45 Activities for Students Who Have Finished Their Schoolwork

December 20, 2022 byAllison Brubaker

7 min to read

A middle school student is playing on his tablet after finishing his schoolwork

Your student has worked hard all year in their online school classes, staying motivated and engaged. If your student is advancing or moving ahead quickly, they might finish their classwork for the day early.

If they’ve completed their assigned lessons ahead of schedule, it might be tempting to take the rest of the day off. However, state laws require online school students to attend classes for a specific amount of time. This means that when their classwork is complete, students must do additional educational activities related to their core courses.

If your elementary or middle school student completes their work early, they may not know what to do in class when done with work. Here’s a list of 45 teacher-approved learning activities for students in elementary and middle school to keep your student engaged in learning throughout the school day.

Educational Activities for Middle Schoolers and Elementary School Students

The following list of learning activities for middle schoolers and elementary schoolers is categorized by:

all subjects
language arts
math, science
social studies

You can supplement these activities with additional enrichment projects that are outside of the core curriculum. These are also great ideas to supplement any at-home learning curriculum!

All Subjects

For any tests or quizzes where your student scored below 70 percent, review the corresponding lessons and complete additional learning activities related to the questions they missed.
Go back and view teacher comments on tests, quizzes, and homework, and work on any skills that the teacher said needed improvement.
Take a field trip to a local museum and ask your student to write about what they learned or observed.
Subscribe to the free Macaroni Kids website and receive a weekly email of kid-friendly events and activities in your area.

Language Arts Activities

Read a book based on a movie and then watch the movie, or vice versa. Ask your student to write a paragraph comparing and contrasting the book and movie. A few good choices: James and the Giant Peach, Shiloh, Call of the Wild, Because of Winn-Dixie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and The Lightning Thief.
Read a biography together and then have your student write their autobiography, a family member’s biography, or a memoir about a special time.
Have your student research a topic of their choice and write a research paper. Have them practice taking notes and writing a bibliography or citing sources correctly.
Read a novel with your student and ask them to write an alternate ending or a book review.
Have your student write a play, then ask them to read or act out the play for the family.
Write or type words on paper, cut them out, and mix up the words. See how many sentences your student can create using these words.
Read a book together and ask your student to summarize each chapter, and then summarize the entire book.
Review the year’s spelling and sight-word lists. Make sure your student can spell and define each word and use each word in a sentence.
Have your student write about their dream vacation plans.
Ask your student to write a letter of advice for a future Connections Academy® student that explains what to expect or how to be successful in virtual school.
Have your student write a letter to the school’s principal describing their favorite things about online school.
Write about goals for next year, for high school, or for after graduation. Help your student include steps for achieving their goals, setting deadlines, and creating a plan for measuring success.
Choose a silly topic, like Jell-O or slime, and have your student write a story about it using as many descriptive words and as much figurative language as possible.
Challenge your student to practice keyboarding skills and gain speed and accuracy in typing.

Math Activities

Play Yahtzee. This is a fun game that requires adding points throughout the game, giving students an opportunity to practice math skills.
Finish any remaining workbook pages from their online school math class.
Challenge your student to play the card game War and see who can multiply the two cards laid down faster. Think you’re too advanced? Lay down three cards each and see who is quicker. Aces = 1 point, face cards = 10 points.
Create a grocery list and estimate the total bill. Have your student compare prices to see which product is a better deal. Calculate the percentage or price difference of items on sale. Practice counting money by giving them a total price, amount paid, and have the student count back change.
Cook and have your student measure the ingredients using measuring cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons. Have them practice doubling a recipe. Use fractions to express how much people have eaten or how much is left.
Use fruit to model math problems by grouping different fruits to represent quantities.
Teach your student how to calculate how many miles per gallon the family car gets, and how many gallons of gas it takes to get from point A to point B.
Have your student calculate the distance your car has traveled in a day or week. Figure out the best unit to measure this distance—feet, inches, yards, miles, or kilometers. Convert the distance to each of these units of measure.
Choose a destination and have your child find the shortest route to it. Then, draw a map with a key and measurements.
Use a ruler or tape measure to measure various objects around the house or estimate the capacity of various objects. Make it a scavenger hunt to add fun!
Have your student create a book of illustrations with geometry concepts covered this year.
Ask your student to create word problems or study guides to help their online school classmates.

Science Activities

Have your student research what the scientific method is and describe it in written form (noting the steps and what they’re about). Then, conduct an experiment using this information.
Look for science experiment ideas online. Perform experiments together, emphasizing the scientific process.
Watch a science education video from the library as a family. Then, have your student summarize what they watched.
Help your student create a science journal. They can use it to record scientific terms and write down any observations seen at the park, in your house, etc.
Have your student observe an animal in nature and write a report on their observations and research. For example, your student could research various birds, including what their calls sound like, where they live, and what they eat. Have your student draw pictures, record the sounds they make, and create a list of facts about each bird.
Keep track of the weather for a week and make graphs from the data.
Plant a garden with your child and make a schedule for them to check on the plants and watch them grow. Involve your child in harvesting the fruits, vegetables, or herbs.

Social Studies Activities

Help your student create a timeline of important historical or news events in their lifetime.
Ask your child to choose a state or country that they’ve never visited. Have them research and map out the area with points of interest, major cities, and notable landmarks.
Pick a time period or event in history and have your student write a journal entry about what life was like back then. Encourage them to draw pictures of clothing, inventions, and everyday life.
Research your family history and create a family tree.
Play the game The Oregon Trail, a classic educational computer game that can be nostalgic for parents as well.
Have your child write a letter to a government official about a topic that’s important to them. Help them look up the contact information and mail in their letter.
Research a country of your student’s choice and make or order a meal related to the country. This research should also include the culture’s clothing, music, traditions, and arts and crafts.
Visit the U.S. government’s website to learn about the United States. Research the different states, flags, the history of the U.S. government, branches of government, and more!

The above list of 45 activities for students will give your child plenty to choose from when they’re done with their assigned schoolwork. These activities can also be done over the summer months to encourage your child to keep learning while school is out.

For more learning activities to supplement your student’s homeschool curriculum, check out these fun and educational learning game sites for elementary and middle school kids.