Sage Advice: Aid for Substitute Teachers
How do you help a substitute teacher help your students (and vice versa)?
Plan, plan, and plan. Have a very detailed binder that has classroom policies, seating charts, and always a backup lesson that is very detailed, is time appropriate, and will be graded (make it worth enough points to matter). The lesson plan doesn't have to be in sequence, but it should directly relate to the subject area. If you blow your substitute off, so will your class.
Kim Weber
Visual communications teacher
Valley Forge High School
Parma Heights, Ohio
Let's get rid of the "substitute teacher" label. These are fully trained professionals who are teaching our classes. "Guest teacher" is a much more respectful term.
Diane K. Mattison
Seventh- and eighth-grade block teacher
Springfield Middle School
Springfield, Oregon
Instead of just leaving busywork assignments, I try to get to know substitutes and see what they might like to do. A sub day is a good day for a career-day discussion, especially if your sub is a retired military officer, a retired engineer who likes to do magic tricks, or someone who's been downsized from the business world. And the engineer can really answer the question, "Why do I have to learn algebra?"
Kathy Traylor
Eighth-grade algebra teacher
Shiloh Middle School
Snellville, Georgia
I assigned my students the job of teacher support. When I was absent, students helped the "guest teacher." I didn't view this person as a babysitter, so my students didn't, either.
Julie Dermody
Fourth- and fifth-grade teacher
Chapel Hill-Carraboro City School District
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Make sure a school administrator hits that room once or twice daily whenever there is a guest teacher, and have a buddy-teacher system.
Barbara Cockerham
Assistant professor (and former school principal)
California Baptist University
Riverside, California
In the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, we provide a half-day orientation and a full day of training in classroom management, interpersonal skills, logistics, and professionalism. We provide a library just for guest teachers, along with free monthly seminars on relevant topics.
Ron Nash
Organizational-development specialist
Virginia Beach City Public Schools
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Have prepared, organized, and abundant work that builds on something students have learned. This way, there will be fewer questions for the substitute, and the students will police themselves to make sure the work gets done.
Tom Pasinski
Junior high school teacher
Center for Educational Excellence
Tempe, Arizona
From the pool of substitute teachers, we select a number of "contract subs" who show a high level of professionalism, content knowledge, and pedagogical skills. These contract subs are paid a higher rate and are guaranteed a certain number of workdays. They are used so frequently that students develop a relationship with them, therefore increasing their classroom credibility.
Karen L. Finter
Director
West Irondequoit Teaching Learning Center
Rochester, New York
Identify a specific person who will usually be your substitute and ask your principal to pay for him or her to come to the class for a couple days at the beginning of each term when you will be there. This way, students can see the two of you as a team. This will help students know that the substitute is a teacher, not a babysitter.
Dr. Douglas W. Smith
Coordinator
Elementary and Middle-Level Education
Spadoni College of Education, Coastal Carolina University
Conway, South Carolina
Kids often automatically challenge substitutes -- it's a hallowed tradition in many places. That can be unlearned if teachers respect substitutes and assume they can do a good job and leave behind credible lesson plans that reflect the expectation that significant learning will happen.
Joe Willis
High school teacher
Leggett Valley School
Leggett, California
I leave on my desk the following items:
- Seating charts in plastic sleeves, with markers
- A pad of paper and a pen
- A bottle of water with a note: "Thank you for being me today!"
Suzanne Owen
High school English teacher
Deer Valley High School
Antioch, California
The Student Sages Teacher Cadets (teachers in training while still in high school) at Hayfield Secondary School, in Alexandria, Virginia, respond to this issue's Sage Advice question:
There are a lot of ways to avoid the stereotype of learning nothing when a sub is present. First, try to get a substitute qualified in the content area. Also, always have a detailed lesson plan and a backup generic lesson plan for those less comfortable with the subject matter.
Sarah Lynn Carlson
The lesson plan should be flexible in design so that the substitute can show his or her best skills. One idea is a content-approved video with accompanying guided questions. Inform the students that the work will be collected and graded.
Eliana Bedoya
Creating several generic lessons for unplanned absences saves stress. For example, the teacher should prepare worksheets with guided questions that go along with a movie so students' attention stays focused and they participate for a grade. In planned absence situations, he or she should write a clear agenda on the board along with the typed lesson for the sub, thus allowing students to see what is expected. Also, a personal note to the students from the classroom teacher can set the tone for the day.
Kelly Mitchell
Understanding the importance of respect takes modeling and practice to build a cohesive classroom. Before having a substitute, make sure your detailed lesson plan not only summarizes the work but also describes the classroom environment's emphasis on respect and behavioral expectations.
Courtney Donnell
Create learning experiences involving group work, and have students prepared to present the project to the class when the teacher returns.
Jess Martin
In the beginning of the year, set a precedent for behavior when a substitute is in the classroom. If the students know what is expected, the class will run more smoothly. Assigning classroom assistants can make the substitute teacher's day as routine as possible.
Helping the substitute teacher help my students
Submitted by Jeanie Lin (not verified) on April 25, 2008 - 20:00.
Before a substitute teacher comes in, I remind my students (if I know I'm going to be absent) that a teacher will take my place, and that he or she should be treated like a guest in our home. Most of the students in our class have different roles such as President and Vice President, so those students accommodate the substitute teacher and fill in any blanks for him or her.
I include a substitute teacher packet that gives the substitute teacher all the pertinent info such as a seating chart, the regular schedule, who to get help from (neighboring teachers and staff and students), and any emergency or disaster procedures. I make a note of helpful students and those to look out for. I also leave very detailed, step-by-step lesson plans with filled-in examples for guided practice.
In the end, the substitute/guest teachers are all very appreciative, they have all finished class work laid out for me, and they have always given my class high marks on behavior.
Substitute teachers
Submitted by Adam (not verified) on March 25, 2008 - 11:18.
I am curretly in my first year of substitute teaching in an elementary building. It is very difficult at times but I feel that I have gained a lot of great experiences from my current situation. One of the biggest things that has helped me out the most is making sure that the students know that I expect the same behavior from them as their everyday classroom teacher does. I reinforce this by going over the set classroom rules with everyclass before the day starts. Going into the day the students know what kind of behaviors are unacceptable and I feel that this has really worked.
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