To accomplish tasks correctly and confidently, substitute teachers need more than basic lesson plans. Knowledge is power. When you provide your substitute teachers with more information, they will feel more comfortable with the situation and classroom. Even experienced substitutes can benefit from extra information.
When you need to miss classroom time, make your subs’ days easier by providing them with the following sub plan checklist:
1. Emergency Information
Substitute teacher plans should include information regarding emergency procedures such as fire drills, tornado drills and lock-downs. Provide subs with any keys they may need to utilize during lock-downs. Drawing a map of the school for your subs is also a smart idea. Label where important places are located, such as:
- The office
- Classrooms
- The cafeteria
- Bathrooms
- The teacher’s lounge
- The playground
- The parking lot
2. School Policies
Inform subs of school policies they might not know about. For instance, you might wish to include details relating to school wardrobe rules, disciplinary protocols and inclement weather accommodations.
3. List of People to Reach Out to For Help
If problems arise in the classroom, your subs need to know who they can reach out to for help. Provide them with a list of dependable teachers’ names they can turn to, if needed. Don’t forget to include these educators’ door numbers, too. In addition to teachers, write down the names and locations of other individuals such as the principal, vice principal, school nurse and custodian.
4. Passwords
Substitute teacher plans should include passwords for computers or other password-protected technology your subs may need to utilize.
5. List of Helpful Students
You likely have certain students you can trust to do the right thing. Give your subs a list of their names. When dilemmas arise, these students can be your subs’ best allies.
6. List of Extra Responsibilities
Don’t leave your subs in the dark concerning any extra responsibilities they may need to execute. For instance, let them know if they have lunch duty, bus duty, detention duty or carpool responsibilities.
7. Words of Encouragement
Set your subs up for success by offering them words of encouragement. Let them know you appreciate what they’re doing. Consider including inspiring quotes by favorite authors or renowned educators in notes to subs.
During the school year, missing time in the classroom is often inevitable. To ease your anxiety when you can’t be with your students, creating detailed substitute teacher plans is crucial. If completing this task alone with a limited timeframe isn’t appealing, Daybreak Lesson Plans can help! Check out our substitute teacher lesson plans today and feel free to contact us with any questions.