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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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Free ABC Tracing Sheet Bundle Pack
Use ABC Tracing Worksheets to help your students develop their handwriting and fine motor skills.
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Perimeter and Area Dice Game
Use this area and perimeter dice game as a math center activity when teaching area and perimeter to your 3rd and 4th graders.
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CVCC Word Work Mat
Practice segmenting and spelling simple words with this set of 24 CVCC picture task cards.
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Place Value Color by Number Worksheets
Share these place value color by number worksheets with your students for a fun way to review place value up to the hundred thousands place.
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Roll and Round Dice Game
Help your student refine their rounding skills with this set of 7 printable math games.
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Color by Number Addition and Subtraction Worksheets
Combine math and art with our color by number addition and subtraction worksheets that feature problems with solutions up to 20.
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Science Sparks - 5th Grade Science Activities for Fast Finishers
Review science standards during classroom downtime with Science Sparks, a set of 5th grade science activities for fast finishers.
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Magical Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing magical stories with this set of story starter task cards.
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Comparing Integers – Math Mazes
Compare positive and negative numbers while you work your way through this set of math mazes.
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Number Handwriting Practice Worksheets
Provide number handwriting practice to your students with this set of worksheets for the numbers 0 through 20.
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Number Recognition Printable Dot Maze Pack
Utilize these number recognition printable worksheets to help your students identify the numbers 1 through 20.
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Multiplication and Division Word Problem Task Cards (Facts 1-12)
Use a range of strategies to solve multiplication and division problems for times tables facts 1-12.
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Dice Roll - Content Vocabulary Activity
Use our ‘Dice Roll’ Content Vocabulary Activity as an opportunity to help your students grow their vocabulary skills in the classroom.
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Improper Fractions Activity Cards
Provide these improper fractions activity cards to your students to give them a variety of ways to practice converting improper fractions to mixed numbers.
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Hours, Seconds & Minutes - Estimating Time Sort
Estimate activities that take about a second, minute, hour, and week with a printable unit of time sorting activity.
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Vowel Team Dominoes - EE, EA, and EY
Decode words with ee, ea, and ey vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds using this set of 26 dominoes.
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Alphabet Playdough Mats for Fine Motor Development
A set of alphabet playdough letter mats to help children develop their fine motor skills and identify the letters of the alphabet.
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Uppercase and Lowercase Matching Activity Pack
Use these uppercase and lowercase matching cut and paste activities to help students identify and name both forms of each letter.
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Base Word and Ending Clip Cards
Support your students' understanding of word structure with this Base Word and Ending Clip Cards activity.
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Roll an Adventure Story - Storytelling Dice Game
Roll and write an adventure story using our Roll An Adventure Storytelling Dice Game.
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CCVC Word Work Mat
Practice decoding and spelling simple words with this set of 24 CCVC picture task cards.
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Differentiated Vocabulary Menus
Use our Differentiated Vocabulary Menus to give your students daily independent vocabulary practice.
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Genre of the Month - Writing Prompt Grids (Upper)
Introduce your students to a variety of writing genres with our printable genre-specific writing prompt grids.
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Story Ideas - Character, Setting, and Complication Cards
Help your students choose a topic to write about with this set of 36 character, setting and compilation task cards.
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I'm Done! Early Finishers Choice Board Display (Grades 3-6)
Build a useful ‘I’m Done, Now What?’ bulletin board with a printable early finisher task board display kit.
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Multiplication Arrays Mini-Book
Teach your students about multiplication and array models with this printable mini-book.
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Vowel Team Dominoes - OA, OW, and OE
Decode words with oa, ow, and oe vowel team conventions for representing long vowel sounds using this set of 28 dominoes.
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Exploring Rotational Symmetry Worksheets - Drawing Prompts
Encourage creativity and practice knowledge of rotational symmetry with a set of exciting symmetry drawing worksheets.
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10 More, 10 Less Differentiated Mazes
Delight your students with this maze challenge, to practice calculating 10 more or 10 less than a value within 120.
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Adding and Subtracting Within 10 - Word Problem Task Cards
Solve word problems practicing addition and subtraction to ten with a set of printable task cards.
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Synonyms Word Search Pack
Strengthen vocabulary skills with this synonym word search set that helps students compare shades of meaning and use precise language with greater confidence.
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Addition and Subtraction Word Problem Task Cards - (Numbers 1-9)
Use a range of addition and subtraction strategies to solve twenty single-digit word problems.