Substitute Teacher Plans

Ideas for subs - and for regular teachers too.

It's something most of us don't want to think about - especially early in the school year - but one day, a teacher is going to be absent. Filling that teaching position for the day will be a substitute teacher, perhaps a veteran, perhaps not. And experience has shown that a good plan for that substitute can have a large impact on how the school day goes not only for the students immediately under that teacher's supervision, but also the students in the classroom down the hall, across the way and, sometimes, everywhere in the building. Good plans make good subs.

Now is a good time to prepare for the unexpected. The internet can help. We've put together a list of places to visit for ideas to help build a substitute teacher pack that will minimize headaches and maximize student learning. A word of warning: some of these ideas might strike you as so good that you may want to incorporate them into your regular teaching plans!

We stumbled upon a website full of ideas for substitute teachers with the subtitle "suggestions on what to do when your class gets restless or bored." After scrolling through the ideas and links we wanted to know a little more about the author. Robert Jackson has covered most of the educational bases, from Elementary School Teacher to School Superintendent. He's retired now, and has put together some thoughts to help make the substitute teacher experience a little less painful and a little more rewarding, for teachers, students and administrators.

Utah State University has provided us with a more formal presentation of material for the sub. Here is a website devoted to their Substitute Teaching Institute. Included are sections for both Substitutes and "SubManagers." If you register with them you can subscribe to their "Substitute's Newsletter." One recent newsletter (April, 2007) included ideas on how to handle "Out of the Classroom Activities" like field trips, assemblies or fire drills.

In addition, included for the substitute are ideas for assessing one's strength as a sub, improving teaching skills, and a forum where anyone can chat about substitute experiences.

The site also has a section for "SubManagers" which includes ideas for substitute training, recruitment and retention. It is certainly worth a good look.

Inspiring Teachers.com is a website advertising a number of ideas for teachers, substitutes and administrators. There are a number of tips and articles that may be helpful for preparing your sub, including in your "sub pack" or even for your own lessons.

AssociatedContent.com has an article about packing the perfect substitute teacher's bag: what to bring to school and how to be prepared for almost anything.

The success or failure of a substitute's experience depends on the quality of the plans left by the regular teacher and the instructions provided by the school administrator. Experienced substitutes know that it is always a good idea to have a couple of "just-in-case" lessons. The social studies teacher's plans call for the showing of a video on the Civil War. But what if the VCR breaks? What if the video is being used by another teacher? What if ...? The third grade teacher's plans call for photocopying three puzzle pages and writing a list of words on the board. But what if the photocopier is broken? What if the only paper in the building is red? What if....? The veteran sub will turn to her "just-in-case" lessons.

CSR.net has included a "Substitute Teacher Homepage" subtitled ".. the Substitute Teacher Survival Site." Included are a number of links to "idea sites" where regular classroom teachers can pull together sub-packet plans and subs can accumulate "just-in-case" plans. Included are sections for Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science and even "The Arts."

Perhaps one of the most difficult areas in which to be a substitute is Physical Education. Unfortunately, many substitute-oriented websites (Like CSR.net) don't have much for the PE sub. Often overlooked, this subject area is a critical one for the new and veteran sub alike. A successful PE class can impact the whole school for the entire day. Recently the Advantage Press has added an elementary component to PE lessons to help fill this gap. Administrators and teachers alike can easily select a PE lesson plan based upon a particular substitute teacher's skills and experience.