So anyone who is a teacher knows, that planning for a substitute can be stressful.  You want to make sure that the plans are easy enough to follow and implement, engaging for students to stay focused on, long enough that it leaves no time for unstructured time, and of course on topic so you don’t lose time.  Planning for a substitute is enough to keep me in school even when I don’t feel good just because of all the extra prep work.  In the next few weeks I’ll be planning for substitutes more frequently then I’d like. Luckily I have a substitute lined up that I trust and can rely on to manage my classroom the way I need in order to accomplish goals.

To ensure that everything runs smoothly with a substitute I like to make super detailed plans to ensure that the substitute doesn’t feel unsure of what to do.  I like to use the “Teacher will – Students will” model with instructions for students and for what the substitute is actually responsible for.  That way the substitute knows exactly what the student work will look like.  I also like to include an “If all else fails” section with an emergency backup in case the internet goes out etc.

What I would be most uncomfortable with as a substitute is being in someone else’s classroom and not knowing where things are.  Since the students know more about the daily routines I always put a list of “helpful students” for each block.  This includes three to four students that the substitute can go to for questions or help.

To make sure they know what to do in any circumstance, the introduction page in the beginning lists out what to do in emergencies and includes a section on where to find things such as clickers, manual attendance sheets etc.

Here’s a look at what my substitute plans look like!  Ultimately these people are doing me a huge favor!  The least I can do is make it an easy day for them 🙂