What to do with Early Finishers

Are you tired of seeing your students play computer games when they finish their work early?

A couple of years ago it got to the point where students would rush through their assignments just to play a game. 

Of course, when I asked them to redo something because they had given minimal effort,, I was met with resistance.  

Sound familiar?

I knew I needed to change my expectations and create a culture of reading, so I came up with something called The Early Finisher Reading Club.

How It Works:

When students complete an assignment early, they read. 

After they read, they complete one of the boxes on the Early Finisher Reading Club game board. 

When they get all of the boxes filled in, they turn it in and receive a prize and a new game board. 

Options for Reading Material:

Get with your media coordinator and schedule a book tasting. They can pull different books students might like and have them sample them in order to find something they are interested in. 

Consider doing a class novel that you start them off with in order to get them hooked and then everyone reads it independently. I did this with Scythe by Neal Shusterman for my higher students and Schooled by Gordon Korman with my students who struggle with reading. We read the first chapter aloud and then they finished it independently. They loved it! 

Have different magazines or printed articles students can grab if they don’t have a book. Our media center has subscriptions to magazines so we have access to the older issues. 

Prizes:

Keep it simple! You can have a bucket with candy and other small items like colored pens, water bottle stickers, a voucher for a positive note or phone call home (students love this), extra points, etc. You can also order a prize grab bag from Amazon like this one. The kids love those sunglasses and tiny sticky hands! 

Tips to Make It Work:

Set the expectation from the beginning that students will read when they are finished with an assignment and make this the only option. Doing this consistently will create a culture of reading in your classroom.

Require students to bring a book with them to class. For students who forget, have magazines or articles ready. 

Make a big deal out of students who finish their game board. You can make them a paper crown (I cut two strips of construction paper, staple them together, and write Reading Club Member on it), or give them a small trophy like this one. 

Want to get started? Download The Early Finisher Club game board by clicking the image below and print one for each student.