5 Activities for Early Finishers
Early finishers…no matter what we do, we will always have speedy finishers. Our classes are full of students of varying abilities and working speeds and this means that just because it takes one student 10 minutes, it means you probably have one who does it in 5 and one who does it in 25. So, what to do about these early finishers who we just can’t seem to keep busy? Here are 5 activities they can do to keep occupied.
#1 Early finisher bins
(“J’ai fini” bins)
I used this system in K, and I use it in 2/3. It can be adapted to meet the needs of any grade level. The idea is that these bins offer math and literacy activities that can be completed INDEPENDENTLY. These activities are not meant to be challenging, I don’t want them to be so hard that they require my support to do. I’m busy helping students complete that original task, so I don’t want to be interrupted because the early finisher task is too hard. I see it as a great opportunity to put in things for review, games and fun activities that keep them engaged. The activities in these bins are changed out each month so there’s something fresh to work on.
My bins are in an IKEA Trofast storage system. There are 9 bins and there is usually one activity per bin, though sometimes I’ll add a couple in each. Don’t have room for a Trofast system? Use anything! Ziploc bags, messenger zip up bags, plastic stacking tubs…anything works!
When students are finished their work and have put it where it belongs (either in “fini” tub or in a duotang or other designated spot, they check the “pas fini” tub to make sure they don’t have any other unfinished work. Once everything is finished, they may choose any of the 9 early finisher bins. There are always literacy activities (vocab, sentence structure, reading, word work/sound work), math activities and #9 is always loose parts. There are 2 students allowed per bin, so they can do it with a buddy, but it doesn’t create a big group who gets loud.
They take the bin to wherever they’d like in the class. Maybe you’d like them to return to their seat, maybe they work on the floor/carpet area. Since my students work at tables, I like them to take their bin somewhere other than their table. I have a few other work spaces in my room or the carpet. This way, they don’t disturb or distract those who are still working.
For the loose parts, there is no prompt, there is no expectation to write about it. I do story workshop once a week (read more about that HERE), but that is completely separate. This is a just for fun loose parts play with seasonal items. Most of the time, they end up making patterns, making letters with the pieces or making a little scene. I give them pieces of felt and laminated scrap book paper to use as their background.
Wondering what exactly goes in each bin for 2/3? Check out my monthly bins HERE (to be updated throughout the year).
*note: I don’t start this until October. September is stressful and we’re trying to teach so many routines, so I leave this one until we are more settled and ready to take on this new part of the day.
**note: The “passeports” basket used to hold little passports for the 9 bins. It was an attempt to ensure students were trying all the bins, not just choosing the same one over and over. It turned out to be just more work than necessary. Now, the rule is you can’t choose bin #9 (loose parts) every time but otherwise, just pick any bin, any time! Why make more work for yourself as a teacher?
#2 Reading
This seems obvious, but don’t forget about it! This will look different depending which grade you teach. It might be looking at the pictures in picture books, reading little emergent readers, reading books specific to their level, or reading any picture book or chapter book.
The nice thing about reading is it’s usually quiet!
#3 Card games
Card games are a fantastic way to incorporate more math and practice strategy and turn taking. I teach my students many card games for math and they often come back to these games in their free time. Here’s a list of some of the card games I teach. Their favourites tend to be “War” and “Garbage”. There’s not a lot of skill involved in the games they like, it’s mostly just games of luck.
I have a deck of cards for each student. There is a number or letter on the back of each card so it’s easy to figure out which deck a lost card goes with.
#4 Drawing, colouring, Sudoku, word search, crossword…
There are tons of paper based early finisher activities. Depending on your age group, students can draw, colour, do Sudoku (I teach my 2/3s), do word searches and for more advanced learners, crosswords are a great way to pass some time.
#5 Puzzles
I used to have a puzzle table where there was a collaborative puzzle. My kids got very good at puzzles and we worked our way up to 500 and even 1000 piece puzzles! The puzzle stayed on the table and students would work on it when they had extra time. It was something they worked on as a group and they were so proud when they finally finished!
Don’t have room for a puzzle table? If you have older students, maybe use a puzzle mat that they could roll out when using and roll back up for smaller storage. You can put puzzles in a bin (even an early finisher bin!). I like to cut off the picture from the box and put everything in a Ziploc bag. If you don’t have a bunch of puzzles on hand already, check out the local thrift stores.
Another easy way to make puzzles is to slice up magazine pages. They’re bright, colourful and don’t require any colour printing. I would recommend using a laminating pouch to seal your pieces and make them a bit thicker to be able to withstand all the hands.
BONUS - Tic-Tac-Toe
A classic game, this requires very few materials and most kids already know how to play. These little wooden dishes are from Dollarama. The little wooden shapes they sell are presented in these little trays. Don’t throw them away! Get out some tokens and play away!
Tip: Some options for the little tokens are double sided counters or acrylic loose parts. I found gems to be quite loud when they’re drop them in the tray. I also found that pompoms got squished after being handled that much.