10 Things Missing From Your Sub Plans

Before I landed my first teaching job, I was a substitute. I was really excited to be in the classroom and officially on my own for the first time as a teacher. I quickly lost that excitement and it was replaced with a lot of anxiety. Going to a new school and a new classroom every day is stressful!

Now, I have two years of teaching under my belt and I am back at it as a substitute. (#militaryspouselife) I thought that being a substitute teacher would be way easier this time around because I actually have some real experience in the classroom. In some ways it is easier, but in many ways it’s not.

I’ve noticed that one of the huge factors that determines whether or not I can have a successful day is….you guessed it….sub plans! So many teachers leave really important information out of their sub plans. I want to share some of the top pieces of information that I think should be included in your sub plans so you can set you sub up for success.

Also make sure you read to the end to see how I write my sub plans QUICKLY and download a FREEBIE to help you get started! Okay, here we go. Here’s what you need in your sub plans!

#1 Emergency Procedures

If you are someone who includes emergency procedures in your sub plans, you are probably thinking, “Well duh, Becca, that’s obvious!” However, you’d be surprised at how often this information is not included!

Basically, if I read through your sub plans, I should know how to react in any emergency situation (fire, lockdown, tornado, etc.) I should know where to go and what I need to bring with me (emergency bag, clipboard, roster, etc.)

Walking into a classroom, being in charge of 20-30 kids, and not knowing how I am supposed to protect them in an emergency situation is stressful and scary.

#2 Phone Numbers

Similar to #1, this maybe obvious to you…or you may be thinking, “oh shoot!” and making a note to adjust your sub plans. Again, you’d be surprised at how often this piece is missing! Personally, I like to have three phone numbers available to me.

First, I should know how to call the office in an emergency. I have been in situations as a substitute when I need support with a student and I have to call the office. It’s important that substitutes have a quick way to get help.

Second, I should be able to call the nurse in a medical emergency situation. Of course, if you leave the office number, they would be able to get you in touch with the nurse, but in an emergency it’s better to have quick access to the nurse.

Third, it’s helpful to have the phone number of a teammate or neighbor. This is for questions I may have throughout the day that I don’t necessarily need to bother the office about, or that the office can’t help me with. For example, if the sub plans say to do a certain activity and I can’t find the materials I need for the activity, I would call a teammate or neighbor of the teacher I’m subbing for and ask for help. Typically, they would know where to find the materials or could loan you some materials from their classroom.

#3 Special Students

Last week, I subbed in two different classrooms that had two students with fairly severe learning disabilities. Neither teacher left any notes about these students or ways in which I could support them. It took me way too long to figure out if these students needed extra support of if they were acting out because I was a substitute. With just a quick note about these students in the sub plans, I would have been able to provide the appropriate support from the beginning.

Remember, you know your students really well, but a stranger doesn’t. When I walk into a classroom, I have no idea which students have IEPs, which students have medical conditions, which students have allergies, which students are working on their behavior, etc. A quick note about these students helps the substitute to be able to support them, making it a better day for both the students and the substitute.

#4 Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

I’d say most sub plans include some sort of arrival procedures, but usually plans that say “Students arrive and unpack” are not enough information.

Do your students arrive at the same time? Do they have staggered entry between a certain time frame? Do they come to the classroom or do I go pick them up? What do they do when they get to the classroom? What’s the expected voice level during arrival?

Similar to arrival procedures, please don’t just write “dismissal” on your sub plans. I probably have NO CLUE how dismissal works at your school. In my experience, every school is vastly different and usually kind of complicated. Some questions your sub plans should answer about dismissal include… Are students dismissed at one time or staggered? Which students are bus riders, walkers, car riders, etc? Do I take the students to where they need to go or just dismiss them from the classroom? What do if a student doesn’t get picked up?

Dismissal is such an important part of the day because we want all students to get home safely. The more information you can give, the better!

#5 Bathroom Procedures

I’ve just accepted that students are going to use the bathroom 5,000 times a day when there’s a sub, there’s just no way around that, and that’s okay! It’s very helpful, however, to know what the bathroom procedures are at your school and in your classroom.

For example, a school I worked at had a very strict policy about only letting one boy and one girl from each classroom go to the bathroom at a time. I had to include that information in my sub plans because how else would my substitute know!?

The building I subbed in last week had bathrooms in the classrooms. I had no idea until a student stood up during a read aloud and walked into the bathroom. That would have been nice to know before hand!

Some important questions to answer in your sub plans are… Where is the bathroom? (in classroom, down the hall, etc.) Do students need to ask to use the restroom? How do they ask? (special signal, just ask, etc.) How many students at a time? Do they need a pass? Is there a limit to how many passes they can have during the day?

This may seem like a lot of information to write out just about the dang bathrooms, but I promise it’s worth is to help your students have sub to have a good day!

#6 Voice Levels

If you use voice levels in your classroom, it’s really helpful to include your typical expected voice level for each time of the day. I typically write (well, copy and paste, because I already wrote it once!) an explanation of the voice levels at the beginning of my sub plans so I can reference them throughout the plans.

For example, if you expect students to be at a level two during arrival time, in your arrival instructions, include that info! If they usually are expected to be at a level one during writing, jot that down! While your substitute may not enforce the voice level, it is helpful to know what is typically expected.

#7 Specific Activity Instructions

This is where writing sub plans can get time consuming. For the most part, the rest of this stuff is something you type up once and then copy into your future sub plans. The activities, however, change from day to day, so this part is something you have to type up every time. That’s why, in my experience, this part of the sub plans can be super vague and confusing. I get it, you don’t have a lot of extra time, but the more you can include, the more successful your students will be!

For each activity, some questions to answer in your sub plans are… How will students get materials? (pass out, table captain, etc.) Where will students work? (floor, flexible seating, desks, etc.) What is the expected voice level? Can students help each other? What should students do when they finish? Where should students put their work when it’s complete? Where should students put their work if it’s not complete?

Quick Tip:

My teammates were always amazed at how quickly I planned and prepped for a sub…so I’m going to share my secret with you. I structured all of my substitute days almost exactly the same so I could copy and paste A LOT of the activity instructions and just change little pieces of them.

For example, my students always did a handwriting page from their handwriting book with a substitute. So each time I was writing sub plans, I would copy and paste my detailed directions explaining how to carry out this activity, then I would change the letter that I wanted them to work on and I was done planning that activity! I also believe this really helped my students when they had a substitute, because they knew what activities to expect throughout that day.

#8 Push-in/Pull-out Schedule

Do you have students that need to be taken out of class for remediation or speech or something else? Let your sub know! Do you have specialists that come into your room during specific times of the day? Let your sub know! Also, let them know if they are supposed the let the students go on their own or if they get picked up for their pull-out time. Just type up a weekly push-in/pull-out schedule once and just print it out with your sub plans!

#9 Lunch/Recess Procedures

Once again, DETAILED procedures is the key! A lot of sub plans I’ve come across simply say, “lunch” or “recess” at a specific time with little or no other information. As a substitute, I need to know things like… Where do I take students for lunch? Do I stay with them or drop them off? Do they need to bring lunch cards? Do I pick them up? Where do I take them for recess? Do I have recess duty? Do I need to take a whistle or walkie-talkie with me? Where do I pick them up from recess? The more information, the better!

I know that students can often relay this information, especially the older ones, but it’s so much better to just have the information from the get go. I can’t tell you how many times I will ask the class something like, “Do I need to pick you up after lunch?” and I’ll get a chorus of “Yes!” “No!” “I think so!” “I’m not sure!” all at once. So I’ll rephrase and say, “Does your teacher pick you up after lunch?” and I get the same chorus of mix-matched answers. I have no clue why they can’t seem to remember things like that, but they don’t! So when in doubt, just write it down for your substitute!

#10 Classroom Management System

It’s helpful to know what kind of classroom management system you use in your classroom, so your substitute can use it too! For example, if you use a marble jar, class compliments, table points, or anything that would be easy for your sub to utilize throughout the day, tell them how you use it and give them permission to use it too! This helps the substitute be able to enforce your expectations the same way you would if you were there!

If your management system is not something a substitute can use, consider creating one just for days when you are gone. It can be something simple like class points. Giving the substitute a system that the students know you will enforce is HUGE!

Copy and Paste

I know this is a ton of work, but I promise you it is well worth it! Here’s the deal. I copy and paste about 90% of my sub plans each time I write new sub plans. It was a lot of work up front, but I am SO QUICK at writing DETAILED sub plans because I just copy and paste!

Sub Plan Template Freebie!

If you made it this far….you deserve a freebie! I am going to give you a copy of my actual sub plans from when I taught first grade! These are not completed sub plans for you to print and use for your classroom. Here’s what you should do with them…

#1 Read through my plans to see just how detailed I am in my explanations. These are the kind of sub plans that help me to have a smooth day as a substitute.

#2 Go to “file” and select “make a copy” to use my sub plans as a template! You can fill in your own information using this template to help you remember all of the important things you need to include while writing your sub plans!

Note: I am in no way implying that my sub plans are perfect or that I have it all figured out, but I do think it’s helpful to see an example of what detailed sub plans look like. I also think it’s helpful to have a template to get you started! So, I am sharing my plans with you for those purposes.

This is actually the format I use when I write sub plans. I didn’t fancy it up for you or make it cute. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done!

Click here to check out my sub plans!

FREE Binder Cover

Speaking of fancy and cute….I did whip up a little binder cover for you to use. I couldn’t just leave you hanging! Go to the "Get Free Resources” tab in th website menu or click the image to the right. You’ll get access to ALL of my free resources, including this cute binder cover!