Sub plans that work

1 Two kinds of sub plan

There are two situations, and they need different plans. A planned absence, like a training day or an appointment, lets you write a plan for that day's lessons. An emergency absence, like a sick child at 5 a.m., gives you no time at all. The emergency sub folder is what saves that day.

• The emergency sub folder holds everything that stays the same: the class, the schedule, routines, where things are, who can help, and a few days of lessons that work at any point in the year. You build it once and update it each term.
• The plan for a planned day sits on top of the folder: the date, the day's schedule with any changes, and the lessons for that day, with materials ready and labeled.

The sub plan template and emergency sub folder has a section for each part. Fill it in once, print it, and update it when your schedule or class changes. What you type stays on your computer.

2 What goes in the emergency sub folder

Write the folder for a capable adult who has never been in your school. If they read only the first page, they should still be able to start the day.

• A one-page welcome: your name, grade, room number, and the three things the sub most needs to know.
• The daily schedule with times, including specials, lunch, recess and any duties you have.
• Arrival and dismissal procedures, including how each student goes home.
• How to take attendance and where to send it.
• Your attention signal and the main classroom routines in a line or two each.
• A seating chart with first names.
• The names of two or three reliable students who can answer questions about routines.
• The name and room of a nearby teacher who has agreed to help.
• Where to find the emergency plan, the exit route and the class list for drills.
• Where supplies, the absent folder and the turn-in tray are.
• Three days of emergency lessons that review skills, with copies already made.
• A note page for the sub to tell you how the day went.

Update the folder at the start of each term, and whenever your schedule, your duties or your class list changes. Put the date on the front so a sub can tell how current it is.

A substitute info sheet covers the facts on one page, and a printed seating chart with first names lets the sub call students by name from the first minute.

3 Writing the plan for a planned day

For a planned absence, write the day as a timeline, with one short block for each part of the schedule. Each block says what happens, what materials to use and where they are. Short is better than detailed; a sub reads the plan while teaching, not the night before.

1. Start with the date and any changes to the usual schedule, such as an assembly or a different lunch time.
2. For each part of the day, write the time, what students do, and where the materials are.
3. Label materials with the time or the subject and stack them in order on your desk.
4. Say what finished work looks like and where it goes.
5. Add what early finishers do, so the sub isn't left with a restless group.
6. End with the dismissal routine and a reminder to fill in the note page.

What to say9:15 to 9:45, reading. Read pages 12 to 18 of the book on my desk aloud. Students answer the three questions on the yellow sheet (copies in the reading tray). Collect the sheets in the turn-in tray. Early finishers read their own book quietly.

Put the day on the projector too. The Peabody Board can show the schedule, a timer and a note with the instructions, so students see the same plan the sub is following.

4 Lessons a substitute can run

The best sub lessons review and practice what students already know. New content is hard for a substitute to teach well, and you will end up reteaching it. Choose work students can do largely on their own, with clear instructions on the page.

• A read-aloud with discussion questions, which nearly any adult can lead.
• A reading passage with questions at the class's level, for independent work.
• A math review sheet on a skill the class has already learned, made with the math worksheet generator.
• A word search or crossword made from the current unit's vocabulary.
• A writing prompt with a clear length and a checklist for a finished piece.
• A brain break or two for the afternoon.

Avoid lessons that depend on a login, a video that needs your account, a lab with materials to set up, or a group project that needs your judgment. If technology fails, the sub needs a paper version, so leave one.

Match the work to the age. In kindergarten and first grade, plan short pieces with movement between them: a read-aloud, a drawing and writing page, a counting game, a story on the carpet. In the upper grades, a longer independent task works, such as a reading passage with written answers followed by a review sheet. In middle school, leave one clear assignment per class period with the time it should take and what to turn in.

5 Student information: what to include and what to leave out

A substitute needs enough information to keep students safe and the day running, and no more. Follow your school's policy on what a substitute may be told, and ask your office if you aren't sure.

• Use first names on the seating chart and the helper list.
• Say which students need something specific during the day, such as a scheduled visit to another teacher, without explaining why, unless your school's policy says the sub needs to know.
• Keep medical and allergy information where your school says it belongs, which is often with the office or the nurse, and tell the sub where to find it.
• Leave out grades, test scores, behavior histories and family details.
• Never leave passwords for your accounts in the folder. If the sub needs a computer, your school will have a way to give them access.

Store the folder somewhere the sub and the office can find it, but not in plain view of visitors or students. Update it when students join or leave the class, and shred old copies rather than throwing them away.

Write about routines and supports, not about individual children's problems. "Two students go to the reading room at 10:00; they know the way" tells a sub what to do without sharing anything private.

6 Helping the sub with behavior

Students behave differently with a substitute. You can prevent most problems by preparing the class and giving the sub the same tools you use every day.

• Tell the class in advance when you will be out, and say what you expect: the same rules, the same routines, and you will read the sub's note.
• Write your attention signal and your main rules in the folder, so the sub uses the words students already know.
• Name two or three students who can help with routines, and say what they can help with.
• Give the name of a nearby teacher and the office number for anything the sub can't handle.
• Ask the sub to note what went well as well as what didn't.

What to sayTomorrow I'll be at a training and Mr. Lee will be your teacher. Everything works the same way: same signal, same jobs, same rules. I'll read his note when I get back, and I'm looking forward to hearing how well it went.

Some teachers leave a short letter for the class to be read aloud at the start of the day. It reminds students that you are still expecting their best, and it gives the sub a friendly start.

7 Coming back

The day after an absence sets the tone for the next one. Read the sub's note first thing, before students arrive, and decide what you will follow up on.

1. Read the note and look through the work that was done.
2. Thank the sub, in a short note or message, especially if the day was hard.
3. Tell the class what the note said: start with what went well, and name it specifically.
4. Deal privately with any problems the sub reported. Avoid a whole-class lecture for something a few students did.
5. Check the work and finish anything that didn't get done.
6. Update the emergency folder with anything you learned, such as a routine the sub found confusing.

If the sub was excellent, ask the office whether you can request them again. A substitute who already knows your class and your routines is worth a great deal over a school year.

Keep the emergency lessons fresh. Each time you use one, replace it with another that fits where the class is now. A lesson written in September is often too easy by February, and students notice when the sub's work is a step backward.