It’s the end of the school year, Virginia SOL testing is just around the corner, and your brain is completely fried. How do you even begin thinking about your VA SOL test prep!?
I am a big believer that review activities do not need to be overly complicated or require hours of teacher prep time. Especially at the end of the school year, simple is often best for both the teacher and the students.
One of my favorite things to do for my SOL test review is to use items I already have in my classroom, but add a few twists to make them fun and engaging. Here are a variety of no-prep games and activities you can use with simple review items you likely already have in your classroom.
Study Guides
Study guides are a VA SOL test prep tool that never goes out of style. I love study guides because, when used correctly, they allow students to take ownership of their learning by enabling independent review.
The key to using study guides as part of your SOL test preparation is to make sure students actually know how to use the study guides. Remember, as an adult, you’ve had years of practice using study guides, but many of our upper elementary students are seeing them for the first time. I have another blog post where I break down the steps for introducing and using study guides with upper elementary students HERE.
You can deepen learning even more by having students create a visual aid to teach their lesson. Visual aids could include:
- Anchor chart
- Slideshow
- Short video
This is just one no-prep way to use study guides in your VA SOL test prep. You can find 6 more study guide games and activities in THIS BLOG POST.
Study guides are available in my store for Math, Science, Virginia Studies, US History, and 3rd Grade Social Studies.
“Fun” Worksheets
Who said worksheets have to be boring? There are lots of simple ways to turn a basic question-and-answer worksheet into something fun.
For example, upper elementary students love crossword puzzles. Any time you add a puzzle to something, students enjoy it more. But you can take your basic crossword puzzles even further by changing them into a game for an added layer of competition and engagement.
My students love “beat the teacher” games, where they race me to see who can complete a crossword the fastest. You can find more competition games with crossword puzzles in THIS BLOG POST.
Crossword puzzles are available in my store for Virginia Studies, US History, and 3rd Grade Social Studies.
Another type of “fun” worksheet is a color-by-number worksheet. I love finding ways to incorporate art and coloring into my VA SOL test prep activities because coloring is proven to:
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Increase focus
- Promote mindfulness
I think we could all use some stress-relieving activities before Virginia SOL testing!
Color-by-number worksheets are available in my store for Math, Science, Virginia Studies, US History, and 3rd Grade Social Studies.
Task Cards
If you’ve ever checked out my blog, you may have noticed that I love using task cards to review the Virginia Standards of Learning. Here are just a few things I love about task cards:
- They are low- to no-prep for teachers.
- It is easy to incorporate a variety of question types that students may see on the VA SOL test.
- They can be reused from year to year.
- There are so many ways to use them.
Task card scavenger hunts are the perfect activity when your students are tired and need to get up and move. For this review activity:
- Place your cards at different locations around the classroom or outside.
- For each task card, write the corresponding number on a piece of paper, fold the paper, and put it in a basket.
- Each student will draw a number and find the task card with the same number.
- When they find the correct card, they should write the response to the question on their task card recording sheet and put the card back exactly where they found it.
- Students should continue selecting numbers from the basket and searching for cards until they find all the task cards.
This is one of many ways that I use task cards before SOL testing. You can find my complete list of task card games in THIS BLOG POST.
Task cards are available in my store for Math, Science, Virginia Studies, US History, and 3rd Grade Social Studies.
Jeopardy Games
If you’re looking for a high-engagement strategy that blends review, collaboration, and a little friendly competition, Jeopardy games for students are hard to beat!
You can start your VA SOL test prep weeks in advance by using Jeopardy games in your daily review.
- Set a timer at the beginning of class. (5-15 minutes works well)
- Play until the timer goes off.
- The next day, continue the game where you left off.
You can keep a running scoreboard for students or teams to keep the friendly competition ongoing.
There are lots of other ways to creatively incorporate Jeopardy games into your SOL review. You can find my complete list of activities in THIS BLOG POST.
Jeopardy games are available in my store for Math, Science, Virginia Studies, US History, and 3rd Grade Social Studies. Each resource includes versions for PowerPoint AND Google Slides.
TEI Practice with Digital Centers
When I was a kid, testing was all multiple-choice, with exactly one answer per question. Today, the types of questions used on standardized tests are more advanced. The VA SOL test features many types of questions, including technology-enhanced items (TEI).
Especially in elementary school, not all students have enough experience with technology to answer these types of questions. It is so disappointing to see a question answered incorrectly simply because the student didn’t know how to manipulate the object on the screen.
Therefore, my SOL preparation is not complete without time spent practicing TEI questions. I use digital centers that I create in Google Slides to have students practice the types of movable questions they see on the SOL test.
Digital math centers are available in my store for 4th- and 5th-grade students.
If you are new to using Google Slides to help students prep for TEI questions, I have a YouTube video tutorial that shows teachers how to create drag-and-drop items in Google Slides.
Final Thoughts
I am a big believer that your VA SOL test prep should not be boring for students or overly complicated for teachers to create. You can create a meaningful review by using materials you already have in your classroom and making them more interactive and engaging with a few small twists.
Looking for more fun and creative ways to prepare students for SOL testing? Make sure to check out all of my SOL test prep blog posts HERE.
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.
