Free Choice Boards for Early Finishers

The four words no teacher wants to hear: “I’m done! Now what?” I don’t know about you, but those words make me shudder and I can feel the stress rise at the utterance of them. Why? Well, I want my students engaged and learning during class time. If they have finished our assignment, then they are taskless. And . . . I know that many students are still working. I want these students to have the time they need to thoughtfully complete the activity in an environment that is conducive to learning. And so there it is – the balancing act of early finishers.

Activities for Early Finishers

The Early Finisher Challenge . . .

For years I have tried different approaches to early finishers. I have had teacher disappointment after disappointment in my search for keeping those early finishers engaged and challenged without just giving them more work. I’ve brainstormed with other teachers and I’ve scoured Pinterest, but I didn’t find anything that worked for me.

So many things felt more like a punishment, an extra assignment for finishing quickly. That’s not what I wanted. Others felt like busy-work or a ‘keep yourself occupied’ approach, and that was not what I wanted either. I wanted more for my students. I wanted to challenge them and engage them. Then it came to me . . .

What if I come up with an option that contains a variety of activities that a student can choose from? That was promising. I decided that the activities would be easy to return to at a later time because there was a good chance they wouldn’t finish in one sitting. I also wanted activities that would connect real-world skills to concepts we are learning in the classroom. This was the beginning of the Early Finisher Choice Board.

Free Choice Boards for Early Finishers

What is a Choice Board?

A choice board is a bingo-like page with a variety of different activities that students can complete independently. The idea is that students choose anything off the list to work on after they have finished their assignment.

As I was creating these Early Finisher Choice Boards, I focused on tasks that would allow students to use creative thinking, logic, and analysis while connecting to skills and concepts we have worked on in class. The end result was a hit!

How To Use Choice Boards for Early Finishers

As with almost everything in the classroom, it is important to have procedures in place for how the choice boards will be used. The key to implementing choice boards in the classroom is to make it easy for the students to complete the tasks independently. This means they need to know where the Choice Board is located, where to find the supplies and where to work.

Free Choice Boards for Early Finishers

In my classroom, each student had a copy of the choice board that they kept in a folder. This way they could pull it out whenever they were done with an assignment and immediately start on the choice board. I know other teachers who create a Choice Board area in the classroom. The Choice Board is on a wall or bulletin board, and all the supplies a student could need are there too. There is no right or wrong way, it is about making the procedures work for your classroom.

Give Early Finisher Choice Boards a Try!

I love these so much and am excited to share them with you. I saw my students flourish when using the choice boards. They learned to work independently and confidently. I saw levels of creative thinking, analysis, and application that showed that they were learning and mastering important concepts. It was a WIN, for sure!

Grab your free choice boards today and put an end to the early finisher challenge in your classroom.

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I don’t know about you, but I hate it when I remember an idea but then can’t remember where it came from. So now I use Pinterest. Pin this to your classroom ideas Pinterest board and save the idea for later.

Free Choice Boards for Early Finishers

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This Post Has 42 Comments

  1. Katie

    I do not see the link to download these FREE Choice Boards. Can you point me in the right direction?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Katie,
      If you scroll up just a little bit, you’ll see a signup form. Enter your name and email address and they’ll be delivered straight to your inbox! 🙂

      1. Jillian

        Hi Kim, I have tried entering my name and email multiple times and I still have not received the choice boards. Am I missing something? Thanks!

        1. Kim Miller

          Hi Jillian,
          This email was delivered to your inbox on July 5, 2021, but it was not opened. Since it’s already been sent, my email provider won’t send it again. I’ll try sending it to you through my email. If you don’t receive it, feel free to email me at [email protected]. 🙂

  2. Dee

    Good morning!
    I’m sorry but I can’t figure out where to sign up for your blog and get the free choice boards. Please help!

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Dee,
      If you scroll up just a little bit, you’ll see a signup form. Enter your name and email address and they’ll be delivered straight to your inbox! 🙂

  3. Joyce McDonald

    Thanks! These look great.

    1. Kim Miller

      Thank you, Joyce! I hope you enjoy using them!

  4. Jenna Nieves

    How long do you use the choice board for ?Do you change these out weekly ?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Jenna,
      You would want to use them until your students have completed the majority of the activities. Since these are for early finishers, it will depend on how much free time students have once they’ve finished an assignment. I hope that helps!

  5. Margy Aiello

    Hi, I signed up for the Free Choice Boards, but they never came to my email address or even SPAM.

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Margy!
      The email shows that it was sent, so I’m not sure what happened to it. Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send them your way! 🙂

  6. Naty

    Hi! I’ve signed up but I haven’t received the email yet.

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Naty!
      Ignore the earlier reply, I did find you in my subscribers! It shows you signed up to receive the choice boards and they were delivered to your Gmail address on Jan 4 at 10:19am. Could you check your spam and promotions folder? If you can’t find the email, let me know. If you want to search, the email is titled: 🎉 Free Choice Boards for Early Finishers

  7. Quinn Bourgeois

    Hi Kim!!!
    I signed up to receive your awesome choice boards, but haven’t received them. I also purchased your spelling choice boards and I can’t wait to use them. I didn’t have any issues there.

  8. April Buffaloe

    I’ve tried twice and still haven’t received anything in my email.

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi April,
      It shows that you’ve opened the email. Is it possible that you deleted it? Email me at [email protected] and I’ll send them to you!

  9. Sabrina Jones

    Hi! I love your site! I would love these choice boards but can’t seem to see where you are pointing others to a box to enter my email? Would you mind sending directly and adding me to your list? Thank you!

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Sabrina,
      The form is at the bottom of the page, but I went ahead and added you to the list. You should get an email from me with a link to download the choice boards. If you don’t, let me know!:)

  10. Kim Miller

    Hi Megan,
    I’m so sorry, but at this time, I do not have an editable version of this resource.

  11. Amy

    Hi! I signed up for the free choice boards but haven’t received them yet.

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Amy,
      Can you please check your spam folder? If you still don’t see them, feel free to email at [email protected] and I’ll send them to you!

  12. Amy

    I checked my spam folder and I still don’t have them.

    1. Kim Miller

      Hey Amy!
      I just emailed them to you. Check your email! Let me know if you didn’t receive it. 🙂

  13. Lauren

    Hi there, I’ve tried to download this resource and have checked spam folder over the last few days. Please advise?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Lauren,
      This email shows that it was delivered on August 19. If you will email me at [email protected], I’ll send you them to you.

  14. Aletha

    is there somewhere can buy more of these?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Aletha,
      I only have this one free set. Sorry!

  15. Amy

    I am unable to download the choice boards because it requires me to purchase a DropBox membership. Can you offer a free option for accessing this resource?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Amy,
      You don’t need to purchase Dropbox to download the choice board. After opening them, just click the download button in the top right corner. 🙂

  16. Katie

    Hello! I have entered my email but am yet to receive download link?

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Katie,
      I checked, and this email was delivered to your inbox on January 26. It has not been opened, so please check your spam and promotions folder! 🙂

  17. sally.tong

    Hi Kim,

    I can find the link on the page, but I have emailed you for a request of the choice boards.

    Thanks a lot!

    1. Kim Miller

      Hi Sally,
      You should now have an email with the choice boards in your inbox. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder. 🙂

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