As you think of middle school students, you are bound to find early finishers. Early finishers are the ones who generally like to finish the given task in the most minimal possible time. These students are the ones who are constantly looking for different activities and engaging studying time. Students who are early finishers may also suffer from boredom or frustration when they have no task in hand.
In such cases, teachers and educators can use popular strategies and creative activities to create engagement. It is important to offer a diversified learning platform for early finishers. Teachers can consider various online games including puzzles and sudoku to keep their brains engaged. Open-ended reading and writing can also be considered for students.
Teachers must know that the students must be involved in research-related tasks and creative thinking where they actually take out time to analyze situations and come up with possible outcomes. Early finisher activities are unique and boost the critical thinking skills of students, hence, this blog is going to be all about such activities that can help kids in middle school.
Interactive activities to engage early finishers
The below-mentioned activities are designed to help students stay engaged with creative tasks. As early finishers need something fresh, teachers no longer have to face this challenge of searching for new activities again and again.
1. Pick and Draw
Early finishers might be looking for the next new task filled with some challenges. In such cases, challenging them to draw with limited shapes can truly be interesting.
- To conduct this activity, draw 7-8 shapes on a chart paper
- Cut these shapes and put them in a bowl
- Ask students to pick just 3 shapes for the activity
- Once they have picked, ask them to make any drawings with these 3 shapes only
- Once done, ask them to paint the picture with 3 colors only
While this activity is focused on engaging early finishers, it also encourages them to be calm and patiently complete the task. They learn to develop concentration with limited resources in hand.
2. The 5-Page Secret!
Storytelling is indeed an interesting way to engage students. However, story writing is another relevant way to engage students in something creative.
- To conduct this activity, ask students to read about different stories
- The stories can be related to mystery, ancient civilizations, or what lies beyond the universe
- Now, ask them to write a 5-page story that includes unknown secrets of the world
- You can also ask them to include drawings or icons that relate to the story
- Once done, call them to read it out loud
As students get an opportunity to put their minds into imagination, they are more likely to get deeper into writing the story. With the urge to finish early, they might also learn to prepare beforehand for the best story creation.
3. Verbal Journal
Journaling is a therapeutic activity and middle school students should be definitely involved in it. However, this activity focuses on verbal communication turned into the format of a journal.
- To conduct this activity, make flashcards with different questions
- These questions can be the following
- What is the most special moment of your life?
- What do you wish to change in school? Why?
- After this, put flashcards in a box and ask each student to pick one
- Tell them to read out the question and express their opinions
As students get an opportunity to talk about their views, they also learn to actively listen to others. They develop vocabulary and verbal communication while sharing a part of their life story in this activity. At the same time, this also becomes a key activity that can promote mindfulness.
4. Jigsaw Puzzle
Puzzles have been amusing for middle school students as they offer a challenging time. Puzzles also help in developing concentration and patience throughout the process.
- To conduct this activity, take two different Jigsaw puzzles
- Now mix both puzzles in a way that they are completely unrecognized by anyone
- Divide the students into teams of 2 to 3 members each now ask students to solve the jigsaw puzzle in a limited period of time
- Ask them to solve the two puzzles in the minimum time possible
While middle school students keep trying to solve the puzzle, they also develop patience in the process. As they are operating in teams, they learn to accept different opinions and perspectives thereby enhancing their team-building capabilities.
5. Be a Poetic Person!
Rhythmic sense is an important aspect to achieve creativity. As early finishers look for different things to do, engaging with a creative task is one of the ideal ways.
- To conduct this activity, write topics on a chit of paper
- These topics can be – life, nature, school, teachers, or travel
- Now, ask students to pick a chit and write a poem on that specific topic only
- Ask them to include different figures of speech to make it interesting
Engaging in a creative space that induces them to think deeply actually benefits their knowledge. They learn more about abstract thinking when they write poems on such different topics.
6. Activities are Invited!
Aren’t students always looking for fun activities? Classroom activities are a great way to engage early finishers. However, now it’s time for students to think about activities.
- To conduct this activity, ask students to carefully observe different classroom activities
- Now, give them a piece of paper and a pen
- Divide students into teams of 3 members each
- Ask them to make classroom activities which can be conducted by the teacher
Early finishers who engage in teams might have to deal with non-early finishers thereby developing appropriate ways of verbal communication. As they prepare activities for the classroom, they get an opportunity to enhance their critical thinking abilities as well.
7. My Kitchen!
Sure middle school students love junk food and even their food breaks. This activity focuses on engaging the early finishers in the creative thinking process.
- To conduct this activity, ask students to think of their favorite food dish
- Now, ask them to write a detailed recipe
- Make sure they include all steps for making the dish
- Ask them to draw a picture of the food dish when the recipe ends
- Invite an open discussion with everyone
A step-by-step recipe writing activity does bring about a systematic process for early finishers. Through this activity, they get deep into brainstorming and analytical thinking as they cannot miss an important step in the recipe.
8. I Just Wrote a Review!
Middle school students can be engaged with the outside world in a creative way through this activity. The activity focuses on building market knowledge and enhancing observational skills.
- To conduct this activity, ask students to think about their entire day right from what brand of t-shirt they wear to what they ate during the whole day
- For example, if they wear a specific brand’s t-shirt, ask them to write a review about it
- In another way, if they have recently watched a movie, ask them to again draft a review about it
- In this way, they can write multiple reviews about food brands, cinema experience, or different places
The activity focuses on building knowledge and putting students in the shoes of a customer. As they start thinking like a customer, they gain more awareness about a particular product or an experience.
9. What a Fun Fact!
Fun facts are pretty interesting when it comes to reading about them. They are short and fun to learn about.
- To conduct this activity, write different topics on a flashcard
- These topics can be related to geography, history, earth, or even their own school
- Now, ask students to find 5 different fun facts about the topic
- Invite an open discussion and watch how they engage with others
Collecting fun facts is not only interesting but also an engaging way to keep early finishers focused. They learn to brainstorm, research and also develop focus-building skills.
10. The Motivational Speech
Early finishers are sure waiting for something exciting that satisfies their urge to get things done. This activity focuses on building imagination skills and encourages students to think outside of the box.
- To conduct this activity, ask students to watch different motivational speeches
- Now, ask them to draft their own motivational speech for their age group
- Ask them to learn the accent and speaking style
- After this, allow them to present their speeches to everyone
As students get an opportunity to give speeches, they also learn the art of written communication. Students also get an idea about different topics by interest thereby engaging with other students around.
Wrapping up..
It is very common for teachers to find early finishers in all age groups which calls for numerous ways to engage such students. It does become a challenge to provide them with something unique every now and then. That’s when activities help teachers and educators offer a unique learning platform. The activities can always be twisted and peppered with different elements for constant freshness in teaching.
I am Shweta Sharma. I am a final year Masters student of Clinical Psychology and have been working closely in the field of psycho-education and child development. I have served in various organisations and NGOs with the purpose of helping children with disabilities learn and adapt better to both, academic and social challenges. I am keen on writing about learning difficulties, the science behind them and potential strategies to deal with them. My areas of expertise include putting forward the cognitive and behavioural aspects of disabilities for better awareness, as well as efficient intervention. Follow me on LinkedIn