Must-Have Teacher Supplies – Early Finisher Activities
The next item on the list is something you will thank yourself for having when the timing of your lesson falls short. This something is "early finisher" activities.
Having “down-time”
can be a recipe for disaster, especially when your students are pre-teens or
teenagers. Oh, the teen years! When you remember that you have “early
finisher” activities prepared, you will feel like a miracle was just
performed.
These activities can
be directly connected to the subject-matter or can be something random yet
educational. Mine are a combination of
both 😊
Device-free
activities
Because kids spend
so much time in front of screens in today’s world, between their phones and
their computers, all of the “early finisher” activities I offer are in the form
of papers or books.
I believe it is
helpful for kids’ brains and eyes to get a break from devices. Also, often times students’ default is to go
to bright-screened devices when they have free moments in life. Because of this, I want my students to break
that instinctual habit and realize that there are other items and hobbies that
do not involve technology that can still be fun.
Anyway, back to what the “early
finisher” activities entail. I label binders with an assortment of activities,
such as Mad Libs, Trivia, and Brain Teasers. Each binder contains a
variety of that activity, including a "master copy" of each unique
page in a plastic sheet protector for easy copying when needed. I also
make sure to include answer keys in the binders, when applicable.
Each student removes the worksheet of
interest to complete at his/her desk.
Sometimes, I will even let my students work quietly on an activity with
a friend.
My students also know that they have the option to do a free-write in their journal or to read their "free reading" book, which they are instructed to bring with them to class every day.
All of these activities are suitable
for when individual students complete their work ahead of
schedule. We all have at least one
student who rushes through his/her work.
When you tell him/her to review the work, the student does that even
faster. There are also days when,
due to the experimental nature of teaching, a lesson wraps up more quickly than
anticipated.
These activities keep your students'
brains activated, while giving them a small break from the usual content
covered in class. Having “early
finisher” activities also provides you with a sense of relief that your
students have something productive to do for the remainder of the class
period.
Whole-class
engagement
Sometimes, when the entire class is
finished with 10 or so minutes left, I will present the brain teasers or trivia
questions to everyone for some friendly competition. My students really enjoy that. Plus, even the kids who tend to be reserved
will volunteer their answers, which is nice to see.
Final thoughts
Do yourself a
favor by having “early finisher” activities prepared in your classroom. Having these options ready will prevent you
from panicking and will prevent potential anarchy from erupting.
This is not to
say that free time can never be offered, just tread cautiously with that
one. Enough time, boundaries,
expectations, and mutual respect need to be established before free time can
become a possibility. Until then, get
those binders, games, puzzles, etc. ready to go for those “early finisher” moments
that you will inevitably experience 😊
What are your
thoughts about “early finisher” activities?
What activities do you recommend?
Share below!
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Peace. Love.
Reading & Writing.
💗 Miss M
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