Digital Early Finisher Station
A couple of months ago I shared an idea here on the blog for an early finishers station in your classroom. But in the week of distance-learning I realized that in person teaching is not the only time that you may have early finishers. You could have a early finishers in the scope of a distance-learning classroom as well. On top of that many teachers in the classroom this fall are being faced with the challenges of not being able to have traditional centers with shared materials. So the idea of having one station in a classroom that all of your students visit may not fit into the scope of your schools social distancing guidelines. There’s a huge need for everything to go digital right now so I would like to share with you my digital early finishers station!
Here’s how it works:
You can create your early finisher station one of three ways:
Option 1: Create a menu with clickable buttons for students to visit another site or different presentation within Google.
Option 2: Import an entire digital activity directly into the early finisher slideshow. This way, students don’t need to click on anything. They can just scroll through your slideshow and complete activities!
Option 3: Type directions directly into a slide for students to complete something that’s already printed on paper.
You can mix and match these options for the different activities you give students to do as early finisher work! To get started with your template, click the button below to download!
What could I include as Early Finisher Activities for my students?
This is a new project between my friend Stephanie Sutherland at The Simple Classroom and myself. And it’s the perfect thing to use as an early finisher station! Virtual field trips can absolutely be used as a whole group project, but you also can leave it out for students to work on at their own pace. And the best part is that it’s totally digital. You can see an up-close look at the virtual field trips in this blog post here!
Because boom cards are self-grading and totally digital they are the perfect thing to give students as an early finisher station. I have several Boom options in my TPT store, and you can find a set to practice just about any domain that your students are working through! These are extra engaging for students, and are a great way for students to practice skills after they finish other classwork.
I have talked about my printable choice boards in blog posts here and here. Now they’ve gone digital! You can link them into your early finisher presentation for students to work on at their own pace. Incorporating choice means that your kids have a little bit of control over what they do first, which can make things more engaging.
Games
You likely have a series of district approved websites, games, and apps that you could provide links to for your students to work on. It’s super easy to create a list of links for students to choose from, so you know that anything they’re visiting online is teacher-approved and skill-based!
I have no shortage of math PBLs in my store by season and subject! These are excellent early finisher work, because they review dozens of skills at once. You can have PBL packets printed for students to work through, and simply type the different pages you want them complete on different days, or link to a digital PBL project!
How do you handle early finisher students in your classroom this year? I’d love to hear from you! Connect with me on Instagram or Facebook!