Differentiation for Fast Finishers

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When you have students who finish fast and finish correctly/completely...the million dollar question is "What do I do now?" Meeting the needs of these students can be challenging because if not done correctly, you can start seeing behavior disruption, laziness, and general disengagement in these otherwise high achievers. Differentiated learning can help keep your students interested, motivated, and meeting their highest potential. Students who are engaged and invested in their learning are less likely to cause classroom disruptions and make the most academic progress possible.

WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION? 


Differentiation is proactive, needs based, and flexible. It requires prior planning and attention to student interest and readiness. Differentiated instruction can benefit all students at every academic level. 

For your fast finishers, you are either providing a more in depth task from the start (ideal for students who like to ask "but is this graded?" and those who rush) -or- you are offering meaningful, engaging application or extensions of course content as needed. It is important to note that differentiated work is NOT busy work or simply a time filler. 

DIFFERENTIATION IS & IS NOT....



Source: https://wvde.state.wv.us/osp/DI/2.%20What%20is%20DI%20is%20and%20is%20not.pdf

BEST PRACTICES: 

While all of this sounds like a lot of work on an already full teacher plate, the majority is in the prep (which can actually be very minimal, depending on the student need and assignment). When set up correctly, as in any lesson, cognitive work load is placed the student and the student should be as independent as possible with you as a guide/facilitator. 

As you work towards or fine tune your differentiated instruction, be careful to set clear expectations to avoid the inevitable rushing through work to get to the "fun stuff". Consider the following-
  1. Who will participated in extension activities and how will those students know it is for them? 
  2. If activities are offered as "when I'm done" options, what criteria will be clearly in place for students to be able to move to those options?
  3. What are the behavior expectations for work time? 
  4. What are the consequences for not meeting expectations?
  5. How will you follow through on all of the above to ensure accountability?
  6. If you find a "when I'm done" list to be unmanageable due to students rushing or not meeting expectations and it just turns into busy work, a better alternative is to differentiate the actual lesson and provide your students their appropriately leveled work directly from the start.

EXAMPLES: 

 More ideas...
Source: https://www.giftedguru.com/early-finishers-ideas-for-teachers/