The teacher comes back to a room they haven't seen for a day, and the first thing they want to know is how it went. Your note answers that. It tells them where to pick up the lessons, which students need a word, and whether anything needs following up with a family or the office. It is the only part of your day the teacher sees directly.
The note is also how teachers and schools remember you. A clear, calm note from a sub who obviously paid attention makes a teacher ask for you again. A vague note, or one full of complaints, makes them nervous about the next absence. You don't need to be a good writer. You need to be organized and factual, and you need to write it before you leave the building.
- Short: one page, or a few lines under each heading.
- Factual: what happened, when, and what you did.
- Fair: the good parts of the day as well as the hard ones.
- Signed: your name, and a way to reach you if your district allows it.
Start writing at 8 a.m., not 3 p.m.
The best notes are written all day, a few words at a time. Keep a notepad or the back of the plan near you. When something happens, jot the time and a few words: "10:20, two to the nurse, back 10:35." "Lunch count sent 8:15." "Front table helped with papers."
Those scraps save you from trying to remember the whole day at 3:15, when you are tired and the room is noisy. Notes written in the moment are short and accurate. Notes written from memory are vague, and vague notes don't help anyone.
Draw six small boxes on a sheet in the morning, one for each heading below. Drop each scrap into its box as the day goes. At the end, you are mostly copying.
What happened, not who is what
This is the rule that matters most. Write about events, not about the kind of child you think someone is. A word that labels a student says more about your day than about the child, and the teacher can't act on an adjective. Words like "rude," "lazy," "defiant" and "a handful" have no place in the note.
Instead, say what happened: when, during what activity, what the student did or said, and what you did about it. The teacher knows their class. Given the facts, they will understand far more than a label could tell them.
Instead of a label, write the event
- Not "was disrespectful," but "said he wouldn't do the math sheet and put his head down at 10:15. I said he could start with the first row. He did three problems before lunch."
- Not "the class was wild," but "the room got loud during group work after lunch. I used the quiet signal twice, and we switched to reading for the last fifteen minutes."
- Not "she was so sweet," but "she showed me where the lunch count goes and helped two students find their books."
Facts protect you as well as the student. If your note is ever read by the office or a family, a plain description of what happened and what you did is fair to everyone.
The six headings, in order
Use the same headings every time, in the same order. The teacher learns where to look, and you never forget a part. These are the headings the sub note tool on Peabody Teach uses.
What we did
What was finished, what was started and what you didn't get to. Say where the work is. This is the part the teacher needs first, to plan tomorrow.
Who helped
First names of students who helped the day go well: who showed you the routines, who passed out papers, who helped a classmate. Teachers like to thank them, and students like being named. If there was a para or a teacher next door who helped, name them here too.
Anything that happened
Events the teacher should know about, each with the time, what happened and what you did. Keep it short and neutral. If nothing happened, say so. That's useful too.
Attendance and the office
Who was absent, who left early and with whom, when attendance went in, and anything the office told you.
Messages for you
Phone calls, notes from families or staff, and anything left on the desk during the day.
From your substitute
Your name, and how the teacher can reach you if they want to ask about the day, if your district allows it. A short thanks for the plans is kind and costs nothing.
Sentences to start from
At the end of a long day, a blank page is hard. These sentences give you a start. Fill in the blanks and adjust them to fit.
The work
- We finished the ___, and the papers are in the tray on your desk.
- We started the ___ but didn't finish. We stopped at ___.
- We didn't get to ___. It's on the desk, ready for tomorrow.
- Several students found ___ hard. We went over it together, but it may need another look.
The day
- The class followed the schedule, and lunch and specials ran on time.
- The schedule changed because of ___, so we ___.
- We had a ___ drill at ___. Everyone went out and came back in.
What happened
- At ___, two students disagreed during ___. I moved one seat, and they both finished the work.
- A student felt unwell at ___. I sent them to the nurse with a pass.
- A student was upset after ___. We talked, and they rejoined the class by ___.
- I asked the office for help at ___ because ___. They sent ___.
Closing
- Thank you for the clear plans. I'd be glad to come back.
What to leave out
A note is often read by more than one person, and it may sit on a desk where others can see it. Keep it to what the teacher needs to know about the day.
- Labels for children, and guesses about why a student acted a certain way.
- Anything about a student's health or support plan beyond what the teacher needs, and nothing a passerby shouldn't read.
- Complaints about the plans, the room, the school or other staff.
- Long stories. If a moment takes more than three sentences, the office probably needs to hear it, not just the teacher.
If anything serious happened, like an injury, a safety concern, or something a student said that worried you, don't rely on the note. Tell the office before you leave and follow the school's plan, as in Lesson 5. Then add one line to the note saying that you told the office. Don't write the details of what a student told you in the note. Give those only to the person the school names.
If you're unsure whether something belongs in the note, ask the office how they'd like it handled. They know the school's policy and its families.
Fair and kind, even after a hard day
Some days were hard, and it's tempting to say so in the note. Don't. A note that reads like a complaint puts the teacher on the defensive, and it doesn't help them plan tomorrow. Say what happened, plainly, and what you did. Then say what went well, because something always did: a lesson that landed, a student who helped, a transition that was smooth.
Keep the tone the same for the class as for any one student. "The class found the afternoon hard to settle. Reading time worked best" is more useful than "they were impossible after lunch." The teacher will read the first and know what to try. They'll read the second and wonder what happened.
If the plan didn't work, say that too, without blame. "The video link didn't open, so we read the chapter aloud instead" tells the teacher what to fix. A note like that also shows you used good judgment, which is one of the things teachers look for in a sub.
Grading and homework
Grade only what the plan asks you to grade, using the answer key the teacher left. San Ramon Valley Unified tells subs not to vary from the lesson plan. Teachers do expect some grading when they ask for it: Warren Township's form for teachers to rate a sub asks whether the sub graded the papers the teacher expected. If you marked anything, say so in the note.
Don't assign homework that wasn't in the plan. It can confuse families and the teacher. If you think the class needs more practice on something, write that in the note and let the teacher decide.
An ordinary day, as a note
Here is what a full note can look like. It takes five to ten minutes to write and covers everything.
What we did: We finished the reading passage and questions (in the tray, labeled). In math we did the review sheet. Most finished; the rest are in the folder marked "not done." We didn't get to the spelling check. Who helped: Two students at the front table showed me the lunch count and passed out papers. Anything that happened: At 1:20 two students disagreed during group work. I moved one to another table, and both finished. A student felt unwell at 2:05. I sent them to the nurse with a pass, and they came back at 2:20. Attendance and the office: Three absent, marked on the chart. Attendance went in at 8:10. One early pickup at 2:30, approved by the office. Messages: None. From your substitute: Thank you for the clear plans. I'd be glad to come back.
Notice what's missing: no labels, no guesses and no complaints. It reads in a minute, and the teacher knows exactly where to pick up.
The last ten minutes
The note is the end of a routine that starts about fifteen minutes before dismissal in elementary, or in the last five minutes of each period in middle school. Most plans are thin about the afternoon, and that is when small problems grow: a lost paper, a loud room, a student who leaves with the wrong group. Treat the end of the day as its own part of the plan.
- Start the tidy with a clear instruction and a short timer. Give specific jobs: floor, book corner, supplies.
- Sort the day's work into piles by subject or period, each with a sticky note label.
- Fill the last few minutes with something calm, like a read-aloud. Don't start anything new or exciting.
- Dismiss students the way the school does it. Ask the office about anyone whose way home isn't clear.
- Check the room after: lights, screens, windows, and the teacher's things back where you found them.
Leave the room as you found it, or better. A tidy room says the day went well before the teacher reads a word.
Where the note goes
Put the note on top of the work piles in the center of the teacher's desk, where it can't be missed. If the school has an online form, or the teacher asked for an email, send it that way too and leave a printed copy. The sub note tool lets you fill in the headings on your phone, pick from starting sentences, and print it or copy it as plain text.
If your district allows it, keep a few lines for yourself in your sub log, without student names: the school, the room, what went well. Then return the key, sign out, and thank the office on your way out. A clear note and a friendly goodbye are the last things you leave, and they are often what brings the next call.