Sometimes the best-laid plans…are for subs

First, if you are the one that is sick, make sure you set your sub up for success.  There are a lot of ways to ensure that your classroom will still run smoothly just because you aren’t there. I know we like to believe we are the only ones who can execute a lesson, but there’s also something to be said about leaving lesson plans so incredibly detailed that your sub can deliver the lesson flawlessly as well.

Re-visit your future lesson plans

Next, look at what you’re teaching in the immediate future. If you have a hands-on activity scheduled that normally takes an entire class period, but your class has been reduced to a 30-minute block of chaos, you may need to re-organize your week. Is there a future lesson you can switch with today’s lesson that may work better with the shortened time? If you were supposed to do a lab, can you do any of the prep work or initial calculations today? Collect background information? Make predictions?

Be aware of the amount of time you (really) have

Remember, if classes have been shortened to thirty minutes, you’re not going to have your students’ attention the full half hour. There will be late students because some teachers are determined to fit a 50-minute lesson into 30 minutes, or because the time between classes has also been reduced and there’s no way a student can get to your class on time from the other side of–or a completely different–building. There will be more small talk than you’ve ever had with your students about weather, roads, and disbelief that they even had to come in that day. Your 30 minutes is likely closer to 25 minutes (minus two minutes at the end of class because they’re going to pack up early even if they never do. Shortened schedules are so hard for students to wrap their heads around, and they’re anxious about getting to their next class on time.)

If you had a test scheduled, reschedule it.  Even if you think students will have no problem completing it and you planned to begin a new unit that day anyway, it’s not fair to the students. If a class has been shortened, they will come into class feeling anxious and worried that they won’t finish in time. If a large chunk of students are missing because they’re sick, the students who are there will air their concern that it’s not fair that the “sick kids” get an extra day to study. Use the day for an extra review or give a sneak preview of the next unit. But, no matter how much they beg you to take it, wait until they are on a regular schedule again before you give them the test.

No sniffles left behind

If most of your class is home sick with the flu,  have an activity on hand for smaller class sizes. Make it something fun–you don’t want to “reward” students who made it to class with a worksheet. No matter how much fun you think your crossword puzzle of anatomical terms is, kids want to stand up and move. And no, working with a partner does not make it more enjoyable. It’s still a crossword puzzle of anatomical terms, no matter how many people work on it at once.  Can you play a game? Take the anatomical terms crossword puzzle and make it a game where students get to write on the dry erase board. Pictionary with anatomical terms? Now we’re getting somewhere…

What’s your emergency plan?

One last tip: create emergency lesson plans for yourself. Yes, it’s extra work and we know many teachers don’t enjoy making them, but if you can create different lesson plans for different circumstances, you’ll be much better off on days that aren’t quite typical. Find a 25-minute hands-on activity that will get your students out of their desks and moving around the room. It should still be related to your content, but if you have a basic skeleton of a lesson plan that can be applied to different units, you’ll be ready for whatever scheduling curveball is thrown your way.

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And if you’re teaching in a STEAM classroom, you are also teaching students how to use new equipment and creating a hands-on environment that not only gives students a chance to create on their own…but is so because it’s carefully monitored. You’re teaching, exploring, creating, and troubleshooting one class period at a time.

But eventually….you’re going to need to take a day off and that means you’re going to need a sub. While many teachers try to leave subs instructions with an “easy” lesson of showing a video or giving students a test, it’s actually these hands-off lessons that cause the most problems. And if you’re teaching in a STEAM classroom, chances are you’re on a tight schedule to get a project completed. Students may have to sign up in advance to use different equipment, and if they can’t use it because you’re gone, it may throw the entire semester off.  That’s a lot of pressure.  

So how do you prepare for a sub when you’re in a STEAM environment?

Have a little faith in your sub

For many school districts across the country, substitute teachers need to not only have a bachelor’s degree but also have a teaching license in order to work. That being said, if you know you are going to have a sub who is a trained professional, give them a little credit and an opportunity to use their teaching chops. If there is a handbook for using equipment, leave it out for them. If there is no handbook, consider working with your school to create one that explains how to use the equipment easily; it could even be a good class project. Substitute teachers don’t just want to sit back and play solitaire for eight hours. They want to teach. Let them. 

Overplan your lessons

If you normally teach in 45-minute blocks, give subs enough activities for a 90-minute class. This way, if the class breezes through each mini-lesson, subs don’t have that awkward 20 minutes of letting students “talk quietly as long as they stay in their seats” (This is just asking for trouble!).

Develop relationships

Find your go-to sub. Seriously. The most jarring part of having a substitute teacher is that it messes with a student’s idea of routine. If students enter your classroom and see a substitute teacher that they’ve had before, it helps with that transition. New subs take a while to warm up to students. But subs that have been working in your school district awhile are worth holding on to. Also, if you teach a specific content area or age, look for subs that specialize in that area as well. If you are teaching in a STEAM classroom, find a teacher with a background in education technology. 

Revise your emergency lesson plans

Yes, they’re usually due before the first day of school, but it’s always a good idea to revise them once you know your students. Maybe a worksheet and video were what you started with, but as you get to know your students, you learn that they enjoy creative writing or scavenger hunts. You already know that one-size-fits-all lessons don’t exist, and that applies to your emergency lesson plans, too. Once you know students feel comfortable with the technology they are using in the classroom, make sure to incorporate that as well.

Tell your co-teachers

Whether your co-teachers are by grade or by department, let at least two of them know you are going to be out. They can check on the sub to see how it’s going and also make sure students are staying on-task. At the very least, let the teachers who teach next to you know you are out.  Also, if you have teachers use the same technology in their classroom that you do, see if they can help the sub out when needed.  If a 3D printer suddenly isn’t working, then make sure your sub knows who to call. 

Have a backup plan

Any lesson involving technology needs a backup plan.  Whether students are using high-tech equipment or conducting research on the internet, you need to have a backup plan. 

Talk to students about expectations

Let them know what behaviors are allowed and what the consequences are for not following classroom rules.  Also, if students are going to work in groups, go over expectations with students for group work BEFORE you have a sub. The first time students work in groups should never be when you’re not present. If you’re in a STEAM classroom, students should feel comfortable using all of the equipment on their own. In the same vein, never let the first time someone uses a piece of equipment be when you’re not there to help. You can also check to see which students excel with different pieces of technology and assign them as “helpers.” They may know how to troubleshoot tech better than adults do. By giving students responsibilities in your classroom, you are helping to build their self-esteem and creating leaders.

Welcome subs to your class

Leave a note with expectations as well as a teacher’s name they can contact if they have any problems. It can be scary to walk into a classroom as a substitute teacher. It can be even scarier to walk into a STEAM classroom filled with technology they’ve never seen before. But if you set them up for success and let students know your expectations, you can set the bar higher for your subs and your students. Then, when you finally DO have to be away from the classroom, you won’t have to spend the day worrying about what’s going on in your absence. After all, every teacher hopes to come back to a positive note from their sub accentuated by smiley faces, not an all-caps account that was written in frantically-illegible handwriting of how the day went.

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