Middle school sub plans: science

One science lesson for every period of a middle school day, with no prep: a five-minute bell ringer, then The Clever Octopus, a 275-word nonfiction passage with 5 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 middle school ▸

The lesson, every period

Science: The Clever Octopus

First 5 minutes, the bell ringer: students answer this in a few sentences, “Should schools require students to wear uniforms? Write an argument with a clear claim, reasons, evidence and a counterargument.”
Next 30 minutes: Before reading, students fill in the first two columns of the K-W-L sheet: what they know about animals, and what they want to know. After reading, the last column: what they learned.
Hand out “The Clever Octopus”, a nonfiction passage of 275 words. Print 24: the student copy is in this packet.
Students read it on their own. Anyone who finishes reads it a second time and underlines the sentence they think matters most.
Students answer the 5 questions under the passage, in full sentences.
With five minutes left, go over two questions out loud. The answers are on the key page: keep it with you.
Then partners compare answers. They pick one question they disagree on and find the sentence in the passage that settles it.
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.
Collect the work for each period in its own pile, with the period written on top.

📄 The Clever Octopus (passage and key) · a K-W-L sheet

The sheets, on their own pages

The Clever Octopus: the passage, questions and answer key
K-W-L chart

Subbing middle school

In middle school you teach the same lesson five or six times, a period at a time, with a few minutes of passing between. Seating charts, phones and “our teacher lets us” are the three things to settle in the first two minutes of each period.

Take attendance from the seating chart in the first five minutes of every period; it is how you learn names.
Put the bell ringer on the board before the bell, so students start the moment they sit down.
Keep each period's work in its own pile, labeled with the period, for the teacher.

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