12 Week Test Prep Plan
We know how daunting the lead-up to spring standardized testing can feel—for both you and your students. The pressure to prepare can often lead to endless packets, rote practice, and exhaustion. But what if there was a way to build your students’ skills, confidence, and stamina without sacrificing meaningful learning?
That’s where our 12-Week Test Prep Calendar comes in. Created by a team of experienced teachers and literacy experts, this guide is designed to help you prepare your intermediate students for standardized tests in a way that feels purposeful, manageable, and impactful.
Here’s what you can expect:
Weekly Focus Areas: Each week, we’ll provide objectives centered around critical ELA skills—from question interpretation to written response strategies. These are the skills that research and experience show make the greatest difference on test day.
Guidance and Resources: You’ll receive tips, strategies, and suggested activities to weave into your existing plans. This isn’t a full curriculum; it’s a flexible tool to layer onto your teaching, giving you the freedom to tailor it to your students’ needs.
Skill-Building, Not Cramming: The calendar emphasizes gradual skill development, ensuring students feel confident and prepared without burning out. It’s about fostering success over time, not last-minute cramming.
Focus on Confidence and Stamina: Standardized testing can be as much about mindset as it is about skill. Our approach incorporates strategies to help students approach testing with resilience and determination.
We know your time is valuable, and we’ve designed this resource to support your efforts—not add to your workload. Our goal is to minimize overwhelm while maximizing impact, ensuring your students have the tools they need to succeed.
Why Join Us? This 12-week guide isn’t just about test prep; it’s about empowering your students to show what they’ve learned and approach testing with confidence. By focusing on high-leverage skills, this resource aligns with the incredible work you’re already doing in your classroom.
Here’s a preview of each week. It’s all happening inside the Reading Rev VIP site.
Or, you can purchase just the weeks you need by clicking the images below.
TRANSCRIPTION. Students who struggle with penmanship, typing, and spelling will struggle with writing!
As we emphasize writing (a hugely impactful portion of standardized assessments) in the next 12 weeks, we are going to look at all the micro-skills needed for proficient writing. The first is transcription- handwriting, typing, and spelling. You’ll probably not be shocked to discover how much these foundational skills of writing impact overall success.
The Plan & Resources:
5 Skills Needed for Proficient Writing- #1 Transcription
Handwriting Resources & Link List
Why Does Penmanship Even Matter? Video
It’s never too late to go back to the basics.
SYNTAX. Without it, students struggle with understanding and creating sentences.
Syntax is how words are put together to create sentences, and it’s key for reading fluency, comprehension, and writing. Students who understand syntax excel in ELA multiple-choice questions and written responses!
The Plan & Resources
Watch the Super-Power Syntax video for teaching tips.
Start with direct instruction using our 4 Parts of Syntax Google Slide Deck and Student Note Packet to teach: Complete Sentences, Parts of Speech, Clauses, Phrases, & Sentence Types.
Reinforce learning with Phonics + Grammar Writing Tasks and Syntax Recipe Cards.
Try the multi-sensory sentence-building activity.
Don’t miss our blog: Syntax and Sentence Skills.
Let’s make syntax a game-changer for your students!
How many students read a question and think, “I have no idea where to even start!”
This week is all about helping students understand what questions are asking and crafting clear, complete written responses using the RACE strategy. Explicitly teaching these skills early sets the stage for ongoing practice and success!
Why It Matters
Students often misunderstand what questions are asking.
Teaching them how to analyze and break down questions improves accuracy and confidence.
The RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain) ensures their answers are thorough and well-supported.
The Plan & Resources:
Question Analysis Google Slide Deck & Student Practice Packet Step-by-step visuals and examples to teach students how to break down questions into manageable parts.
RACE Strategy Google Slide Deck & Student Practice Packet Engaging slides to introduce or review the RACE method for written responses. Practice pages to reinforce skills, with scaffolded prompts and sentence stems.
Preparing and building stamina is important, but how do we prepare our students without creating testing anxiety?
This week focuses on fostering students' growth mindset and confidence while reinforcing essential academic skills. The goal is to help students prepare for standardized assessments without anxiety by emphasizing stamina, growth, and effort and not perfection, scores, or comparison.
The Plan & Resources:
Picture Book Lessons on Resilience
• The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires and Trying by Kobi Yamada both cover how effort and resilience lead to personal growth and success. These beautiful stories are paired with a lesson plan that covers character traits, growth, and comparison. They can be used to reinforce transcription, syntax, question analysis, and the R.A.C.E. written response.
What is Stamina article and comprehension questions are provided to showcase this trait and give additional skill practice.
Growth Minset Coloring Page Pack for stress relief and inspiration in the coming weeks.
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