Lessons Learned from Substitute Teaching
What kinds of lessons can we learn from substitute teaching? I was able to have a number of “lessons learned from substitute teaching” since I subbed for about 8 months.
When I was a Sub
After I finished my student teaching, the job market in my hometown was really tight for teachers. I know that’s hard to imagine today when teachers are in demand.
So, I started my career as a substitute teacher. I actually started subbing in late April of my final year of student teaching since everything was wrapping up and I was excited to get out into the classrooms.
I subbed until January of the following year when I was offered a position in a nearby county that I accepted.
There are a lot of lessons learned by being a substitute teacher!
It’s very eye-opening to substitute teach. Often you go into a different room every day.
I was subbing in a rather large district so I was able to limit my availability to Elementary Schools with grade levels up to sixth grade.
I know for some of you in smaller towns you might have to sub all the way from K-12 grade. Over the few months that I stubbed, I enjoyed the classes where I got to go for two or more days in a row the most.
A variety of classrooms to visit
There was such a variety of ways that teachers left plans for subs.
Some plans were very detailed with page after page of notes. While others merely listed the subject and the page number in the text. It was crazy all the different ways that people left plans back then.
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During my time as a substitute teacher, I am pleased to say that there was only one instance where the teacher did not leave sub plans. And it was entirely understandable since his wife had gone into labor with their first child a month pre-mature. I was in that classroom for three days in a row.
I was thankful that it was a fifth grade class because the students were so good about telling me where they had left off the day before. And the office and grade level partners were so nice to ask if I needed anything.
Some Advice for Subs
If you are subbing, I have a suggestion that might make your life a bit easier. Create two tote bags; one for primary and one for upper grades. In each bag have a variety of emergency type lessons, for example ART.
For the super little kiddos, I would have one or two coloring papers run off ahead of time (32 copies) so that they had something to get busy on while I was taking attendance and figuring out the day.
If you are reading this and you are a substitute teacher, I have another article about discipline that you might be interested in reading. It is linked here:
10 Effective Ways to Prove You Are in Charge of Your Classroom.
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Don’t forget you are leaving an impression!
There were a couple of rooms that I worked in that were a MESS!! It was so bad that I actually felt bad for the students having to work in a class that cluttered.
There were other classrooms that were immaculate and pristine. In those rooms I was almost afraid to touch anything in fear that I would mess something up.
I felt most comfortable in rooms that were lived in; straightened, but obviously used with love (smiles here).
So How should you prepare for a sub?
The biggest suggestion I can offer classroom teachers is to create two items that will serve you all year.
(1) an emergency sub plan, and
(2) a
This is all actually very easy to do now-a-days (wow, that’s the second time in one article that I’ve used that old-time term). There are all kinds of templates that can be purchased online or at a teacher store.
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You might be interested in reading my article on being prepared ahead of time.
Teacher Organization – How to Prepare and stay focused.
And I bet someone out there has created a whole packet for an “emergency” plan that you just have to personalize. Of course both of these require you to purchase something.
But you can fairly easily create a template and an emergency plan to use throughout the year.
Another thing to keep in mind is to be flexible. If the sub did not do every lesson that you left, LET IT GO!! Don’t dwell on it and tell everyone you know – what a lousy sub that was. There could be a good reason (s)he did not follow your plans.
If you are concerned that your class didn’t do anything productive while the sub was there, have a conversation with the office. Usually there is a way to deny the sub from working in your room any longer.
When you are the sub, what do you need to leave for the returning teacher?
Another lesson learned from substitute teaching is that you should leave the teacher a quick note. Your note should
I used to tell my students that if the substitute named them for being especially helpful they would earn a reward. And on the flip side, if they were listed as causing a problem, they would receive a punishment (if they didn’t receive one that day).
A Note from the Principal ME
As a former Principal, I can tell you that a teacher not leaving sub plans (UNLESS IT IS AN ABSOLUTE EMERGENCY) is a huge imposition on the office staff.
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The secretaries (I know, it’s not PC to call them that) – so instead, the administrative assistants are often scrambling to find something for the sub, or to find one of your grade-level team partners to ask questions of (and don’t forget, they are busy too).
By my third year of being a principal, I required teachers to provide a generic set of EMERGENCY SUB PLANS that we kept in the office. If we didn’t use them, we returned them to the teacher in the last week of school. I gave the teacher three weeks to get them done and turned in to the office.
Many teachers who remained in the same grade-level often kept the same set of plans from year to year (if they weren’t used), just changing times if the schedule was different.
Believe me, those emergency plans came in handy many times. Also, the teachers were often relieved that there were plans there already when an emergency did arise.
Were you ever a sub? What was your experience? I’d love to know.
Until next time,
Your Teacher Buddy
