“I’m done, now what”: the famous words of an early finisher. How often do you hear this throughout your day? I can picture a few of my first graders right now, hand up, shouting “I’m done, I’m done”. We all have those fast finishers, and this can be challenging for even the most experienced teachers. Some of my first-graders race right through and others need some extra time, first graders have a wide variety of ability levels. I will be the first to admit that first grade is tough, my students are finishing their activities at all different times. Teachers, that is one thing they don’t teach you in college but with planning, there are effective solutions to make dealing with the early finishers just a tad bit easier! To avoid the infamous phrase “now what should I do”, have things prepped and ready to go for those early finishers.
I am sure by now you guys know I love reading and strongly encourage my students to read. I incorporate all different activities throughout the day structured around reading however I also encourage my early finishers to practice with silent reading. My first graders LOVE to book shop especially when they get to shop for their five just right and 5-10 just for fun books, it’s a great way to keep them engaged and on-task if they finished their work early. I don’t use reading just to kill time until my other students are finished, I plan this reading to be intentional. I encourage my fast finishers to practice reading for fluency or to work on familiar reading with guided reading books. This is also an excellent time to focus on content reading to connect it to what we are learning about in science or social studies. When you give them intent, the reading becomes challenging and engaging. This leads me to my next point…independent reading isn’t always the best or most effective activity for all of my students.
As you know so much of teaching comes with trial and error, what works for some kids doesn’t work for others. It took me years and years to figure out the best solutions for fast finishers but this isn’t a one size fits all approach. One of my favorite things to use is rigor work like this bundle, it has honestly been a lifesaver! I have these activities printed, ready to go in drawers but I also have them separated and labeled by ability. Making these activities easy to access, easy to clean up and engaging is super important for ensuring your early finishers are on task and not disrupting those students who are still working. The biggest lesson I have learned is making sure whatever early finishing activities I plan to use are not only prepped and ready to go but also in a place that is easily accessible. You can have individual folders for your students or drawers filled with the materials whatever is easiest for your classroom needs. Also, don’t be afraid to change them up each week, I have created different bundles that make it super easy for you to incorporate a variety.
As you know we have a lot of pressure put on us to ensure our students are prepared for testing and are meeting all of the common core standards which is why I choose to use rigor work for those early finishers. As much as my students love coloring sheets and word searches, that is truly just busy work and I have chosen to really utilize the time with opportunities for critical thinking to maximize the short amount of time we do have with our kiddos. One thing that often comes up on the topic of early finishers is how in the world do you prevent your students from rushing through their work to catch up with their peers. Again, this is where rigor work plays a crucial role in preventing other students from feeling disrupted or rushed to do what their peers are doing. I think it’s really important to structure your classroom with the expectation that not everyone will do the same thing at the same time. Once you establish that mindset it sets the tone for your classroom and will reduce the number of students rushing through their work.
No more asking yourself what in the world you are going to do with those students who get their work done so much faster than others. Plus,I hope this minimizes the number of times you hear “I’m done”. Now, I didn’t say that won’t ever happen because let’s be honest…that’s an unrealistic goal. What do you do for early finishers in your classrooms? I’d love to know what works for you!
