How does the substitute know?

[Anonymous]

Long story short, I was supposed to volunteer to help the teacher do some copying this AM. She texted me telling me not to come in, that her child got sick overnight and she wouldn’t be there and they would have a sub.

It got me thinking. How does the sub know what to do/teach? I’m assuming the teacher had no idea she’d be absent today, so I would assume she didn’t leave supplies out for a sub? Or do teachers leave things out every night, just in case?

Can anyone explain how the sub will know what to do with the kids for 7 hours?

[Anonymous]

Teachers usually have 3 days or so of emergency sub plans. They can be used at any time during the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long story short, I was supposed to volunteer to help the teacher do some copying this AM. She texted me telling me not to come in, that her child got sick overnight and she wouldn’t be there and they would have a sub.

It got me thinking. How does the sub know what to do/teach? I’m assuming the teacher had no idea she’d be absent today, so I would assume she didn’t leave supplies out for a sub? Or do teachers leave things out every night, just in case?

Can anyone explain how the sub will know what to do with the kids for 7 hours?

I'm a substitute teacher (FCPS). If a teacher knows he/she will be out, they always put sub plans on their desk for me. Depending on the grade or subject, they'll leave books, worksheets, or a Power Point for me to complete, or some other activity that's been set up. If it's a last minute thing, like a sick child, they'll usually email the sub plans to either the main office or one of their co-workers in the same grade level, and then the plan is given to me when I arrive. The other teachers in that grade level usually check in to make sure I know where to find everything and ask if I have any questions. I think a lot of schools ask teachers to keep an emergency sub plan on file with the main office, but I've never had to use one.

I've had to improvise a couple times, like when I was supposed to do a lesson on the SmartBoard and it wouldn't turn on (the IT guy came in and fixed it later). Reading as a group or letting older kids read independently or catch up on work is always a good way to keep the kids busy for a half-hour or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers usually have 3 days or so of emergency sub plans. They can be used at any time during the year.

This. The principal or another teacher will pull out the emergency plans and give the sub some instructions. This really varies by teacher though.

I did a stint of substitute teaching when I was in college. Doing elementary was the hardest because I had to be ON all day. The kids would start to learn your weak spots pretty fast (they are so smart!) and would be working you over to get what they want by lunch time. Middle and high school was easier because it was generally a movie or worksheets or working on long term projects, then a new class came in. So I just had to make sure the kids didn't kill each other for 45-90 minutes at a time.

[Anonymous]

Very cool. A well oiled machine. Something I never really thought about, but I’m glad I asked! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

We have emergency sub plans. But I’ve never had a sub use mine. In the event of an emergency absence, I just type up my plans quickly at home and email them to someone one my team. They print them out the next morning and give them to my sub.

[Anonymous]

And I will go into work early, leave my plans and prep all the materials for the sub and go home. I'm usually at school 6:30 a.m. anyways every morning, so unless I'm puking, even if I feel terrible I can still drag myself out of bed and into work for 30 minutes to prep it all before anyone else is in the building.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I will go into work early, leave my plans and prep all the materials for the sub and go home. I'm usually at school 6:30 a.m. anyways every morning, so unless I'm puking, even if I feel terrible I can still drag myself out of bed and into work for 30 minutes to prep it all before anyone else is in the building.

Is it creepy to be in the building that early ?

[Anonymous]

I have sub plans and activities near my desk. I can also email or call one of my team members and they will make copies or share work with the sub. we can also write our plans at home and attach worksheets to our plans and the secratary or team member will print them out and hand them to the sub.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will go into work early, leave my plans and prep all the materials for the sub and go home. I'm usually at school 6:30 a.m. anyways every morning, so unless I'm puking, even if I feel terrible I can still drag myself out of bed and into work for 30 minutes to prep it all before anyone else is in the building.

Is it creepy to be in the building that early ?

Sometimes. It is worse if I am there in the late afternoon on a weekend. No one is there and it is dark in winter. Now that is creepy! But sometimes work just has to be done.

[Anonymous]

I get to my school around 6:30am and leave around 5:30 so it's dark when I arrive and when I leave. I don't like it but once I get home, it's too hard to get much work done with kids. By their bedtime, my brain is fried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will go into work early, leave my plans and prep all the materials for the sub and go home. I'm usually at school 6:30 a.m. anyways every morning, so unless I'm puking, even if I feel terrible I can still drag myself out of bed and into work for 30 minutes to prep it all before anyone else is in the building.

Is it creepy to be in the building that early ?

Sometimes. It is worse if I am there in the late afternoon on a weekend. No one is there and it is dark in winter. Now that is creepy! But sometimes work just has to be done.

How do you get in on the weekend? We don't have access (not that I want it).

[Anonymous]

The worst is spending so much time writing sub plans but then having my sub pulled at the last minute to cover a classroom where the teacher doesn't have a sub.

-ESOL teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers usually have 3 days or so of emergency sub plans. They can be used at any time during the year.

Our second grade teacher sent subs 5 times in 3 months.

[Anonymous]

Teacher has a plan prepared.

Sub comes in, doesn't bother to look at it, and does something different.

Kids tell teacher. Teacher gets annoyed. Another wasted day.

Etc...