No logins - no problem!
If you are like me and are drowning in test prep ideas but need something low prep and FREE then look no further! I have been lagging in the test prep department. I have seen so many great ideas from other people but with spring break and Easter craziness have not got a chance to implement. If you are in the same situation I'm here to save the day!
We normally have MAP practice books - how boring - but great to review skills. We have online testing in our state as I know most do in the US. I wanted students to have opportunities to practice online testing in a way that is fun but costs my school no money. We don't have MobyMax or IXL sadly and it's a little too late to get them now so I scrambled and found some amazing ways to practice that are FREE! Run don't walk to get these in your classroom NOW!!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for task cards and spiral review but when it comes to crunch time even though I say it every year - I still feel like we need a comprehensive review. I need something fast (preferably self checking) that I can get immediate reteaching in if necessary -- these ideas incorporate all that!!
1. Mr. Nussbaum Reading Passages
What a lifesaver! These reading passages look exactly like our state testing with the passage on one side and the questions on the other. Self checking or self paced - BONUS!!!
They are listed by GRADE LEVEL - a great tie in to history or science!!
173 reading passages - all FREE -- listed by grade level -- can't go wrong.
Some stories like the one below even offer multiple quiz choices.
Here is a sample of the quizzes. They are timed (our state tests this year are not) but it has a great layout.
The best part - ALL FREE!!!
My plan to use these in my classroom is through our computer time. All these quizzes are iPad accessible (so the website says - I have not tested) I plan to do these a couple times this week and assign some on Seesaw to students that have internet access at home. I would just make this a "app" on my iPad in order for students to access easily.
This would also make a great site to use whole group and practice testing strategies. I might try that once this week to show more examples of types of questions, narrowing down options, highlighting words, etc.. on Smartboard like students are able to do on the real test.
Next year, I plan to incorporate these as a center in our room with a recording sheet. They must complete the quizzes with a designated percentage or redo with me.
Another amazing FREE lifesaver! We used this site already today and I was able to modify our grammar review based on what I saw my students needed to review!
No logins! I got this great website idea from Stephanie at Teaching in Room 6
Head to the website click on your grade level and Common Core. For us it was the blue pawprint.
Next you see the list of tests available to take. Since I do not teach math, I made a short recording sheet for scores with just the 1-17 and 1-3. We started doing the language tests (10 questions each) and they recorded their scores.
If I had dishonest students, I would record scores or a partner would. I was immediately able to see we needed to review who/whom and can/may/must again before testing.
Each 10 questions focuses on a specific skill although not named it is easy to figure out. We do not study the names of all tenses so we skipped one but I feel it was extremely valuable for students.
Below is what a sample test looked like. Easy to choose answers and it GRADED after you click "Check Your Work."
Easy peasy!
We did notice some slight spelling errors so it wasn't 100% perfect but overall an excellent easy way to practice with great immediate feedback.
I found some FREE review ELA games all geared toward 4th grade just by typing them in. It was extremely easy to follow and although I modified some questions to fit more to our class, they turned out great.
I like these more than some other game shows.
My version: I pair students up. They get a dry erase board and every single team answers every question. They keep their own scores after I acknowledge they got it right and then I choose 1 team to pick our next question. Everyone is involved the whole time.
This could also be played in small groups for reteaching and you could certainly make your own templates but this worked much faster!
Here are some other links to ELA grade 4 games that I plan to play as often as allowed for some fun review: (Just Google your grade level to find some you can use)
*I did not make these*
I love these Scholastic News Reading Skills Practice Tests. They provide one for Fall and Spring of that year and you can download the 2 previous year versions as well.
Although these are not FREE (without subscription) it is worth noting in case you know of a teacher that does have a subscription and could use this! They provide great articles, questions, and even language questions!
I send these instead of my regular HW packets leading up to testing. The paired texts make for great comparing with how high interest they are.
5. Listening Centers
Finding great listening center practice for upcoming testing can be tricky. All year we practice skill driven listening center tasks. Students read or listen to a story and then answer questions just based on that skill. You can check out my post about NO PREP listening centers here. This gives great feedback to me as an educator and students get experience with test like methods and quality of questions.
or you click here to see more about the skills covered in the bundle!
