Quiet Choice Activity Shelf

Stevee Tompsett
Grand Valley State University
 Action research is designed, as a way to close the gap that often times exists between researchers

and teachers in the classroom (Johnson, 2002). This assignment has provided a wonderful opportunity as

a new teacher to practice the process of action research. This provides a basic foundation that can be built

on as we enter the education profession to continue to tackle problems that present themselves in our

classrooms. We, as educators, are in the perfect position to address these problems and discover ways to

overcome these issues. When comparing general education research to action research, action research is

viewed as more beneficial to teachers because it accounts for the unique demands of a teacher’s

responsibilities (Johnson, 2002).

In my student teaching placement classroom, one of the biggest concerns that were present

occurred when students finished their assignments early. My student teaching placement class was a

kindergarten classroom and there were 25 students enrolled in my class. When students finished their work

early the most frequently used activity to fill the time, was reading a book in our reading corner. Although

reading silently is often the go to strategy for early finishers many students can get bored when this is their

only option (Kaplan, 2018). In my placement classroom this boredom become ever present, as students

moved to reading to fill their time after completing their assignments. There was an increase in off task

behavior and the need for more consistent redirection when students were reading following the completion

of their assignments. Some of the off task behavior included roaming around the classroom, arguments

between students, and distracting students who were still working on the assigned task. Teacher

redirection was required in at least one of these incidences, but often more than one when students

completed their work early.

There is not yet a lot of detailed research on early finisher activities. However, it is well known that

children learn at varied paces, which makes it inevitable that some students will complete their work before

others (Cox, 2018). Selecting activities for early finishers that allow students to work independently as to

not interrupt other students as they work is a good classroom management strategy (Cox, 2018). Choosing
activities for the quiet choice activity shelf in my classroom with intentionality is how I intended to

encourage learning as students finished their work early. When determining activities for your early

finishers it is important to ensure that they are designed to teach as well as challenge your students (Neas,

2013). The literature on early finishers makes it clear that establishing the expectations on what students

should do is extremely important to prevent classroom disruptions (Weigle, 2017). Establishing

expectations also prevents students from inappropriately rushing through their work in order to have “free

time” (Weigle, 2017). Sharing with the class before an assignment the standard of work you expect from

them will help decrease students attempting to turn in work that was not completed to their personal best

(Crean, 2017). As with most classroom procedures establishing the clear expectations up front often leads

to greater success when the activity occurs. Along with having a variety of choices and clear expectations,

it is important to have activities that are self-explanatory and familiar to the students (Wills, 2017). There

are so many available resources and ideas to use for quiet choice activity shelves, but ensuring that there

are clear expectations, intentional activities, and a variety of choices will increase the likelihood of the

success of this classroom behavior management system.

The data for this action research project was collected through observations. Observations took

place before implementing the quiet choice activity shelf to determine what off task behaviors were most

frequently present. As previously stated some of these behaviors were roaming the classroom, arguing with

other students, or being a distraction to students still working. During the implementation of the quiet choice

activity shelf the teacher reviewed the standards that their work must meet before being able to choose a

quiet choice activity. The teacher also reviewed the number of students who were able to engage with a

particular activity at one time. Finally, the teacher explained the expectations of returning the materials

appropriately to the activity shelf before moving on to the next activity. Following the implementation of the

quiet choice activity shelf there were observations to determine if there was a decrease in off task

behaviors when students completed their assigned work. After completing observations the teacher took a
look at the behaviors present to determine if the implementation of the quiet choice activity shelf increased

engagement in students as they completed assigned work.

In order to counteract the problem a quiet choice activity shelf was implemented in the classroom.

Before this shelf could be utilized in the classroom, there were some clear expectations that needed to be

put in place. This shelf was going to be used by students as they finished up their assigned work.

Therefore, it was clearly explained to the children that there work would need to be checked by a teacher

before they would move on to a choice from the shelf. Although the shelf was designed to help fill the time

after students completed assigner work, it was not designed to be busy work. In order to make the work

worthwhile to the learning of my students the activities chosen for the shelf were picked with intention.

There were also clear expectations laid out for how many students were able to use each activity at a time,

this was done in order to prevent increase in disruptions from large groups working on one activity.

Establishing expectations before behavior issues arise is the best option as this allows you the opportunity

to refer back to the expectations when a disruption occurs (Weigle, 2017). This was the mindset I had when

sharing the expectations of the quiet choice activity shelf with the class.

Having the options to read, write, and draw were previously used in our class and those remained

staples of our quiet choice activity shelf. However, in addition to those choices activities that had been

introduced in our centers were then placed onto our quiet choice activity shelf. Many of the activities were

math and reading activities. Since the activities were introduced with teacher assistance during a center the

students were then able to independently work on them to continue building on their skills. When the shelf

was introduced there was a smaller range of activities available, but as we completed centers more

activities were added. One of our reading activities on the shelf is a sight word activity. The activity had

sight word cards, a mirror, and a recording sheet. The students use the mirror to read the reversed sight

words and then write it on the recording sheets. Another reading activity is a matching rhyming word

activity. Some of the math activities on the shelf are snowman addition and hug a bug. Snowman addition
requires students to roll the dice and use buttons on the snowman mat to solve the addition problems. Hug

a bug has cards that request the students to start on a certain number and go back or forward a certain

number on the number line. The student then makes a mark and tries to get five numbers in a row to win.

Also on the shelf are bins of pattern blocks and hexabits. The variety of activities is designed to provide

students with choices that will keep them engaged and learning when they have finished their assigned

work.

After analyzing the observation data following the implementation of the quiet choice activity shelf it

became apparent that students were much more engaged with their activities than when their only choice

was to read a book in the reading corner. With the implementation of the quiet choice activity shelf the need

for teacher intervention or redirection decreased to one to two times per week. The students were

collaborating if they had chosen an activity that allowed for more than one student to be involved in. It was

fascinating to see students help each other learn. There was also an increase in teamwork present,

especially exhibited with the hexabits. The students really enjoyed connecting the hexabits together to

make long chains throughout the classroom. Recommendations for future research would be to look more

closely into if the particular activities available on the quiet choice activity shelf make a difference in student

involvement. The activities selected for the quiet choice activity shelf in my classroom were hands on and it

would be interesting to see how students perceived other activities. Another area to look at more closely

would be how often to alternate activities. It seems reasonable to assume that students would reach the

same level of boredom with the same activities as they would with reading.

Action research is a specific type of research designed for educators to participate in. I think action

research can be a good way for educators to tackle specific problems that become apparent in their

classrooms. Being creative in how to manage problems that arise can provide educators with a unique

perspective that can be helpful to other educators that are experiencing similar things. In my student

teaching placement classroom we encountered a behavior management problem when early finishers were
engaged with silently reading. We implemented a quiet choice activity shelf were able to curb most of the

disruptive behaviors that had previously been present when students finished their assignments early.
 References

Cox, J. (2018). Classroom management: Keeping early finishers on task. Retrieved from

http://www.teachhub.com/classroom-management-keeping-early-finishers-task

Crean, Melinda. (2017, Feb. 27). What’s next? How to engage early finishers [Blog Post]. Retrieved from

https://topnotchteaching.com/classroom-management/early-finishers/

Johnson, A. P. (2002). Introduction to action research. A short guide to action research (pp. 13-19). Boston,

MA: Allyn & Bacon Publications.

Kaplan. (2018). Keeping early finishers engaged and focused. Retrieved from

https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/keeping-early-finishers-engaged-and-focused

Neas, L. M. (2013, Sept. 18). I’m done! Activities for early finishers [Blog Post]. Retrieved from

https://www.brighthubeducation.com/elementary-school-activities/119699-ideas-for-students-who-

finish-their-work-early/

Weigle, B. (2017, March 28). Managing students who finish early [Blog Post]. Retrieved from

https://classroomcaboodle.com/teacher-resource/students-who-finish-early/

Wills, D. (2017). I’m done! Now what? [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://mrswillskindergarten.com/im-

done-now-what-free-download/#comment-14970