The first five minutes as a substitute

1 Why the opening matters so much

Students decide very quickly what kind of day it will be. They notice whether the room looks ready, whether you seem to know what happens next, and whether you are calm. You can't fake years of experience, but you can make the first five minutes look prepared, and that is most of what they are checking.

A prepared opening has four parts, and they always go in the same order: the board, the door, the introduction, and the plan, with attendance taken quietly while work begins. Repeat them every morning, and they become automatic, which frees your attention for the class.

None of it is complicated. The hard part is doing it before you feel ready. Even if you only found the plans ten minutes ago, stand up, greet the class and start. A confident start with a simple plan beats a nervous start with a perfect one.

2 Your name on the board

Write your name in large, clear letters at the top of the board, with the title you want students to use. Under it, write the date and the day's schedule with times. If there's a first task, write it there too, so students can start without asking.

• Your name: "Mr. Okafor" or "Ms. Lin," whatever you'd like to be called.
• The date: students look for it, and the teacher will want it on the work.
• The schedule: each block with its time, specials and lunch included.
• The first task: one line, like "Read your book quietly" or "Do the sheet on your desk."

The board does a lot of quiet work. It answers the three questions students ask a new adult: who are you, what are we doing, and when is lunch. Every question the board answers is one you don't have to answer twenty times.

If the room has a projector, you can put the day up on the morning board instead, with a timer for the first task. Keep a written copy on the whiteboard too, in case the screen gives you trouble.

3 At the door

Stand at the door as students arrive. Say good morning, smile, and point them toward the board. You don't need to say much: "Good morning, the first task is on the board" is plenty.

Greeting at the door does several things at once. Students see you before they see the room, so they come in to a person, not to an empty desk. You get a look at each student, which helps with names and with noticing who seems upset or tired. And the class walks in more calmly when an adult is standing at the entrance.

In elementary school, students may line up outside and walk in together. Stand at the front of the line, greet them, and walk them in. In middle school, students arrive in a stream between periods; stand in the doorway so you can see both the hall and the room.

If you are on duty elsewhere when students arrive, such as at the bus line, ask the office who opens the room. Make sure the first task is on the board before you leave, so students have something to do when they come in.

4 One sentence about yourself

Once everyone is in and seated, use the class's signal if you know it, or wait quietly at the front. Then introduce yourself. Say your name, why you're here, and one sentence about yourself.

What to sayGood morning. My name is Mr. Okafor, and I'm your teacher today while your teacher is away. I grew up near the ocean and I still love anything about sea animals.

One sentence is enough. It makes you a person without opening a long conversation. Students may ask follow-up questions; answer one, briefly, and say there'll be time later. Avoid personal details you'd rather not share, like where you live or your family.

Next, find out the class's signal. Ask the class which quiet signal their teacher uses, have a student show it, and practice it once together. There is more to say about signals, but in the first five minutes you only need to ask, practice once, and use it.

Finally, say what you expect in one line: "Everything works the way it does with your teacher. Same rules, same routines." That ties you to the authority students already accept, instead of starting a new set of rules from scratch.

5 Attendance from the seating chart

Take attendance while students start the first task, not before. Calling names in front of a waiting class invites silly answers and wastes minutes. Instead, use the seating chart and look.

1. Find the seating chart in the plans or on the teacher's desk.
2. With students working, walk the room or scan from the front, checking each seat.
3. Mark empty seats as absent.
4. Quietly check any seat where you're unsure: "Can you tell me your first name?"
5. Send attendance the way the office asked, by the time they asked.

Students sometimes switch seats on sub days as a joke. You don't need to make a scene. If the chart doesn't match, ask quietly and fix it. If several students switch, say calmly, "Please sit where the chart says, so I can learn your names," and wait.

Using the seating chart also helps you learn names fast. Keep it in your hand or on a clipboard all morning, and use names when you can. A student called by name is easier to redirect than "you in the blue shirt." The name picker can help with turns once you have the class list.

6 The plan, said out loud

Once attendance is sent, say the day's plan out loud, pointing to the board as you go. Keep it to a quick walk through the blocks, not a detailed set of instructions.

What to sayHere's our day. First we'll finish this reading sheet. Then math, then specials at 10:15. After lunch, writing and a read-aloud. I'll cross things off as we go, so you'll always know what's next.

Saying the plan does two things. It tells students that the day is organized and predictable, which settles anyone uneasy about a missing teacher. And it gives you a public promise you can come back to: "Remember, after this sheet it's math."

Then give the instructions for the first full activity, clearly and once. Write the key part on the board. Ask one student to repeat back what to do, then start. From here you are running the day, and the hard part is over.

• Keep each instruction to the next step, not the whole morning.
• Say what finished work looks like and where it goes.
• Say what early finishers do.
• Start the timer if the activity has one.

In middle school, you will repeat this short opening at the start of every period: name on the board stays up, a quick hello at the door, the signal, attendance from that period's chart, and the plan for the period in two sentences. It gets faster each time, and by the third period it will feel routine.

7 When the opening goes sideways

Not every morning goes to plan. Students arrive early before you've found anything, the class walks in already loud, or someone asks a question you can't answer. Each has a simple response, and none of them requires you to start over.

Students arrive before you're ready

Greet them anyway, and give them something to do right away: "Please read your own book quietly while I get set up." Then finish writing the board while they read. A calm adult doing a quick task is fine; a frantic adult searching drawers is what unsettles a class.

The class comes in loud

Don't try to talk over it. Stand at the front, give a signal or simply wait, and look calm. When it's quieter, say good morning in a low voice. Starting softly pulls the room down to your level instead of pushing you up to theirs.

A question you can't answer

Students will ask about things you don't know: a field trip, a test, a class reward. Say honestly that you'll check, write it down, and put it in the note for the teacher. "I don't know, but I'll make sure your teacher sees your question" is a perfectly good answer.

A student is upset

Some students find a missing teacher hard, especially younger ones. A quiet word, a reminder that their teacher will be back, and a job like handing out papers often helps. If a student stays upset, ask the office or the teacher next door, and mention it in your note.