Substitute teaching is a tough job! Walking into different classroom environments with different expectations each day, working with various age levels and abilities of students, and various types of teacher expectations are just a few of the challenges that being a substitute teacher presents. There are many ways you can work to best prepare yourself for any situation you may find yourself in!
Arrive Early
Give yourself time to prepare! Get into the school building a little early so you can give yourself time to read through the substitute plans and identify all the materials needed in order to make sure you have everything you should.
It is also important to familiarize yourself with the classroom and additionally the school if you are unfamiliar. For example, make sure you know where the student (and faculty) bathrooms are located and where the main office and nurse are located in proximity to the classroom you are in.
Clear Expectations
Set clear expectations for the students. This includes behavior as well as what they need to complete during the period. Inform the class that the expectations are the same as any day that their teacher is there and that consequences will be similarly structured.
This sounds so basic and silly, but make sure to put your name on the board, and also tell students how to pronounce it! So many substitute teachers are referred to as “the sub”, but it is important to make sure that the students address you by name. Having simple and clear expectations will certainly add to the success of your day in that particular classroom.
Preparation is Key
Be prepared for the day! Again, make sure you are ready to go and understand the teacher’s plans. It is a good idea to keep a couple extra activities in your bag (such as worksheets, graphing coloring sheets, etc.) that could be used for any grade level, or a list of websites that have some fun educational games and activities if the students have devices (which most do at this point in time). This way you leave little room and time for misbehavior. It is the teacher’s responsibility to leave assignments for you, but it is still great to have a back-up plan just in case!
Teachers as a Resource
Make sure to use other teachers in the building as a resource. Most classroom teachers will leave a note on their substitute plans with the name of another teacher or two in the building to reach out to in case of any questions or concerns. Touch base with that teacher(s) before the school day starts just to see if there is any other information you should know. Go over any notes about specific students that the classroom teacher may have left you in order to understand more about the classroom environment before the day begins.
Personality Counts
Be yourself in the classroom! Make sure to form connections with the students and make them laugh. It is important to make students feel comfortable and motivated from the start of the day. When you model a positive growth mindset, students will follow your lead. You never know what type of a difference you might make in a child’s day, and each new day and new class is a different opportunity to mold young America!
Behavior Rewards
It is important to not just give consequences for poor behavior but to reward good behavior. Depending on the grade level that you are working with, you can reward students a number of different ways. In the elementary school grade levels, you can reward good behavior with a material item such as a pencil or intangibles such as a positive note home or to the teacher. The teacher may even leave a note on the plans about rewards and have some available in the classroom for you to use as an incentive.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the reward system used in the classroom and encourage positive behavior by letting the class know they can still earn the same rewards while you are there. In the middle school and high school grades, it may be more difficult to give physical rewards, but if they work hard and are following the rules, let the students earn some free time when they have the assignments completed.
Leave Feedback
It is important to leave specific feedback for the teacher. As a classroom teacher myself, I appreciate when a substitute leaves me much feedback on how the students worked through the lessons and also how the behavior was. I love when specific names are mentioned, positively or negatively, and it also leaves me points to discuss during our morning meeting and character education block.
Although being a substitute teacher may look different in this upcoming school year than in years past, it is still a tough job to walk into a room, in-person or virtual, and be responsible and teach a group of students you are not familiar with. Being a great substitute teacher can play an integral part in the development of students. I can still remember my favorite substitute teacher from high school and truly looking forward to class when I walked in and he was there. I still think about him from time to time, so the impact of a teacher can last a lifetime.
You never know which students you will reach and form connections with and how that can be what gets them through the day, the week, etc. As the Japanese proverb states, “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” Make your one day with the students a great and memorable one!
