Planning for a sub…
Well here are 6 tips that will make you feel ready and confident when booking your future sub! I know it can be hard to leave your classroom to someone else because you are so attached to your room, students, and may just think no one can teach like you. But let us keep it real-there are many great teachers out there so just sit back, relax, and trust. This actually leads us to our first tip…
- Trust: You need to let go and trust the substitute teacher. Most substitute teachers have experience with students and may even have their teaching credentials so believe in them. Substitute teachers are there to support you so let them do their jobs. Use your sick days, vacation days, and so forth and know the sub in your classroom can survive the day- they may even be one of the top teachers out there! These substitute teachers need the experience so allowing them to be the teacher for the day will only improve their skills and prepare them for when they have their own classrooms. If the sub ends up being the worse sub ever, it is no big deal. Just know not to use them again and move on. Being a full-time teacher myself, I know it can be hard to trust others, but we all need to let go of that mentality and have a more positive mindset when we have a sub filling in for the day! Everyone needs to start somewhere- remember that.
2. Do not Assume: I cannot emphasize this enough. You should never assume that the sub knows it all because 100% of the time they do not! You want to set your sub up for success so please be detailed as possible. You can never be “too detailed”. When writing out your plans, act as if this person has never taught a day in their life. This is the only way to ensure the sub will understand your expectations, how to proceed with the lesson plan, and feel confident in your classroom. It can feel like a drag and take a lot of time to be super detailed but trust me, you will appreciate it when you come back the next day and see everything ran smoothly. Honestly, you only need to layout your sub template once and then you can just fill in the blanks over and over again. 3. Be Flexible: Know that everything you assigned for the day may not get done and that is okay. We know teaching never goes as planned and that is just how it plays out sometimes. Give yourself and the sub some grace. If they do not get to a certain activity that was planned, just know you can get to it another day or perhaps cut it out completely (if that is okay of course). Each day works out differently and can be unpredictable when someone new is in the room- so having that flexibility from the start will help tremendously. Remember, it is alright if EVERYTHING is not completed on the lesson plan. You can always revisit the lesson. Plain and simple! 4. Resources: Set the substitute teacher up for success by having all the needed materials out, the answer keys, required textbooks, and any important supplemental materials that could further support instruction. With these resources, the sub will feel more confident with the materials and be aware of how to present the information to the students. Obviously, the substitute teacher will know the material but there are certain occasions when a sub may be a little rusty in a certain area, so having the resources such as answer keys and step-by-step instructions can be helpful. 5. FYI: This simply means the information that is important and insightful for the sub. Yes, you need to be as detailed as possible but it can be easy to forget a few things. However, you want to at least leave them with the information that they MUST have. This includes a list of helpful students, the students to watch out for, emergency protocols, classroom management tips, and expectations for certain behaviors. 6. The Rundown: The rundown is all about that detailed lesson plan! The lesson plan will let them know how the day should go. Making sure to leave times, timeframes, subject/activities, and details on the activity and how to go about it is ideal when stating the rundown. The rundown is how the show works and what should be expected throughout the day in order for things to run smoothly. When there is a rundown, the sub will feel confident with implementing the daily task and knowing exactly what to do each step of the way for the day!
To make things simple for you, I have included a lesson plan template in my TpT store for you! Here it is: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lesson-Plan-Template-for-a-Sub-6501080