration.com

Have you ever held a tournament to find students’ favorite books? They’re a great way to capitalize on March Madness fun, and you can use Kahoot for voting as you narrow down your brackets. Learn how it works at Erintegration.

Take a Kahoot poll

Kahoot! slide asking What would you prefer for a class reward?

We Are Teachers/Kahoot Poll

If you have one of Kahoot’s upgraded accounts, you have the ability to create polls and surveys. But if you’re using the free plan, you can still make it work! Simply create your question(s), set it for zero points, and mark all answers as correct. When you assign the quiz, turn off the timer. Kids provide their answers, and you’ll see the results for each question, as with any other quiz.

Break the ice with a selfie Kahoot

Illustration saying "Selfie Kahoot" showing students playing in class
Icebreaker Kahoots via kahoot.com

Kahoot ideas like this one make it so much fun for your class to get to know you—and each other! Use the free templates to create a quiz all about yourself for the first day of class. Then, have your students create their own. You can assign them as challenges or do one or two each day in class until everyone has had their turn. Find Kahoot icebreaker templates here.

Host a geography bee

Kahoot question asking students to name the capital of Nepal
Nepal Quiz via kahoot.com

Host your own geography bee using National Geographic’s free official Kahoot ideas and quizzes. Find them all here.

Explore career readiness and student entrepreneurship

Kahoot and Founders Mark student quiz on entrepreneurship
Kahoot Entrepreneurship via kahoot.com

Through a partnership with Founders Mark, these Kahoot games and quizzes help expose kids to career options, especially in business. It’s a fun and easy way to bring career exploration to your classroom. Learn more and take the quizzes here.

Get creative with Kahoot Sparks

The more you use Kahoot, the more you’ll realize it has a lot of clever applications. This new tool encourages student creativity, helping them design anything from a new toy to an innovative school initiative. Learn how Kahoot Sparks works here.

Check out Game Modes

Animated GIF explaining Color Kingdoms by Kahoot
Kahoot Game Modes via kahoot.com

This is one of Kahoot’s newer features, available for paid subscriptions. These games turn a traditional quiz into an interactive adventure, bringing depth to the experience. Learn about Kahoot Game Modes here.

Generate Kahoot questions using AI

Save some time by letting AI create Kahoot quizzes for you! As with any AI-generated content, you’ll want to review it carefully to be sure it makes sense and is factually-accurate. But this method can save you a lot of effort up front.

Do you have more ideas for using Kahoot in the classroom? Come share in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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