Let me tell you one of my best-kept teaching secrets… you do not need massive room transformations and hours of planning review games to make your SOL test review engaging!
Math SOL test prep does NOT have to be overly complicated or time-consuming to plan for. Often the best review games and activities are the simple ones that take little time to plan. Here are some of my favorite no-prep 5th-grade math SOL review games that will keep your students engaged at the end of the school year.
TEI Test Items Practice
Long gone are the days when standardized testing consisted only of multiple-choice items.
When TEI items were introduced, it was frustrating to watch my students know the correct answers but answer incorrectly because they didn’t know how to manipulate the digital items.
These days, I always incorporate TEI test items practice into my 5th-grade math SOL review games. I don’t want technology to be the barrier that keeps my students from getting the best score possible on the SOL test.
I’ve created digital math centers for every 5th-grade math SOL that are meant to give students practice with TEI items on the SOL test. Some of the activities include:
- dragging and dropping objects
- typing a response
- manipulating items to create something such as a graph
5th Grade Math SOL Jeopardy Game
Jeopardy games have quickly become the go-to math SOL review game in my classroom. Students love them because they allow for friendly competition as they review the math SOLs.
Each Jeopardy game features five categories, totaling 25 questions. The presentations are coded so that students can easily navigate between the category board, questions, and answers. They can also type points into a scoreboard, even when in presentation mode. All of my math Jeopardy games come with two versions—one for PowerPoint and one for Google Slides.
In my store, you can find Virginia SOL-aligned math Jeopardy games for each 5th-grade math SOL and SOL test review games that incorporate all of the 5th-grade math SOLs.
The following video is a short tutorial that shows how my math SOL Jeopardy games work.
Students have so much fun with these math Jeopardy games that they don’t even realize they are learning. Don’t believe me? Check out what this other Virginia educator said about these 5th-grade math review games:
“These are games that actually work the way they are supposed to! I love that when the students answer a question it disappears and they can easily see which questions have not been answered. This can be completed whole group, small groups, and even individually. This will definitely be used for SOL reviews before the spring test. Thank you for making great products that actually work and are based on Virginia SOLs.” (Ms. Martin)
Endless Math Task Card Games
When it comes to no-prep 5th-grade math SOL review games, what teacher doesn’t love task cards!? There is nothing easier to set up than a task card activity and students always enjoy using them.
I’ve compiled a list of all my favorite task card games and activities in THIS BLOG POST.
All of my Virginia SOL-aligned math task cards come with 28 task cards in BOTH PDF format and a self-checking, digital format for Google Slides.
In my store, you can find Virginia SOL-aligned math task cards for each 5th-grade math SOL. You can also find a massive 5th-grade math SOL task card review bundle that covers every SOL.
Virginia SOL-Aligned Math Study Guides
Math SOL review games are a fun and meaningful way to spend time in the classroom at the end of the school year, before math SOL testing.
But, as students prepare for the 5th-grade math SOL test, it is also beneficial for them to continue studying at home.
I created parent study guides for the 5th-grade math SOLs so that parents can help their children prepare for the math SOL test. If you’re tired of hearing parents say they can’t help their child at home because “the way they teach math now is different from when I was in school”… I created these parent study guides for you!
Each math parent study guide defines important terms, provides step-by-step instructions for solving problems, and shows models.
Check out what other Virginia teachers have said about using my math parent study guides—
“My parents love this resource! I send one home on paper at the beginning of each unit and then send it home electronically about a week out from our test. Each time I get a thank you from the parents. Fantastic resource!” (anonymous buyer)
“This was a nice way to keep the parents involved! Students had to take these sheets home and “teach” the math to their parents as “homework” the week before the test. It served as a great review for them and kept parents updated on what they were learning.” (anonymous buyer)
You can find all of my 5th-grade math SOL parent study guides in my store.
Conclusion
The end of the school year is stressful! But, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your 5th-grade math SOL review games. Save time with engaging, no-prep games and activities that students will enjoy as they review the math SOLs.
As a reminder, some of my go-to 5th-grade math SOL review games and activities include:
- 5th-Grade Math TEI Practice Items
- 5th-Grade Math SOL Jeopardy Games
- 5th Grade Math SOL Task Cards
- 5th– Grade Math SOL Parent Study Guides
Have you heard of the Virginia Teacher Club®? The Virginia Teacher Club® is a one-of-a-kind program for upper elementary teachers in Virginia. Members receive instant access to a curriculum library of SOL-aligned math, science, social studies, and ELA resources. There are lesson plans, games, assessments, passages, digital activities, and more for EVERY SOL. By using the Virginia Teacher Club®, our members save hours of planning time every month and have access to high-quality, SOL-aligned resources that students love.
CLICK HERE to join the waitlist and be the first to know when the Virginia Teacher Club® reopens for new members.
