Substitute+Folder

== == Here’s what I include:


 * a photo directory: head shots with their names
 * a seating chart
 * class schedule
 * pull-out / in-class support schedule
 * classroom rules and behavior management plan
 * signals you use to get their attention
 * procedures for: attendance, lunch, recess, lining up, bathroom, dismissal and what to do when they finish their work
 * a list of 2-3 reliable students
 * a list of any medical issues that they would need to know about
 * transportation list (car riders, bus riders, after school, etc.)
 * any additional student info that would be helpful (who will require extra help, who may try to act silly and how to deal with it, etc)

I also a include a brief list of things that I know kids will try to get away with (using the electric pencil sharpener, asking to go to the nurse 80 million times).

WELCOME – AT A GLANCE
 In the very front window pocket of the entire folder, I tuck in this welcome note and then proceed to fill the rest of the pockets inside the folder with the sheets below.

Class List: This one may be obvious, but I include a class list with photos. I also hand this out to our specials teachers the first week of school and they are very grateful. I normally keep a set of name labels in the pocket with this list to make calling students by name a matter of “peel and stick”. Since I mention students by name in my plans, I think this helps give a heads up before the day begins.



CONTACTS LIST
 I like to mention helpful people by name that would be the top three a sub might come in contact with on any given day. This includes our secretary, our school nurse and my favorite teacher down the hall. I’d want to be able to call someone by their name if I could… names are important!

Plus we all know how valuable it is to make great friends with the school secretary! {wink}

Organization:  I like to spread out the day’s materials and place a label card on top of each set of materials. It allows me to do one final check that I’ve set out everything they need to match the plans I’ve made. I adhered a library card pocket to hold all of these 3×5 cards in the back of my sub folder, keeping them all together. I’m really good at leaving materials for subs to work on during any precious prep times and use this label as the icons match our daily agenda.

Classroom Procedures: If I want my high expectations held throughout my half day, whole day or multiple day absence… I figure I’d better shed the light on them. This is a “sub-ified” version of our parent/student behavior agreement planfor our classroom.

Emergency Procedures: This one is my least favorite, so I try to make it easy on the eyes. Our normal one that hangs by our door is NOT user-friendly but is mandated. So, I keep this one in the folder to make it easy to grab and go and understand my version of how I explain things to students.

DAILY SUB PLANS

When it comes to writing sub plans my advice is to prepare for a sub as if he/she has never subbed before...or been around children...or lacks ALL common sense. Chancesare your sub will be a professional who will do a stellar job, but preparing for the opposite end of the spectrum will help to ensure that things will run well in your absence.

In the lesson section I include specific instructions as well as a "script" for the sub to say to the students. This is not to micromanage the sub, but rather to make sure the little cherubs know that I have communicated the expectations to the sub and that he/she knows the drill.

In addition to clearly written lesson plans. It is always a great idea to include some filler activities such as:

It is great to have an assortment of riddles, word or number problems, and brain teasers on hand that you can give to the class. You can use these during snack time to keep everyone quietly seated, during small breaks during the day, and even at the end of the day to wind down. You can also write some on the board (more difficult ones) at the beginning of the day, and let the students know that they can think about them throughout the day, and the first to come up with the correct answer will get a prize.
 * *Riddles and Brain Teasers* **

This is great game to purchase so that you can use the cards for a game in class. You can also make your own homemade Pictionary cards. Split the class into teams (boys vs. girls, one side of the class vs. the other) and have them compete in a game, using the chalk board to draw on. Rewards and prizes can be used. This can get noisy to make the appropriate noise level very clear before beginning.
 * *Pictionary* **

Draw a simple picture on the board (a square, a circile, a straight line). Tell students to come up one at a time and add something small to the picture to make it into a different object (ex. add a roof to a square to make a house). Each student coming up should add something different to make it into a completely different object (ex. to the house, someone could add a line at the bottom to make it into a spinning top).
 * *Draw a Picture On The Board* **

Have puzzles, colouring sheets, word searches, cross words and find the hidden picture sheets available for students to do when they finish their assigned work.
 * *Extra Work Sheets* **









 [|Sample Sheets and Labels]

I attach little quarter sheets of paper that I have pre-printed onto any projects that I have subs, parents or aides work on. They are pretty fast to fill out and easier to explain what I want, especially if I have multiple projects I’d like them to complete.

  



Put band-aids, gauze and gloves in a cheap pencil pouch inside of your sub folder. Sub will not have to go rummaging through your things in case a student gets a minor cut!
 * Additional items to add to the sub folder: **