Being a substitute teacher is no easy task, that’s why I put together 23 tips to help you be an effective substitute that student respect and learning takes place.
The best substitute teachers that I have ever while teaching middle school had did several of the things below and because of that I always welcomed them back into my classroom to sub for me again.
Let’s get started!
1. Bring Some Extra Work With You
The last thing you want to happen is you fly through the substitute plans that were left for you and you have nothing else for the class to do.
If it gets to this point let me be clear about this, YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!
Most teachers are great about leaving plenty of work (and busy work) for the class to do but there will be times when it won’t be enough.
This is what I recommend, once you find out what subject(s) and grade(s) you are going to be subbing for go online and look for some extra worksheets about the topics they are learning about.
For example, if it is an 8th grade science class that is studying natural selection then do a search similar to “natural selection worksheet 8th grade”.
Do this and you will find a ton of stuff you can use as a backup just in case there is time left before the end of class.
2. Write Your Name On The Board
This is one thing that amazes me how many substitute teachers don’t do.
When I return from my absence I often ask my 8th grade classes who the substitute was.
Their answer: no idea.
I get it, they may have forgotten, but even the good kids tell me that the substitute didn’t put their name on the board.
Keep it professional and establish a professional tone by putting your name on the board.
Also, when you introduce yourself to students don’t ever use your first name and don’t put your first name on the board either.
You are the authority figure in the room and should be addressed as such.
3. Arrive To School Early
Get to the school 15 to 20 minutes early so you can get your teaching assignment and figure out where to go and what to do.
Nothing is more stressful than entering a building and finding the sub plans minutes before the kids arrive.
If you do this then you are setting yourself up for problems.
Give yourself time to preview the plans, setup the classroom, and seek help from other teachers.
This is the time to write your name on the board, the agenda, and make those copies of extra work I mentioned in tip #1.
Catch your breath and get ready for the fun to begin!
4. Have Some Classroom Management Techniques Ready
Don’t let the class get out of control.
One way you can do this is to have a few classroom management techniques at your disposal.
I wrote an article with some tips for classroom management, you can click here to go to it.
A simple technique is to tell students that you need their attention. Let me explain:
While you are walking around the room (not standing in one spot) tell them that they need to be attentive when you reach the number one. Now start counting backwards from the number 5 or 10 until you reach one.
You will be surprised how well this works.
I use it all the time with my 8th grade classes.
If you don’t have any of your own management techniques then talk to some of the other teachers or subs in the building and find out what they are doing.
5. Leave Notes For The Teacher
This is by far one of the best things you can do to ensure you get called back again.
As a teacher I want to know what you covered and what you didn’t.
I also want to know which students were misbehaving.
Also, try to keep things positive by leaving the names of students that did especially well or were kind so I can reward them too.
The note shouldn’t be very long, usually just a paragraph summarizing how the day went so that I know where to start the following day.
6. Don’t Take Things Personally
If teachers took everything personally we would be a mess.
Kids are going to say and do stupid things. I don’t care if it’s preschool or high school, they all say and do things that don’t make sense.
Address it if you genuinely feel it is a concern but otherwise ignore what they say.
Develop a thick skin so that they know you really don’t care what they say or think about you.
Be firm and let them know that you are the adult in the room and you make the decisions.
If something does go wrong just leave it in the note to the teacher or contact and administrator.
7. Follow The Substitute Plans
The teacher left specific plans for a reason, follow them.
A few years ago I left plans for a sub and she followed none of them. Nothing.
When I saw here later on I asked her what happened and she said that she had a great lesson for the topic that day.
I politely asked her to please follow the plans that are left next time because it is the curriculum that the school district requires me to follow.
If you complete the plans that are left for you and then you add an additional activity to it then that is cool, no problem with that. Please, follow the plans first though.
8. Identify Well Behaved Students Too
Try to leave the teacher a few names of students that were well behaved so that the focus isn’t just on the bad kids.
Often the teacher will reward these students the following day.
As much as you should identify bad behaviors you also need to identify good behaviors.
Personally, I like it when a substitute tells me about students that were well behaved.
It reminds me that there are a lot of good students that go unrecognized.
9 Be Flexible
Some lesson plans that are left for you are going to fill up the entire class period but there are going to be times when they won’t.
What are you going to do now?
Have a backup plan that you can resort to in case you have too much time left.
One of the easiest things you can do is ask students to respond to some questions in their journals or on paper.
Ask them:
What are you learning about it this class?
What is your favorite part of this class?
What are your strengths in this class?
What is your weakness in this class?
Come up with your own list and bring it with you whenever you substitute teach so you can use it with any class and grade level.
10. Try To Make It a Normal Day
Try to make it as normal a day as possible.
Follow the flow of the class and the plans left for you so students know what to expect.
Try finding out what the teacher usually does for misbehaving students.
Do they go to the office? Do you send them into the hall for a timeout?
Don’t let students lead the class, you are the person in charge.
11. Follow The Seating Chart
If you are given a seating chart make sure you stick to it.
Seating charts are usually strategically done to avoid certain students from sitting next to one another.
If you allow them to sit wherever they want then you are going to have a class that is more difficult to manage.
12. Remember Time Managemant
Make sure you know when periods or classes start and finish.
You need to make sure you have enough time to cleanup and wrap up the activity before they leave.
You don’t want to be in the middle of doing something when the bell rings because they will be out that door in seconds.
13. Don’t Let Them Leave Class Early
If you are teaching middle school or high school you may be tempted to be cool and let them leave a little early.
Don’t do it.
You are responsible for them , if you let them leave early and something happens to one of them in the hallway then the administrators are going to be asking you why they left your class early.
14. Don’t Try To Be The “Cool” Sub
You don’t have to be cool or their friend.
You are there to teach a lesson and maintain order.
Young subs and teachers seem to think that they need to be cool or popular.
Do your job well and move on to the next class.
15. Organize Collected Work
If you collect by different class periods then separate them with paper clips so they are neat for the teacher.
Put the papers in a neat pile on the teachers desk so they can find it when they return.
16. Wait To Start Talking
Don’t start teaching or talking until everyone is quiet and ready.
When the class starts talk to them in a normal tone telling them to get quiet so you can begin.
Don’t shout. See this article I wrote for a better explanation.
Let them know you mean business right from the start but will not yell. If you start yelling this signals to them that you are losing control.
17. Give Clear Directions To Students
Write the assignments on the board as well as any other expectations. Students should be aware of what is expected of them.
After that announce what the assignment is as clearly as possible.
Try to minimize steps thatare not necessary.
Example, “Today you will read pages 45-48 in your science textbook and answer questions 1-10 on a separate piece of paper. You have to work alone. This will be reviewed as a class in 25 minutes and collected at the end of class. Any questions?”
If a student asks to work in groups and it doesn’t say in the plans they should be in groups your answer should be no.
18. Taking Attendance At Start Of Each Class
Attendance should be done at the start of class so you need to establish respect while doing it.
Tell them to say, “here.” If someone says something other than “here” then calmly repeat “when I call your name please say, here.”
19. Don’t Talk About the Teacher Absence
Don’t discuss the teacher absence with students.
Tell them you don’t know why their teacher is not there. End of discussion.
20. Avoid Talking About Your Inexperience
If you don’t have much experience as a teacher don’t bring it up with students.
Fake that you have confidence and experience until you really have it.
They will never know the difference.
21. Limit Bathroom Use
The reality of it is that students are going to take advantage of going to the bathroom just to get out of class and roam the halls.
Set a limit, tell them only 4 students can use the restroom per period or one student at a time.
When one returns the next one can go.
22. Have A Folder Of Premade Materials And Activites
This is your backup folder.
Fill it with worksheets, word searches, crosswords, or some puzzles that are going to keep them busy in case there are no plans or they finish the assignment early.
23. Create a Sub Kit For Yourself
Since you don’t know where the teacher has extra supplies it’s a good ideas to get a pencil bag and fill it with extra pencils, pens, eraser, a sharpener, scissors, a calculator, and some markers.
You don’t want students to get off task because they can’t find a pencil.
Just give them a pencil or pen and explain to them that the expectation is that they are going to use it to complete the assignment/activity.
