How to Use Our Middle School Math Test Prep Unit

Middle school math test prep season is upon us! Maneuvering the Middle’s test prep unit literally saved me for the 4 years I used it, so I thought I would share what’s included with some ideas for using it in your classroom.

Update: Maneuvering the Middle has updated their test prep units, so keep reading to learn what’s new!

Hopefully, these components will help streamline your test prep for state assessments and keep students engaged at the same time.  

What’s Included

There is SO much included that it means you have options. No review day has to look the same. If your students crave variety, this test review makes it easy. If your students crave routine, then pick your favorite and do that for 10 straight days.

TEACHER GUIDES + Warm Ups

The quick teacher guide hits the standards included, overviews the vocabulary, and gives you a few tips for misconceptions your students might have.  These are super helpful for co-teachers, any tutors your campus might be utilizing, and any time you are enlisting the help of other teachers.  

The warm-ups include open-ended questions that are aligned to the content for the day.  If you don’t have time for a warm-up, then you could use them as an exit ticket or as a quick assessment.

CHEAT SHEETS

The cheat sheets might be my favorite part! There are three differentiated levels that can be incorporated in so many ways.  Here are a few that I have heard from teachers:

• Blow them up on your poster maker at school and hang them for a reference.
• Print and laminate a class set.
• Send them home when parents ask for materials.
• Set the timer for four minutes and have students jot down everything they recall about the concepts, and then discuss as a class.

Make sure to grab your test prep cheat sheet freebie!

CLASS ACTIVITIES

No middle school math test prep unit is complete without engaging activities! You have an abundance of activities to choose from and utilize within your classroom.  For the most part, the activities require only card stock and some (if you choose) lamination, so the prep is quick and easy, and the engagement is high! Some of the activities include:

• He Said, She Said
• Task Cards
• Scavenger Hunt
• Stations

QUICK CHECKS

Quick checks have been revised to reflect the changes due to online testing (bye griddables). In addition, quick checks now consist of 8-10 questions which assess the topic skills as well as 2-4 spiraled questions to provide spaced and interleaved practice*.

*Interleaved practice is a strategy that believes if you practice different skills instead of focusing on one skill at a time, it can lead to better long-term retention.

We have also included a Google Forms assessment, so you can gather your students’ data digitally for easy grading. Data is crucial when you are being strategic during your middle school math test prep unit.

What Is Covered + Ideas for Structuring Your Class Period

45 Minute Lesson

Quick caveat: Using my suggested pacing for 45 minutes would require 2 days per topic which means you will need 20 school days to review. I personally think that is a long time to review! So you could just do one of the examples below for each topic or do both for a meatier topic.

Day 1 – Topic A (45 minutes)

• Warm Up (5 minutes)
  • Use the warm up to gauge how much instruction is necessary or use it to review the concept (5 minutes)
• Cheat Sheets – Version A (5 minutes)
  • Version A is best for students to reference, version B is great for going over the unit in a succinct way, and version C is perfect for students to do a brain dump. With 45 minutes, I would give students version A and ask them to read it to themselves or with a partner and star or highlight what they still need to internalize. 
• Activity (30 minutes)
  • Perfect for partner work while you pull small groups.

Day 2 – Topic A Continued (45 minutes)

• Quick-Checks (30 minutes)
  • Use half of the time for students to work independently to test their knowledge. Then with the remaining half, put students in partners to finish or complete any problems that were challenging. 
• Feedback/Check (15 minutes)
  • Have students enter their answers digitally and go over any frequently missed questions.

It’s important to keep in mind that there are more resources than you will likely be able to use.  It was designed this way so that you can pick and choose what is best for your students!  Keep in mind that your advanced classes might be fine focusing on the activities and keeping the cheat sheets as a reference.  On the other hand, your bubble classes might benefit from the cheat sheets and reviewing the concepts before the activities.

For that reason, included you will find instructions for use, implementation ideas, sample schedules, and blank pacing guides for your reference.  I know that I really liked reviewing the more difficult concepts upfront and saving the easier concepts for closer to the test.

60 Minute Lesson

• Warm Up (5 minutes)
• Quick Check
  • Assign for homework
• Cheat Sheet Version B (15 minutes)
  • Fill out together as a class
• Activity (30 minutes)
  • You can work with the students you would typically pull during a small group during this time.
• Check Answers (5 minutes)

90-100 Minute Lesson

• Warm Up (5 minutes)
• Go over Warm Up (5 minutes)
• Cheat Sheet Version C (15 minutes)
  • Have students work together to dump out everything they remember about the topic. Have them reference their notebooks or word walls. 
• Activity (30 minutes)
• Quick Checks (30 minutes)
  • Have students put their answers into Kahoot, Quizizz, or Google Forms to gather data over any misconceptions. 
• Check Answers (5 minutes)

Teacher Recommendation

This idea comes from a teacher who shared her schedule below:

• Review homework
  • Quick Check from the night before
• Cheat Sheet
  • Version B as a brain dump, then take notes from Version A
• Activity Stations
• Warm Up was used as the Exit Ticket

Want more ideas for middle school test prep season? You can find them here, here, and here. There are so many ways to structure your test prep unit! How do you structure your test review?

Maneuvering the Middle has been publishing blog post for over 10 years. This post was originally published in March 20222. This post have been updated for relevancy and clarity.