How To Prepare for a Substitute

Leave a seating plan. The most helpful thing you can prepare for a substitute is an up-to-date seating plan. Some teachers like to have a basic blank copy of the desk arrangement in their classrooms, and then just fill in the names of each student. Others like to take each student's picture, and then illustrate who sits at each desk on a permanent poster type of seating plan. Others just have students wear name-tags all day. The design is up to you, but you need to leave some way of allowing the substitute teacher to address your students by name.

Type out your daily schedule. The most important information you need to prepare for your substitute is your day plan. Type this out, adding much more detail than you normally would. Remember that she doesn't know what unit you're on, what lessons have been taught, or what concepts students struggle with. Lay all of this out for her so she can best deliver your lessons to your students. Don't forget to write the start and end time of each period. Highlight any duties you are responsible for throughout the day, and don't forget to tell the teacher where to find your students if they don't automatically come in from recess after the bell.

In addition to your regular lesson plans, make sure you outline any students that require specific modifications. Prepare for the substitute teacher by leaving her a list of who needs extra help, and how she can best help those students.

If you expect your substitute to grade the work she assigns during the day, it is a common courtesy to leave an answer key to every page she handed out. If you'd rather mark everything, make note of this for her.

As well, make sure you leave a bookmark or a sticky note on the pages of your teaching guides and textbooks that she'll need to use that day. Place the texts in sequential order so that she won't have to struggle to find the right book for the next lesson.

Talk about your behavior management strategies. Each teacher has a set way of dealing with behavior problems in the classroom. Let the substitute teacher know how you deal with bad (and good) behavior. What are your forms of discipline? What are your rewards? Mention all consequences that students have come to expect.

Give her a little helper. Substitute teachers always appreciate having a student to help them with the little things. So make a list of helpful students in your class that the substitute teacher can ask for help. You should also mention any volunteers that come in through the day, and leave instructions for what you would like those volunteers to do if they don't already know.

Photocopy everything in advance. Your substitute teacher won't have time to figure out the photocopier when she arrives in the morning. Make her day easier by having everything she'll need for the day photocopied and labeled, ready to go on your desk. (Don't forget to hole-punch your pages. It's something she won't think of, but something that will cause much turmoil in your classroom if it doesn't get done!)

Don't forget the little things. Now that you're basically prepared for a substitute teacher, double-check that you haven't forgot any of the little things that will help her through the day while you're gone. Does she have the keys to your classroom, the staff bathroom, the gym, the storage closet, and so on? Leave your photocopier code just in case. And mention the name of another teacher she can approach with any questions throughout the day. Prepare as much for your substitute teacher as you can so that her day flows smoothly. If it does, then you'll be able to pick up right where she left off when you return.