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High school sub plans: science

One science lesson for every period of a high school day, with no prep: a five-minute bell ringer, then Why the Sky Is Blue, a 425-word nonfiction passage with 6 questions and a key, a partner check, and an exit ticket at the door. The timetable runs 7 periods of 50 minutes; the lesson fits each one.

Checked October 30, 2026. Made from Peabody Teach's own passages, worksheets and brain break cards.

Make the whole day at high school ▸

The lesson, every period

Science: Why the Sky Is Blue

  1. First 5 minutes, the bell ringer: students answer this in a few sentences, “Should students be allowed to retake tests? Write an argument, address the other side, and propose a fair rule.”
  2. Next 30 minutes: Before reading, students fill in the first two columns of the K-W-L sheet: what they know about light and the atmosphere, and what they want to know. After reading, the last column: what they learned.
  3. Hand out “Why the Sky Is Blue”, a nonfiction passage of 425 words. Print 24: the student copy is in this packet.
  4. Students read it on their own. Anyone who finishes reads it a second time and underlines the sentence they think matters most.
  5. Students answer the 6 questions under the passage, in full sentences.
  6. With five minutes left, go over two questions out loud. The answers are on the key page: keep it with you.
  7. Then partners compare answers. They pick one question they disagree on and find the sentence in the passage that settles it.
  8. Last 5 minutes, the exit ticket: one sentence on the most important idea in the passage and why. Students hand it to you at the door.
  9. Collect the work for each period in its own pile, with the period written on top.

📄 Why the Sky Is Blue (passage and key) · a K-W-L sheet

The sheets, on their own pages

Subbing high school

High school runs like middle school, a period at a time, with older students who will test whether the plan is real. Say the plan, the task and when it is due in the first two minutes, and hold to it calmly. Many will work alone if the task is clear.

  • Write the task and what is due by the end of the period on the board before the bell.
  • Phones follow the school's own rule; ask the office what it is before first period.
  • If a class says the teacher lets them, follow the plan and leave it for the teacher to decide.

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