As a 4th or 5th grade teacher, navigating the world of ELA Test Prep can be daunting. There seems to be so much to review and make sure students are understanding. Trying to come up with engaging and fresh ideas can be exhausting especially during this time of the year.
This post will give you a variety of engaging and efficient tools tailored specifically for preparing 4th & 5th students for their ELA standardized tests. These tools are designed to streamline your test prep planning process while keeping students actively involved in their learning.
1. Boom Cards
Boom Cards are digital task cards that you can assign to students. The three most valuable components are that they are quick to assign, give students immediate feedback, and can provide you with data on mastery. There are a large selection of ELA Boom Cards that you can assign to your students.
They work well as:
- center activities
- intervention tools
- early finishers activities
- independent work
2. Daily Review Packets
The truth is that it is difficult to continue to introduce new standards while taking the time to review previously taught standards. This is why I like using short daily review packets with my students. They cover previously taught standards in a concise format. It helps guide my instruction on what I need to go over in more detail.
They work well as:
- morning work (my personal favorite use during ELA Test Prep season)
- center activities
- independent work
- sub plans
The daily review packets I created cover sentence editing, language standards, and reading standards. They are available as: 3rd Grade Test Prep Packet, 4th Grade Test Prep Packet, and 5th Grade Test Prep Packet.
3. Whole Class Game Activities
Nothing gets students more excited than a simple classroom transformation or a few items they can interactive with during test prep. One of the easiest way to transform your classroom is to bring in games. A whole class game activity is a great way to make sure everyone is involved and allows you to quickly assess who is understanding the concept and who needs more reviewing.
When I realized this, I decided to create a couple of sports themed PPT cards that covered ELA standards.
This is how I used them:
- I bought a few basic things (balls, baskets, and themed shirts for me to wear)
- Students were given a ball, marker, and response board.
- Then, I displayed the PPT card on the projection board.
- We would read the information on the card, and students would write their answer on their response board. (Questions contained multiple choice answers to make it quick as well as prep them for standardized testing.)
- At the count of 3, students would hold up their responses.
- I would check their responses then display the answer card on the board. The answer card tells them to “take a shoot.” If they make it in, they get points.
My students absolutely LOVE these!
I created 4 different versions to cover different standards:
- Context Clues – Football Theme
- Grammar Review – Basketball Theme
- Text Structure – Soccer Theme
- Main Idea & Supporting Details – Golf Theme
4. Working in Pairs Game Activities
There are quite a few easy to implement games that you can you use on the spot to engage your students during test prep, no expensive game nor fancy boards needed, unless of course you’d like to include them. 😉 You can quickly have students create them in class. You can also download FREE game boards to display on your projection board to use with the entire class or print them to have pairs of students use them.
Some easy to prep games are:
- Tic-Tac-Toe
- Dots & Boxes
- Four in a Row
- Race to the Top
- Touchdown
This is how I used them:
- I print out a “board” for every pair of students.
- Then, I place them in sheet protectors.
- Next, I give the students a game piece and task cards or worksheets to complete.
- After, students are assigned player A or player B. Students both work on the questions simultaneously but independently. If player A gets the answer correct to question #1, they get a turn. If they do not, but player B does get it correct, player B steals their turn. They then move onto the next question, question #2. It is now player B’s turn to go first. If they get the answer correct, they get a turn. If they do not, but player A does get it correct, player A steals their turn. They continue until they have answered all the questions on the task cards or worksheets.
5. Quick Check Assessments
Quick check assessments are 10 sentence grammar worksheets that are standard based. They are perfect to use as quick quizzes to see if students have mastered the language standards.
They work well as:
- small group tools
- weekly assessments
- independent work
- monitoring tools to check mastery
These worksheets are available as: 3rd grade quick check assessments, 4th grade quick check assessment, and 5th grade quick check assessments.
Hopefully this post has given you some inspiring ideas to use with your students. Every group of students is different, so pick and choose the ones that you think will work well for you and your students.
I wish you a smooth and productive test prep season. Remember, you are doing your best! You and your students are more than just a test score. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
