12 things subs wish teachers left
Ask substitutes what makes a day go well and the answers are rarely about the lesson. They want to know when lunch is, how the class gets quiet and who to ask. These twelve things are what subs most wish the classroom teacher had left, each with why it matters and how to leave it in a few minutes.
1. The schedule with real times
Write the whole day in order with the actual times: arrival, each subject, specials, lunch, recess and dismissal. A substitute can't see that art is on Thursdays or that lunch starts early on Fridays. Without times, they spend the day watching the clock and the door.
Grades K–8You need Your bell schedule, written out
2. Your quiet signal, in your words
Write exactly how you get the room quiet: a clap pattern, a phrase and its answer, a raised hand or a chime. A substitute who uses the class's own signal gets attention in seconds; one who invents a new signal often has to raise their voice.
Grades K–8You need One line in the plan
3. A seating chart for every class
Leave a seating chart for each group you teach, with the front of the room marked and first names in every seat. It lets the substitute take attendance quietly, learn names and notice when someone is sitting in the wrong place on purpose.
Grades K–8You need A seating chart in first namesUse Seating chart in rows
4. Two or three student helpers
Name two or three students per class who know the routines and will answer honestly: where the pencils are, what happens after lunch, how the morning starts. Choose kind, accurate students, and tell them in advance that they may be asked.
Grades K–8You need First names in the plan
5. A nearby teacher who agreed to help
Write the name and room number of a teacher close by who has agreed to answer questions. Ask them first, so they aren't surprised when the substitute knocks. One friendly adult down the hall makes a hard day much easier.
Grades K–8You need A quick word with a colleague
6. How students go home
List how each student leaves, by bus, car line, walking or an after-school program, and who to ask about changes. Dismissal is where a substitute feels the most worry, because a mistake there matters most. Never leave it to guesswork.
Grades K–8You need Your dismissal list
7. Where the emergency plan is
Write where the school's emergency plan is posted and the exit route for a fire drill from your room, including where the class lines up outside. A drill on a sub day is common, and the substitute should not have to ask the students which door to use.
Grades K–8You need The school's plan and the drill route
8. Work they can do without a new lesson
Leave practice on skills the class already knows: a reading passage, a math review, a writing prompt. A substitute can run review well, but teaching a brand-new skill to strangers rarely goes right. The sub day packs are built for exactly this.
Grades K–8You need Review work at the class's levelUse Sub day packs
9. Something for early finishers
Name one or two activities students can do when they finish, such as reading their own books or a puzzle sheet. Without it, early finishers get restless and the substitute spends the block managing them instead of helping others.
Grades K–8You need A short list or a folder of extras
10. How attendance and the lunch count work
Write exactly how to take attendance and the lunch count, and how each one gets to the office: a computer, a paper slip or a phone call. If the computer needs a login, say where to get it. These are the first jobs of the day and they're due fast.
Grades K–8You need The steps, written out
11. Any duty you're covering
If you have recess, bus, lunch or hallway duty that day, write where and when, so the substitute can cover it. Missed duties leave other adults short and leave students without supervision, and the substitute is often never told.
Grades K–8You need Your duty schedule
12. A page for the sub's note
Leave a page at the back of the plan with headings: what we finished, who helped, who struggled and anything I should know. It invites the substitute to tell you about the day, and you come back informed instead of guessing.
Grades K–8You need A lined page or the note pageUse Note to the teacher
Making it work
- Use what subs wish teachers left as a checklist when you write your plans; if each line is covered, the day will hold up.
- Put the most important things on one page at the front: schedule, quiet signal, helpers and dismissal. A substitute in a hurry reads that page first.
- The emergency sub folder has a section for almost every item here, so filling it in once covers most of this list for the year.
- Thank the substitute in your note. Subs remember the classrooms that welcomed them and are more likely to come back.
Questions teachers ask
- What do substitute teachers want teachers to know?
- Mostly practical things: the schedule with times, the quiet signal, a seating chart, helpful students, a teacher nearby, how students go home, where the emergency plan is and work the class can do without a new lesson.
- What is the most important thing to leave a substitute?
- A clear schedule and a seating chart. With those two pages, a substitute knows where the class should be and who is in the room, which covers the start of almost every problem.
- Should I leave behavior notes for a substitute?
- Yes, briefly. Write your class expectations, your usual steps when a student is off track and who to call for anything serious. Keep notes about individual students short and to first names.
- How can I make my sub plans easier to follow?
- Keep each part short, put times beside everything, write where every copy is and leave the first activity on the desk. Our sub plan template puts those pieces in a set order.
Written for teachers by Peabody Teach. No ads, no affiliate links. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.