The

30-Day
Plan
Fun test prep practice
using engaging games
and activities!
By Angela Yorgey (Fun in 5th Grade & MORE)

www.funin5thgrade.com
 Directions for Use
1. Using your most recent assessment that covers all the skills
students need to know, break each question down by skill.
2. Determine which students struggled with each question and/or need
more practice with that skill.
3. Using the 30-day planning pages (you can adapt for as many days
as you need), assign each day a skill that many students still need
extra practice with.
4. Once you have the skill you want to cover filled out, complete the
plan by adding the students' names with the most need and
students that just need extra practice.
5. Students with the biggest need (the ones that will struggle playing
review games in the small groups), will meet with you in a small
group. The rest of the students will be broken up into groups playing
games on skills they have mastered or ones they just need more
practice with. (This is a lot easier if you’ve been doing some sort of
centers or stations throughout the year.)
6. Students meeting with you will get also play a game but will play
with you so you can jump in and reteach as needed.
7. After 30 days, you will have reviewed a minimum of 30 skills with
students.

*It is recommended that stations be at least 10-15 minutes long. In the

30 days leading up to the BIG TEST, I recommend doing this each day
for at least 15 minutes up to 30 minutes. Students will LOVE playing the
games and it will give them some great, fun, review.

The students not meeting with you could be doing a variety of other
games and activities from working with partners to having their own
small group fun. The more you have done these kinds of things all year,
the more smoothly this will run. It is definitely best to have some
classroom management strategies in place for this type of activity.

Find some more ideas on making test prep fun in this post: Test Prep
Fun Your Students Will Love www.funin5thgrade.com
 Tips for Success
Mostly, I like to put students into groups with secondary skills they
need more practice with. For these games/activities students should
really be either almost grasping the skill or already there since they
will not have teacher assistance.

Some ways you could break them up:

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• partner games/activities
• small groups of 3-5
• computer/digital game or activity

Each group should have one person in charge of the answer key.
Students should have some basic skills prior to putting them into
these groups or pairings. Now is not the time to introduce brand new
games or activities that students don’t understand how to play as that
will pull your attention from your small group. Here’s a post on using
games all year to spiral the standards: Why You Should Use Games
to Spiral the Standards

Skills needed:
• Students should know how to play the game, or you should have
reviewed the directions prior to breaking them up into
groups/pairings. *The more you have played games with them in
the past, the easier this will be.

Possible rules for game playing:

• Everyone answers every question. I love to do this so everyone is
getting the most practice and the gameplay moves faster. Ex: You
have a game with cards. They flip a card, everyone answers on a
whiteboard or something, and then everyone that is correct gets to
move or whatever the game may be.

Find additional tips and strategies in this blog post about playing
games in the classroom: Tips for Playing Games in the Classroom
 Game/Activity Ideas
I like to use games with built-in accountability where students
move a game piece or have to draw 2 for an incorrect answer. But
if a game doesn’t have that, then you can find out more about
some accountability strategies in this blog post: Student
Accountability During Centers.

Some game/activity ideas students love:

• Game Show Games: small groups play and practice on one
shared computer or on an interactive whiteboard
• Candy Review Games: partners or small groups play and
practice on one shared computer or on an interactive
whiteboard
• U-Know: use with 2-5 students, you can also use the cards
with lots of other games
• Task Cards: use with small groups or partners, can also use
the cards with lots of other games
• Digital Puzzles: partner or independent practice
• Sticker Style Activities: partner or independent practice
• Close Reads with Mystery Pictures: small group, partner, or
independent practice
• Any other games you’ve used throughout the year that practice
the skills needed!

Also, I LOVE the Dollar Tree for some cheap engagement ideas.
I’ve picked up lots of ways to make games or cards more fun from
there. Using the same U-Know cards or task cards, for the rest of
the year, you can add some things that really up the engagement
level. Find out more about that here: 13 Items to Pick Up at the
Dollar Store this Year!

www.funin5thgrade.com
 The Skills
Student
 The Plan
Day 1 Focus: Day 2 Focus: Day 3 Focus: Day 4 Focus: Day 5 Focus:

Day 6 Focus: Day 7 Focus: Day 8 Focus: Day 9 Focus: Day 10 Focus:

Day 11 Focus: Day 12 Focus: Day 13 Focus: Day 14 Focus: Day 15 Focus:

Day 16 Focus: Day 17 Focus: Day 18 Focus: Day 19 Focus: Day 20 Focus:

Day 21 Focus: Day 22 Focus: Day 23 Focus: Day 24 Focus: Day 25 Focus:

Day 26 Focus: Day 27 Focus: Day 28 Focus: Day 29 Focus: Day 30 Focus:
 Secondary Focus
Day 1 Focus: Day 2 Focus: Day 3 Focus: Day 4 Focus: Day 5 Focus:

Day 6 Focus: Day 7 Focus: Day 8 Focus: Day 9 Focus: Day 10 Focus:

Day 11 Focus: Day 12 Focus: Day 13 Focus: Day 14 Focus: Day 15 Focus:

Day 16 Focus: Day 17 Focus: Day 18 Focus: Day 19 Focus: Day 20 Focus:

Day 21 Focus: Day 22 Focus: Day 23 Focus: Day 24 Focus: Day 25 Focus:

Day 26 Focus: Day 27 Focus: Day 28 Focus: Day 29 Focus: Day 30 Focus:
 Students Meeting w/Teacher
Day 1 Students: Day 2 Students: Day 3 Students: Day 4 Students: Day 5 Students:

Day 6 Students: Day 7 Students: Day 8 Students: Day 9 Students: Day 10 Students:

Day 11 Students: Day 12 Students: Day 13 Students: Day 14 Students: Day 15 Students:

Day 16 Students: Day 17 Students: Day 18 Students: Day 19 Students: Day 20 Students:

Day 21 Students: Day 22 Students: Day 23 Students: Day 24 Students: Day 25 Students:

Day 26 Students: Day 27 Students: Day 28 Students: Day 29 Students: Day 30 Students:
 Games for Other Students
Day 1 Activities: Day 2 Activities: Day 3 Activities: Day 4 Activities: Day 5 Activities:

Day 6 Activities: Day 7 Activities: Day 8 Activities: Day 9 Activities: Day 10 Activities:

Day 11 Activities: Day 12 Activities: Day 13 Activities: Day 14 Activities: Day 15 Activities:

Day 16 Activities: Day 17 Activities: Day 18 Activities: Day 19 Activities: Day 20 Activities:

Day 21 Activities: Day 22 Activities: Day 23 Activities: Day 24 Activities: Day 25 Activities:

Day 26 Activities: Day 27 Activities: Day 28 Activities: Day 29 Activities: Day 30 Activities: