Faced with the prospect of giving fifth graders a state science test, teachers often review previous grade-level science content or use test-review booklets as a method of preparation. While this may allow students to understand testing rules, such teaching practice takes away from sound science instruction where students talk about, write about, and reflect on science. Therefore, the author, a district science coach, partnered with a fifth-grade teacher to provide students with some thinking tools with which to approach standardized tests. They designed a small-group literacy lesson that uses science experiments as a background for learning and helps students learn how to read test questions for science-process skills.