Having to take a day away from your classroom can be stressful. I remember the mental “should I or shouldn’t I? in the middle of the night trying to decide if it would be easier to suck it up and go to work feeling lousy or try to write 6 hours worth of sub plans between bouts of nausea, migraines, fevers, and body aches; not to mention the stress of hoping a sub would even be available to take my class in first place. It’s a unique kind of torture that only teachers know.
But, with a little bit of planning and preparation, along with a couple of small tweaks to what you are already doing, you can easily create a substitute binder with both timely lesson plans AND emergency lesson plans for a guest teacher with everything they’ll need to keep your students engaged and on track while you’re away.
Welcome your substitute with a personal message.
First impressions are everything and that is especially true for guest teachers. Stepping into your shoes and taking over your class is a BIG ASK for any substitute teacher. That’s why it’s important to welcome them into your classroom with a thoughtfully prepared sub binder that begins with a personal message from you. Not only will this help welcome your guest teacher to your room, it’ll help them easily navigate your class, interact with your students, and deliver your lessons.
A welcome letter lets substitute teachers know that their presence in your classroom is appreciated and valued, and it shows that you view them as the professional they are rather than a highly educated babysitter. Finally, they’re a great opportunity to direct a substitute teacher to things that you need them to do or to know in order to help the day run smoothly so that the first day back in your classroom is stress free.
For example, directing a guest teacher to review particular sections of your substitute binder or planner before school starts or alerting them to a task that needs to be done by a certain time like submitting attendance.
Include a clear outline of your daily routine and detailed lesson plans.
Teaching is a complicated balance of timing, classroom management, and lesson delivery. Therefore, when deciding what information to include in your sub binder, take a minute to think about all the time constraints, possible interruptions, and small details that happen throughout the school day that may affect the success or failure of the day. Then, add them into your plans and include them in your sub binder. (The more places you can include this kind of information the better.)
Begin with a clear outline of your daily schedule, and the good news is that you’ve already done this. Your daily schedule has been established since the first day of school and, I’d be willing to bet that it’s probably displayed somewhere in your room.
You’re on your way.
Now all you have to do is add it to your sub binder. Include a hard copy of your daily schedule and add any additional notes a guest teacher might need at their fingertips. This may include the name of a student who goes to RSP during language arts centers because they have an IEP or that you allow flexible seating during independent reading time for students who’ve finished all their work. Making a note of these types of routine interruptions or special allowances may go unnoticed by you on a typical day but could throw your substitute teacher and your students into a tizzy.
Another way to help your substitute teacher get acclimated to your classroom schedule is to provide them with a daily overview page (for single-day absences) or a weekly snapshot of the activities that take place in a typical week (for longer absences). You’d be surprised how quickly a single-day absence can turn into a multiple-day absence.
Finally, create a detailed lesson plan for each lesson your substitute will be presenting. Your lesson plan should include everything that your substitute teacher needs to know, such as the objective of the lesson, the materials needed, and the procedure. Be sure to include any modifications or accommodations that need to be made for students with special needs or accommodations.
Leave clear instructions for classroom management and procedures.
As you know, the best lesson plans can’t make up for a lack of classroom management AND you don’t want to have to come back after being out and have to reteach everything all over again. (Talk about a waste of time!) But, the good news is that this is another area where you’ve already done the heavy lifting.
During the first days of school, you laid the groundwork for your classroom management, emergency procedures, and established your rules and expectations. That means that all you have to do is write those down and add them to your substitute binder.
Include important “need to know” information for the substitute.
It’s easy to wonder how much “need to know” information is enough and how much is too much. Does a substitute teacher need to know the background of each and every child in your class? Nope. Do they need to know everyone’s current reading level? Uh-uh. Do they need to know who the students are that require special attention, additional services, or who has a peanut allergy? Yes!
Whether it be from the classroom teacher (aka-the substitute) or from an outside support provider, make sure to include information specific for individual students who may need additional support within a typical school day. This can be done in a number of ways, including making a notation on your class roster, your seating chart, and/or in your actual lesson plans.
Prepare materials, and resources in advance (if possible).
Planned Absences
For absences that you can plan for in advance, once you have your lesson plans completed, you can organize the materials and supplies your guest teacher and students will need for the lesson. This might include handouts, worksheets, textbooks, small group activities, manipulatives, and any other necessary items, but be sure to clearly label everything so that the teacher and students can easily find what they need. (I like to use stickies!)
Just a tiny word of advice here…make sure to include activities that are meaningful and engaging. Remember…a substitute teacher is an actual teacher. Not a babysitter. They want to actually teach your students so let them. Plan lessons that build upon the work that you have already introduced–you definitely don’t want your substitute to introduce a new unit of study, but they are more than capable of teaching a follow-up lesson or leading a meaningful discussion on your class’ latest novel.
“Busy work” is boring and often doesn’t take up as much time as you think it will. If you try to build an entire school day around worksheets and coloring pages, you’re setting your substitute and your students up for disaster; not to mention that it’s a complete waste of instructional time. Make the day meaningful. Your guest teacher and your students will thank you.
Unplanned Absences
For unexpected absences, the easiest materials to include in your sub binder are evergreen, open-ended organizers, worksheets, tasks, and games that can be easily adapted for multiple types of activities in several different subject areas with generic instructions that are easy to follow.
Some of my “got-to” activities include:
Independent reading
Time for students to catch-up on unfinished work
A math game
An extra read aloud
An art activity that, ideally, ties a topic, subject, or book we’re reading (I like Art Hub for Kids on YouTube.)
A PE activity or lesson (For indoor PE, I like Cosmic Kids Yoga or Wii Dance for Kids on Youtube. For outside PE, leave directions for a game/activity that requires little to no equipment or set up.)
An open-ended writing task or prompt that, ideally, ties a topic, subject, or book we’re reading
Some of the master copies that I keep in my sub binder are:
*Make sure to leave instructions on how to make copies if you don’t have class sets of these at the ready.
A bubble map
A writing organizer for drafting
A plot diagram
A flow chart
Math review sheets
Hall passes
Substitute report
Class reward bucks
Include emergency procedures and contact information.
Lastly, emergencies can happen at any time, therefore, it’s important to include any emergency instructions, procedures, and student contact information in case parents need to be notified or students need to be released to family members following an incident.
Guest teachers will need to have access to your school’s specific safety plan, where emergency kits are kept, and have specific student information on hand should an emergency arise. Include copies of everything emergency related that your school administration gives you in your sub binder and make sure to keep any additional instructions you provide brief.
Give your guest teacher the “Cliff’s Notes” version of any bell codes and be sure to use bullet-pointed lists and visual aids, such as evacuation maps with clearly labeled routes to safety. Chances are, in an emergency, your substitute is going to be a little freaked out, so it’s up to you to make keeping your guest teacher and your students safe as easy as possible.
By following these simple instructions, you will be able to build a detailed sub binder with minimal effort that includes important classroom information, procedures, and lesson plans to ensure that you’ll be able take that much needed day off knowing that a guest teacher will be able to confidently take over your class and that your students will continue learning in your absence.
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Happy planning, my friend!
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