I’m currently recovering from a bad spout of “one of those viral things going around you can’t get med for you just have to let run it’s course.” Yeah. Fun. It knocked me out of school for 3 days. THREE DAYS!! To a teacher, that’s like an eternity. It made me think about how I plan and organize my room for a substitute and how it’s different if I know I’m going to be out versus if I’m out last minute and didn’t have any chance to prepare ahead of time. So, I thought I’d share with you so the next time you’re out, your sub will be well prepared and your room won’t be a hot mess (or at least as bad) when you return!
If You Know You’ll Be Out
This is the most idea situation right? You know you’re going to be out whether it’s because it’s a planned appointment or you’re going to be out of town, whatever the case is, you know ahead of time. In this situation, I love to OVER prepare my substitute for my classes. I want to make sure everything is so easy for them and everything goes smoothly!
On top of writing good sub plans that explains all the directions, where things are, what to do, etc. I like to arrange all the materials they will need in plain sight. First, I make sure my sub binder and printed out sub plans are on my desk. I also like to prepare my seating charts/rosters for them and have them laid out and the remote to my projector as well. These things need to be obvious when they first get there.
Next, I use organization baskets or bins to put everything in for each grade level. For example, a basket for 3rd grade with the picture packets in it they need to look at, the boxes of oil pastels placed on top, and the class table folders containing their artwork placed with it. I also might add a stack of paper of whatever they need to be using. This all ensures that the sub doesn’t get confused or grabs the wrong kind of paper (we all know what it’s like if the expensive watercolor paper is used for marker drawings!) and also that the sub doesn’t have to go searching for everything. I do this for each class of the day and I lay them on in order along my counter. I place a sticky note in front of each group of items labeling the grade level/class it is for.
Another thing I do when I have extra time to prepare to be gone is create videos. If I know I’ll be out, I will sometimes create videos for my students talking directly to them. Basically, I’m teaching them without actually being there! I can tell them what exactly they need to do (this is especially helpful if they are continuing something we’ve already started) and I can also demonstrate anything they might need to see. This guarantees that the sub doesn’t tell them how to do something the wrong way or the students get confused with how the sub explains my written plans. I like to embed these videos into a PowerPoint presentation and save it on my schools shared drive for substitutes so all they have to do is open it and click the play buttons. I’ll make separate videos for different classes and label them within the PowerPoint accordingly. As long as technology works okay for a sub, this method is amazing! With the videos and laying out all the materials, I’ve heard so many praises from subs that they appreciate how organized and easy everything was!
If Your Absence is a Surprise
There are always those instances when you don’t know you’re going to be out and need a sub. Like me last week. I had no idea I was going to be as sick as I was and didn’t prepare ahead of time! For these cases, there are still ways you can be really organized for your sub. But it still takes a little effort and it’s helpful if you have things prepared for just in case instances.
If I’m able to, I plan a lot of things at home from my computer and safe them remotely to my school’s shared drive for substitutes. I try to think back to how I left the room and I look back on my plans to see what classes are in the middle of doing. Is this a time where a sub can just oversee them continuing to work on a project? Or is it something more complicated or messy that will turn out in you pulling out your hair when you return? I have definitely come back to watercolor pallets that looked ALL black and 1st grade paintings that had to be completely redone because I trusted the class to do it while I was gone. I have never made that mistake again!
From home, I can still write out very detailed directions. I can still add pictures and videos to PowerPoints for a sub to play for classes. It might just be things that aren’t as complicated for students to do without me. I love finding introduction or enrichment activities for the unit we are in that I would normally do anyway and have students do them with a sub. It’s just rearranging my already set plans and it keeps students on track with what we’re learning. I also like to find how to draw videos or short videos having to do with the topic and embedding them into a PowerPoint for the sub. I can add all these things to my plans from home and put them in the shared folder for subs at school.
Have a Backup!
It is always good to have a backup plan. No matter if you knew you were going to be out or not, you just never know what the day is going to bring when you aren’t there. You could have the best plans in the world laid out but if it’s all on the computer and the sub has trouble with technology that day, then what? That’s where extra planning and early planning comes into play.
It took me a few years to finally get one put in place, but I have a Sub Tub that I keep on a shelf behind my desk. This is filled with easy one day lessons/projects/activities that a sub can do easily. They are organized by grade level and contain all the things that might be needed: a lesson plan, any handouts/worksheets, examples, picture book, etc. I write at the top of all my sub plans that if technology isn’t working or they don’t feel comfortable with it or with the planned lesson, please choose something from the Sub Tub. I have only had a sub use my Sub Tub once, maybe twice. And I think that is because my sub plans are so organized and thought out to begin with.
The other way I create a backup plan is having a separate, easier activity for my sub. Something written in my plans but really easy. It might go along with the lesson or season or it might be something completely different but it makes me feel better that they won’t just be running around all over the place. It might be some copies of a coloring page that has to do with the unit or season, or it might be a book that they can find on the shelf and a drawing prompt to go with it. It might even be something like free art time but tell the sub to do it like stations and rotate kids through them. Something to give the sub a choice or a second option if they need it. And also something that will give a little bit of structure.
The final bit of advice I have for being out and preparing for your sub is to talk with your team. I hope you have a team of teachers or a friend at work, someone who you can trust to look out for things while you’re gone. My team and I will email our sub plans to each other when we need to and ask each other to print them off. We’ll put them on each others’ desk and check in on the sub to help them out.
So no matter if you know you’re going to be out or not, there are ways to make it a success for your substitute and for your students. Once you’ve done the work to prepare, you just have to let go and know there is nothing you can do! It is up to the sub and your school and you can just focus on you. Try not to stress. Whatever happens will happen and you can deal with it all when you return. But hopefully, there is not much to deal with. The next time you’re out, try one of these tips and see how it goes! What do you like to do for your subs when you are out?
Keep blending,
Laura