10 things to do when the teacher left no sub plans
You walk in, the desk is bare and the bell rings in ten minutes. Nothing is lost yet. These ten steps run in the order you need them: a three-minute look for the essentials, a few quick questions to the right people, a calm opener, review work the class can do without you teaching anything new, and a plan for the rest of the day that you can print in a minute.
1. The three-minute triage
Before you do anything else, spend three minutes finding four things: the class list or seating chart, the daily schedule (often taped near the door or on the desk), the evacuation map, and any medical or allergy notes. Write what you find on one sheet and keep it in your pocket all day.
Grades All gradesYou need A sheet of paper and a pen
2. Knock next door
Walk to the classroom next door and ask three questions: when are lunch and recess, which students need extra support or leave for services, and who you should call if something goes wrong. Neighbors know the routines, and many will lend a stack of copies if you ask kindly.
Grades All gradesYou need Two minutes before the bell
3. Call the front office
Ask the office for a printed class roster, the times of specials and dismissal, and whether anyone is picked up early today. Mention that no plans were left. Some schools keep an emergency folder for every room in the office, and they will send it down.
Grades All gradesYou need The room phone or a quick walk
4. Find yesterday's lesson
Look at what is still on the board, open the planner to this week, and flip to the last used page of a student notebook. Whatever the class worked on yesterday is your best clue. Plan to review and practice it, not to start anything new.
Grades All gradesYou need The teacher's planner, the board and a student notebook
5. Open with your name and the day
Write your name, the date and a simple schedule on the board before students come in. Greet them at the door, then tell the class in two sentences who you are and what the day holds. A posted plan, even a short one, settles a room fast.
Grades All gradesYou need The board and a markerUse Morning board
6. Silent reading from the room's books
Every room has books. Give students fifteen to twenty minutes with a book from their desk or the class shelves, then ask each one to write one sentence about what they read. You get a calm block of time and a stack of work to leave for the teacher.
Grades 1–8You need The classroom library or students' own books
7. Review on the board
Copy five problems or questions that match yesterday's work onto the board. Students solve them on paper, then you go over the answers together and let volunteers explain how they got there. It is real practice, and you never have to guess at a lesson.
Grades 1–8You need The board and paperUse 15-minute sub activities
8. Fill the gaps by the minute
When a block ends early or a plan falls flat, open the activity picker, choose how many minutes you have and what the room has, and run the first thing that fits. Every activity there needs little or nothing.
Grades K–8You need The picker on your phone or the projectorUse No-prep activity picker, 10-minute sub activities
9. Keep a running note
Jot two lines after each part of the day: what the class did and anything the teacher should know, good or bad. At the end, turn it into a short note and leave it on the desk. The teacher will want it, and it protects you too.
Grades All gradesYou need A sheet of paper or the sub note pageUse Sub note for the teacher
10. Make a full day at /sub/plan
Once the class is settled, open the day planner, choose the grade and how long the day is, and print the schedule it makes. You get a whole day of no-prep activities in order, ready for the afternoon or for tomorrow if you are coming back.
Grades K–8You need A phone or computer and a printerUse Make a sub plan for today
Making it work
- Do the triage before the bell even if the office says plans are on the way. If they arrive, you lose nothing.
- Stay with review and practice. A class handles a day of familiar work far better than a new lesson taught cold.
- Ask two students you trust, once you know them, how the class usually starts the day and where things are kept.
- Write everything down as it happens. A clear note for the teacher turns a hard day into a good report.
- Keep a few five-minute activities in your head for the gaps between blocks.
Questions teachers ask
- What should a substitute do if there are no lesson plans?
- Find the schedule, the class list and any medical notes first, then ask the neighboring teacher and the office for help. Fill the day with review of recent work, reading and short no-prep activities, and write a note for the teacher.
- Should I teach the next lesson in the textbook?
- Usually not. You don't know how far the class got or how the teacher explains it. Review the last lesson they finished instead, and leave new material for the teacher who knows the class.
- Who should I tell that no plans were left?
- Tell the front office as soon as you notice, calmly and without blame. They may have an emergency folder, and they need to know in case the day goes badly. Mention it in your note to the teacher as well.
- How can I plan a whole day in a few minutes?
- Use the day planner at /sub/plan. Choose the grade and the length of the day and it prints a schedule of no-prep activities in order, so you can follow it straight through or use parts of it.
Written for teachers by Peabody Teach. No ads, no affiliate links. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.