Family Feud for High School: History & Vocabulary Edition (75 Free Questions)

High school review is where most game-based learning falls apart. Jeopardy templates feel juvenile. Kahoot rewards the fastest finger, not the deepest thinker. Family Feud sits in the sweet spot — it's adult enough that AP students will engage, generative enough that real recall happens, and flexible enough to cover an entire unit in 30 minutes.

This post gives you 75 ready-to-use questions across US history and AP-level vocabulary, plus the pedagogy for running it in a 1:1 device classroom, scaffolding for ELL students, and a Bloom's-taxonomy mapping so you can justify it on a lesson plan.

Why Family Feud Works in High School

Older students push back on games that feel like games. Feud reads as a competition, not a worksheet. The mechanic (generate multiple ranked answers from memory) maps onto exactly what they'll do on an AP free-response or DBQ — brainstorm, prioritize, defend.

Build your high school review board fast with our Family Feud game maker.

40 US History Questions

Colonial & Revolutionary Era

1. Name a reason colonists wanted independence from Britain.
   • Taxation without representation, Quartering of troops, Limits on trade, Distance from king, Enlightenment ideas
2. Name a document from the founding era.
   • Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, Federalist Papers
3. Name a Founding Father.
   • Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, Jay
4. Name something traded on the Triangular Trade.
   • Enslaved people, Sugar, Rum, Tobacco, Cotton, Manufactured goods
5. Name a battle of the Revolutionary War.
   • Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Yorktown, Trenton

1800s: Expansion & Civil War

6. Name a cause of the Civil War.
7. Name a piece of Reconstruction-era legislation or amendment.
8. Name a figure from the abolitionist movement.
9. Name something on the Oregon Trail.
10. Name a Native American leader who resisted US expansion.
11. Name a technology that changed 19th-century America.
12. Name an event in the lead-up to secession.
13. Name a Civil War general.

Industrial Era & Progressive Reform

14. Name a Gilded Age industrialist or robber baron.
15. Name a Progressive-era reform.
16. Name a wave of immigration into the US in the 1800s-1900s.
17. Name a labor union or labor leader.

World Wars & Cold War

18. Name a cause of World War I.
19. Name a New Deal program.
20. Name a battle of WWII.
21. Name a Cold War proxy conflict.
22. Name a Civil Rights leader.
23. Name a Supreme Court case from the 20th century.
24. Name something that defined the 1960s counterculture.

Modern Era

25. Name a US president since 1980.
26. Name a major piece of legislation since 2000.
27. Name an event from 9/11 and the War on Terror.
28. Name a technology that reshaped American life since 1990.

(Plus 12 more in the printable bank below — pair with our printable scorecard.)

35 AP Vocabulary Questions

Run these for AP Lang, AP Lit, or SAT prep.

1. Name a word that means "to criticize harshly."
   • Denounce, Condemn, Excoriate, Censure, Berate, Lambaste
2. Name a word that means "stubborn."
   • Obstinate, Recalcitrant, Intransigent, Pertinacious, Headstrong, Mulish
3. Name a word for "long-winded."
   • Verbose, Loquacious, Garrulous, Prolix, Voluble
4. Name a rhetorical device.
   • Anaphora, Hyperbole, Metaphor, Chiasmus, Litotes, Asyndeton
5. Name a word that means "to make worse."
   • Exacerbate, Aggravate, Compound, Inflame, Worsen
6. Name a word that means "brief."
   • Concise, Terse, Pithy, Succinct, Laconic, Curt
7. Name a word for "praise."
   • Laud, Extol, Commend, Eulogize, Acclaim
8. Name a word that means "secret or hidden."
   • Clandestine, Covert, Surreptitious, Furtive, Esoteric
9. Name a logical fallacy.
   • Straw man, Ad hominem, Slippery slope, Red herring, Appeal to authority

Plus 26 more across literary terms, Latinate roots, and AP-frequency vocabulary.

Bloom's Taxonomy Mapping

Use the top three levels for daily review; assign "write the next round" as the higher-order extension.

Running Feud in a 1:1 Device Classroom

• Use the online host tool so each student buzzes in on their Chromebook.
• Project the host screen via Apple TV/Chromecast.
• Disable chat during rounds — buzz-in only.
• Save each game so you can re-run it three weeks later as spiral review.

Scaffolding for ELL Students

• Pre-teach 5 key terms before the round starts.
• Pair ELL students with bilingual partners for the first game.
• Allow written submissions in addition to verbal answers.
• Use the vocabulary question bank for general-vocabulary warm-ups before content-area Feud.

AP Review Week: A 5-Day Plan

1. Monday: Period-1 history Feud (colonial → Civil War)
2. Tuesday: Period-2 history Feud (Civil War → WWII)
3. Wednesday: Period-3 history Feud (WWII → present)
4. Thursday: Vocabulary Feud (35 highest-frequency AP terms)
5. Friday: Mixed mock-exam Feud (questions drawn from all four prior days)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will AP students actually engage with a game show?

A: Yes, especially in May when they're burned out on practice tests. The competition + low-stakes format is a welcome change.

Q: Can I use this for AP US History DBQ practice?

A: Indirectly. Feud builds the recall base; pair it with timed DBQ writing the next day.

Q: How long does setup take?

A: About 20 minutes the first time. After that, save your boards and reuse year over year.

Q: Is this rigorous enough for honors classes?

A: Yes, if your questions are. Write Bloom level 3+ prompts and require justifications.

Ready to Build Your High School Board?

Open the game maker, paste your questions, and go. Your AP students will tell their friends. And next year, you'll already have the board saved.