No matter how precisely I plan I always end up with a couple of students who finish some activities early. I used to say what most teachers say, for them to read silently, but I’ve never liked for students to read silently for very long since I don’t really know if they are truly reading or just spinning their wheels, which is not a good use of time.
In order to combat this frustration, I’ve come up with an extra credit card. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that my students get extra credit points toward one subject or another as far as grades go. These are points that the kids can cash in for trips to the treasure box, coupons for less homework, more water fountain passes, etc. And the kids actually earn what they get to cash in for.
At the beginning of the year, everyone gets an extra credit card that has twenty circles on it. I have three crates set up with folders numbered 1-75 in each crate (I usually have to add a couple of more crates by the end of the year). Inside each numbered folder are enrichment worksheets aligned with concepts we have either already covered or are working through. When students finish early they choose a worksheet out of a folder, in order, and take it back to their seat to finish. The kids can do as many worksheets as time allows. When the worksheets have been finished, the student clips his extra credit card and all the completed pages together and turns them in- directly to me. In order to get a circle punched off of his card, he must score at least a 90% on each page. Once a card is filled up it can be cashed in for a variety of items or passes (I have a menu on the wall of what specific items are worth) and then I issue another extra credit card. Each student is responsible for remembering what page he or she is on.
Now I know what several of you are thinking. Yes, I do have some extra grading to do. Yes, kids could potentially complete several pages at a time. Yes, cards could get lost if directions aren’t followed (responsibility, anyone?). But most importantly to me, the students are on task and the work that they are completing can be measured instead of just telling them to read silently. And the work that is being done reinforces concepts and gives me a good idea as to who has mastered the concept or needs a bit more work.
Thankfully I don’t have early finishers for every single activity, but this has really cut down on the disruption, not to mention boredom, that the handful of early finishers do experience at any given time. I also like to display all of the completed extra credit cards. This allows my students to celebrate each other’s successes of reaching goals and the kids get to see how many cards he or she completes in a year.
How do you tame your early finishers?
