5 Reusable Activities for Fast Finishers
Have you ever found yourself scrambling to find activities for your fast finishers to complete? You know the students… The ones where you give out a practice page and they are almost finished before you even finish passing out to the whole class?
Reusable activities have been my favorite way to keep these students occupied in a meaningful learning activity! I am always looking for reusable activities that are quick and easy to grab and start using right away. Here are a few of my favorites!
Write and Wipe Workmats
Write and Wipe Workmats are a great way to work on multiple phonics and writing skills in a quick 5-10 minute activity. I created Write and Wipe Workmats for all of the kinder and first grade phonics skills so that I could target the phonics practice my students were working on.
To use these mats, just place one sheet in a sheet protector. Then, cut out the word cards and place inside the sheet protector. I also store a dry erase marker in the pocket so everything is ready to grab and go.
When students need an activity, they can just grab a pocket, return to their work area, and begin writing. First, they will determine the word the card shows. Next, they write the word in the word box. Then, they will use the word in a sentence. When they finish, they just erase the sheet protector, grab a new card, and begin again!
When it is time to clean up, all they have to do is erase their sheet protector, drop the marker and cards back inside, and my students are ready to learn again in 60 seconds or less!
You can check out all of my Write and Wipe Workmats HERE.
Phonics Clip Cards for Task Cards
Phonics Task Cards are another style of activity that are easy to grab and use! This activity includes four different types of task cards to help students practice the phonics skills they are learning, while also building fine motor skills. To complete each activity card, your students will determine the answer, then clip a clothespin onto the card in the correct spot.
I created this Phonics Clip Cards Bundle so you can differentiate by phonics skills for all of your students. There are 6 different sets that can be sorted by the following skills:
- cvc words
- consonant blends
- digraphs
- r-controlled vowels
- cvce words
- vowel teams
All you need to do to prepare this fast finisher activity is to cut out the cards and place in a storage container. I love using photo storage boxes and putting mini clothespins right inside the box with the cards.
Roll and Read Games
Roll and Read Games are always another class favorite! But, they are one of my personal favorites due to how easy they are to manage. All you need is the roll and read worksheet, one die, and some counters. To help students find the sheets that match the skills they are working on, you can store these in a hanging folder by phonics skills (alphabet, cvc, blends, digraphs, cvce, etc.), and place the necessary materials in the sheet protector to keep your materials managed. Make sure to grab small foam dice to keep noise to a minimum!
If you want to try out these roll and read games with your students, you can download a free pack here:
Directed Drawing Task Cards
These Phonics Based Directed Drawing Task Cards are ALWAYS a hit!
Plus, it is so easy for you to manage this activity. When your students complete a class assignment and have extra time, they can go to the early finisher area and grab a task card box. Then, they return to their work area and quietly work on the drawing in their journals or on an extra sheet of paper. After completing the drawing, you can have your students write a story about their illustration, or you can have them write facts about the image they drew.
To prep these boxes, all you need to do is print and laminate the cards (or you could use cardstock). Each set includes a cover image that you can tape to the top of a photo storage box. Then, just cut the task cards and place inside your favorite storage container. I love these photo storage boxes for task cards! You can grab these task cards here if you think they will help you in your classroom!
Memory Games
Memory games are excellent for brain development in children. I love to put Memory Games in my Fast Finishers bin for students since they can quickly lay out the cards and then begin finding the matching pairs. They can play independently to work on remembering the cards they have turned over, or they can play with a partner.
I hope you are feeling inspired to create an area in your classroom where fast finishers can quickly grab an activity when they need some extra classwork to do! By creating engaging enrichment activities for our fast finishers, we can encourage them to extend their learning all throughout the day. Here are the five activities I shared in this post if you want to implement them in your classroom:
- Write and Wipe Workmats
- Phonics Clip Cards for Task Cards
- Roll and Read Phonics Games
- Roll and Read Phonics Games
- Phonics Memory Games
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This post may contain Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my affiliate links, which helps to support The Primary Brain blog. As always, I only recommend products that I love and all ideas shared are my own.
Written on July 7th, 2023 by Laurin Brainard