It can be hard to plan an art lesson that everyone finishes at the exact same time. Ok – well I have never done it – I usually have some students who finish quickly every time. These five low-prep fast finisher activities will be an asset to your art classroom.
Fast Finisher Ideas For Art Class
Art Room Clean Up
Assist with clean-up and art class organization. Some students really want to be helpful and just assist their teachers with important tasks.
Self and Peer Assessment
Give them the success criteria, rubric, or evaluation method and have them self-assess their creation. They must also provide a written justification on how their work aligns with the criteria and why they deserve the mark they have given themselves. Hopefully, another peer is also done and they can evaluate each other’s work against the success criteria.
Engage Students in an Art Inquiry
Help students develop a research question about an artist or art form they are interested in. This works best if students have had a chance to look through books about famous artists or art forms. Students can select the media they wish to present their inquiry through.
Offer Detailed Colouring Pages
The internet is full of adult colouring pages. A quick search of Teachers Pay Teachers, Pinterest or Google will help you locate several school appropriate pages for your students to colour.
Art Sketchbook Assignment For Fast Finishers
This is my favourite faster finisher assignment because it still enables students to be productive and creative. Since students work on their art projects at different paces, it is important that students have something meaningful to work on when they are done with their art projects. I assign this sketchbook assignment as a yearlong assignment. I divide the school year up into thirds and set 3 different due dates.
A sketchbook is a great tool for students to develop their artistic abilities. It is also really good to leave for a supply teacher if you are going to be away. Once students understand and practice this assignment they can work independently. Find this resource on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
This detailed article on The Art of Education website has other great fast finisher ideas which can be modified for an art classroom.