We’ve all been there. You wake up sick in the middle of the night. Your child gets sick in the middle of the school day. Next, an email tells you last-minute that you have to attend a training tomorrow. You are now scrambling for emergency sub plans to put together.
Prepare for the Unexpected
We stress about sub plans for a variety of reasons. It may be impossible to get a substitute, trying to write sub plans while you’re sick is awful, and then there’s the worry of how your students will behave when you’re gone.
How can you avoid this? Well, you can’t avoid getting sick or having to go to professional development, but you can avoid most of the stress that accompanies having to prepare last-minute sub plans for your class. Prepare now, and your future self will thank you!
During one September, I was unexpectedly out for almost three weeks. I got the flu and then that turned into pneumonia. Feeling absolutely miserable, the last thing I wanted to do was try to figure out what my class needed to do each day. It was difficult to be gone that long (especially when it wasn’t planned), but my students, partner teacher, and various subs made it through!
Over the years, I have found a few ways to make things as simple as possible. It requires a little prep now, but you will be so glad you have it ready when you are sick in bed or need to leave ASAP.
First, gather important information to have ready for your Sub:
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Class list with names/numbers
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Dismissal list
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Health concerns/allergies
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Students who are pulled out of the classroom during the day (times, who pulls them)
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Your responsibilities throughout the day (morning, lunch, and afternoon duty)
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Detailed schedule of each day of the week (including transition times)
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Trusted students who can help
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Trusted teachers nearby who can help
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Instructions for what to do with permission slips, forms, or money students turn in
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What to do with papers students turn in
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Basic classroom procedures and expectations (don’t forget bathroom, hallways, etc.)
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School emergency plan
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Computer procedures, lists of logins, etc.
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Lesson plans (I usually leave a bulleted list of how the day should go. Keep it simple!)
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Group students ahead of time in case there is no sub and your class needs to be split (Your fellow grade level teachers will appreciate this greatly!)
Next, figure out how you want to organize your sub plans:
Have activities ready to grab-and-go for the entire year using these Emergency Sub Plans labels.
Now, which types of activities should you put in these files?
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Didn’t get around to using that Valentine’s Day activity? Stick it in the February folder for next year!
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Does your school subscribe to weekly/monthly magazines for students? These are perfect to stick in the files. Make sure to include the teacher guide!
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Have some extra class sets of worksheets from earlier in the year? Stick them in the files of months after the skill was taught for some review!
Your future self will be so grateful you have these resources ready to go! No one wants to be digging through a file cabinet or stacks of papers to find class sets of activities to use. You also never know when the copy machine will be available, so you’ll want to have all copies ready.
Check out these labels by clicking here!
Finally, here are some cute ideas for substitutes from Instagram:
Check out some of these ideas for motiving the class to be on their best behavior while there is a sub! You could also laminate these charts to use each time you’re out. Thanks again to these teachers who allowed their fun ideas to be shared on this post. : )
I love this cookie jar visual from @firstgradefirst! Check out her TPT store by clicking here.
@brooklynepowell used a donut for her chart! I love that the sub adds sprinkles when the whole class is on track. She also writes encouraging notes on student desks- genius!
@whalecometoelementary used a funny bitmoji to keep an eye on her class!
This colorful and motivating chart from @2ndgradesassypants will definitely keep her students on track.
I hope these ideas and resources will help you feel more prepared for those unexpected sub days!
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What’s your best tip for being unexpectedly out? Comment below and let me know!
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