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.
- Free Plan
Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
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Finish the Picture - Drawing Worksheets
Spark creativity in the classroom with a pack of Finish the Drawing worksheets.
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Color by Parts of Speech Chameleon Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Pronouns)
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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Finish the Drawing - Worksheets
Get creative and finish the drawings with a set of five art worksheets.
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Mini-Mystery – Which Key Opens the Door?
Use knowledge of 2-D shapes and right angles to solve the mystery in this fun, logic-based activity.
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Symmetry Drawing Worksheet Pack
Teach your students about symmetry using this series of drawing worksheets where they must copy an image symmetrically using grid lines for reference.
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Color by Number – Multiplication Fact Practice (Mixed)
Practice multiplication facts through 12 with this fun color by number worksheet.
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Mini-Mystery – Who Stole the Cookie?
A fun, logic puzzle activity where students read clues to solve a mystery.
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2-Digit Multiplication Tarsia Puzzle — Basketball-Themed
Practice multiplying two-digit by two-digit numbers with a basketball-themed tarsia puzzle for 4th or 5th grade.
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Roll and Cover – Telling Time to the Minute
Practice telling to the minute with this roll and cover game
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Animal Features Playdough Mats
Use our Animal Playdough Mats to introduce your kindergarten students to the physical features of animals.
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Animal Classification Word Search Pack - Lower Grades
Introduce your students to the six animal types/classes with a pack of printable animal word search worksheets.
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Busy Binder - Kindergarten Morning Work Activity Book
Review daily calendar, math, literacy, and fine motor skills with a printable kindergarten Busy Binder workbook!
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Cooperation Puzzles - Team-Building Activity
Explore the benefits of cooperation with a tangram-style team-building activity.
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Christmas Activity Printables - Holiday Puzzles
Have some word-friendly Christmas fun with a pack of printable Christmas word games for kids.
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Last Day of School Coloring Page Pack
Grab a Last Day of School Coloring Page pack to calm your end-of-year classroom chaos!
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Summer Santa Claus Coloring Pages
Heat up your classroom Christmas celebrations with a fun set of Santa on Vacation coloring pages.
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I'm Done! Early Finishers Choice Board Display
Build a useful ‘I’m Done, Now What?’ bulletin board with a printable early finisher task board display kit.
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Do-a-Dot Christmas Worksheets for Preschool
Do a dot painting with printable Christmas worksheets for preschool and kindergarten
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Read Across America - Project Task Cards
Celebrate Read Across America Week 2024 with a fun set of literature-inspired book project task cards.
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Thanksgiving Color By Number Worksheet - 2nd Grade Place Value
Have some Thanksgiving Math fun with a printable Thanksgiving Color By Number worksheet to practice standard, expanded, word, and base ten forms.
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How to Draw a Cake Slice - Directed Drawing Worksheet
Learn to draw a cake slice with a fun directed drawing activity sheet.
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How to Draw a Ship - Directed Drawing Activity
Learn to draw a ship with a fun, directed drawing activity sheet.
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Color by Number – Repeated Addition and Multiplication
Guide your students to connect repeated addition with multiplication by completing this color-by-code multiplication worksheet.
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Veterans Day Worksheets-Crossword Puzzle
Learn about Veterans Day at school and build vocabulary with a crossword puzzle.
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How to Draw a Soldier Directed Drawing
Celebrate Veterans Day at school and encourage creativity with a How to Draw a Soldier directed drawing activity.
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Christmas Collaborative Art Project - Coloring Mural
Create a beautiful whole class holiday bulletin board with this collaborative Christmas-themed classroom mural.
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Do-a-Dot Thanksgiving Worksheets for Preschool
Do a dot painting with printable Thanksgiving worksheets for preschool and kindergarten.
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Electricity Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary for electricity concepts with a science crossword puzzle.
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Estimating Sums & Differences – 3rd Grade Math Mazes
Sharpen your students’ rounding and estimation skills with a set of 3rd grade math mazes.
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Haunted House Worksheets - Descriptive Writing Activity
Draw and write about scary Halloween houses with a printable Halloween descriptive writing activity pack.
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We the People - Constitution Day Coloring Page
Introduce your students to the Constitution and the Preamble with a fun Constitution Day coloring page.