Early Finisher Activities Teaching Resources

Explore early finisher activities created by teachers to help you answer the question "I'm done, now what?" when your students complete work ahead of their classmates!

This collection of worksheets, quiet activities and more for those "fast finish" students is packed with options that provide students with a challenge that will keep them occupied — and keep them learning — while classmates complete a task!

Looking for ideas for early finishers and how to build this important part of classroom management into your classroom routines? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!

What Is an Early Finisher?

Whether it's completing a test before their classmates or wrapping up an assignment in half the time that you allotted, some students work more quickly than their peers.

The reasons are varied. Some kids speed through work because they aren't taking time to carefully read what's in front of them or address the assignment, but others are finishing early simply because they can.

Early finishing could come down to:

1. Differences in Abilities — We know our students have individual learning styles and abilities, and with that comes an ability for some to work at a faster pace than others.
2. Prior Knowledge — Your early finishers may possess prior knowledge or skills related to the task, whether from a previous class or even something learned outside of the school setting.
3. Motivation Levels — Some students may be highly motivated and focused, leading them to complete tasks efficiently.

What to Do if a Student Finishes Early

Before you decide what to do with your early finishers, you need to consider why and how your students are completing their work at a rapid pace.

If the "why" is that a student is not appropriately addressing the assignments, you'll need to work with them to slow down and focus on the task. If you're looking at students who finish work early simply because they can, the next question is how to keep them engaged so they're not disrupting their classmates and getting value out of this class time.

How Do You Engage Early Finishers?

We recommend you focus your early finisher activities on a mix of practice and enrichment work rather than focusing on "fun" that may tempt students to speed through their work. As you explore this collection of activities, you'll find they're focused on skill building, rather than simply giving students a chance to goof off!

We didn't stop there! Here are some clever ideas from our teacher team to engage fast finishers.

1. Establish early finisher procedures. Let students know from the first week of school what to do when they've completed individual tasks so that they can move on directly to early finisher work. You may want to establish a "must do," "may do" and "may not do" structure for this procedure so students know what they should — and should not — be doing when they've completed a task! The actual procedures will look different depending on your grade level — a kindergarten early finisher activity procedure will likely be simpler than one for fifth grade — but having it set in stone is key to good classroom management!
2. Set up an early finisher destination. Minimize classroom disruptions by setting up a spot in the classroom where students know they can go to find their early finisher work such as a set of busy bins, a "what do I do now?" station or even a bulletin board with folders where students can find challenging worksheets to complete for extra credit.
3. Have fast finishing students help you keep classroom supplies in line. Do you have puzzles that may or may not be missing a few pieces? It's an all-too-common problem in classrooms, and it's one that you can solve by having your fast finishers count out the pieces to ensure everything is in place. Similarly, students can use this time to ensure board games are still in working order and so on.
4. Assign a classroom job. If some kids are always finishing ahead of their classmates, why not assign them a job such as helping classmates who could use their assistance?
5. Differentiate your instruction. If you recognize that the same students are always finishing their work ahead of their peers, plan ahead with extension activities, independent research projects or creative assignments that encourage critical thinking.
6. Have early finishers work together.  You can challenge your early finishing students to work together on group projects such as a STEM challenge which can help them build their teamwork and social skills.
7. Extra reading. When in doubt, allow students to spend time reading to keep their brains active (and their mouths quiet) while their classmates finish up a task or test.