Question Details
I feel really stressed – I plan my lesson but sometimes some students finish early and I don’t know what to do with them. Other times, most students finish early.
Answer
A useful classroom resource is the extension kit for ‘early finishers’. Always have differentiated extension tasks that students can do if they happen to finish early in a lesson. This could be organised in differentiated trays that the students can go to once they have finished, or it could be an extension slide on a presentation which includes differentiated tasks. This will ensure that the students cotinue to deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding of what they have been learning and you do not get interrupted whilst working with students. It might be worth reflecting on how many students are finishing early and how often this is happening as it might be an indicator that something needs to change in your plan. For example, if many are finishing early, quite often, is the lesson challenging enough?
