No matter how well you plan, some students will finish early. It may happen because they skim through a task or because they ‘get on a roll’ and finished with time to spare. It is important to check their assigned work before you allow them to move on to another activity. Read over their work. Ask a question to test their understanding of the task they completed. If they cannot explain or discuss their work, send them back to the task with a specific goal to accomplish before you allow them to move on an early finisher activity.
IF a student is truly finished and you must keep them physically with the group until a specific dismissal time, consider these activities for early finishers:
1. Free reading book. Have students bring a book of their own choosing with them to your group. Most students enjoy having a few extra minutes with a book. If you find articles related to your group tasks, bring them in for students to read and share.
2. Provide extensions, extra credit and/or challenges for early finishers. These should relate to the group activity or the subject matter covered in the group. Check with the teacher for ideas or appropriate enrichment books or activities you can give to 1 or more students. These need to be independent activities since you will be monitoring the others still working in the group. (If the activity has wide appeal, arrange time for the rest of the group to experience the activity.)
3. Pose a brainstorming question to early finishers. Give them individual sheets of paper to record their ideas. Find time to share their ideas with the group at the end of the work session or to begin the next group time. Their ideas may spin off a future activity or extension the entire group will enjoy.
4. Have a group worksheet, cover to be designed, etc. to be worked on during their free time. It should be an important part of a larger project that you want to finish before the end of their quarterly sessions with you.