I’ve been substitute teaching for a while now, and I always knew there was a chance I’d be hit with one of the job’s greatest challenges: no lesson plans left.
In my case, this exciting event took place when: 1. I was subbing at a new school 2. I was covering high school, which I almost never do. and 3. There wasn’t even a hint or vague direction as to what to do.
I was flying totally blind, and somehow I made it. With these tips, so can you!
“I’m feeble from the high schoolers and their Tik Toks. I probably was unknowingly featured in their Tik Toks!”
Me explaining to my husband why I couldn’t cook dinner that night
The job I signed up for was to cover a Family and Consumer Science class for the day. I never sub in high schools, but I was intrigued. I have a certain passion for imparting knowledge of ancient arts like cooking, sewing, budgeting, and family studies, especially to young people.
But when I got to the school one early morning and located the room, I discovered the job alert had lacked specificity in the title. This was a Culinary 1 class.
I brushed by a paper sign denoting the teacher’s name Scotch taped over the previous name plate. Flicking on the lights, I beheld the light yellow cinderblock room filled with rows of black lab tables. Soft cover textbooks bearing curled pages and finger-smudged laptops splayed randomly over the tabletops. A mostly bare bulletin board boasted a festive sign that read “Kale yes!” The room seemed to indicate it had been lovingly decorated in a far-off Time Before.
The teacher desk was covered in a few random papers– completed tests, sticky note reminders, district information.
There were no lesson plans.
The counter behind the teacher desk was similarly littered, but with stacks of textbooks and a few cookbooks. A chair missing its legs withered in the corner.
Now I was getting desperate. Students were due in about 8 minutes.
I found a whiteboard propped up by an easel with an assignment written on it. “Read Ch.8. Questions on pgs 145-147.” Maybe this was it. I had a shred of something to work with.
No lesson plans? First, seek assistance
Subbing without lesson plans can become pretty dire. There’s basic information you need to endure the day, like a schedule and roster at the very least.
It is not outside your purview to ask for this. In fact, most U.S. schools require their teachers to have emergency substitute plans on file. That way, if a teacher needs to leave suddenly, their classes and sub aren’t left in limbo.
First, I would check with neighboring teachers. Sometimes this is all it takes. It could be as simple as the teacher locating the plans for you, if for some reason they’re hidden away.
I was not blessed with this option when I ran into the situation last week. The teacher next door to me was also a substitute. He had no information to give me.
The next level, if needed, would be to ask a team lead or department head. Elementary schools tend to have team leads (like the 4th grade team lead, for instance) and middle and high schools tend to have department heads (such as head of the math department). It gets tricky if you don’t know who is in these positions. See if you can glean the information from a staff phone list.
In my case, the phone list was purely an alphabetical list of names without titles. I had little clue as to who was the department head, so I moved on to my final information-gathering attempt: the front office.
Minutes before students were expected, I dialed the extension for the front office and told whoever answered that there were no lesson plans. “Could I at least get a schedule, please?” She responded by saying she would ask Mrs. Such-and-such to get in contact with me.
I never did get that call from the teacher I couldn’t remember the name of. By some stroke of mercy, I waited as the opening bells chimed, and I heard a rustle of shuffling teens out in the halls, but none stopped in. I studied my pile of rosters, acquired that morning with my key. The first page read “Period 2.”
That meant first period was my planning period. What manna from heaven! I had 50 minutes to contrive a game plan.
Sifting over piles on the back counter, I came across a stack of word searches bearing the important title: All About Eggs. It featured various words on egg preparation methods, and dozens I hadn’t even heard of before (and I’m a hobbyist cook!). But the randomly advanced puzzle was a true gem in this ashen pile. It was something I could give to occupy the students.
Since there were only a handful of the worksheets, I set out to find the copier. The hallways bore no obvious signs of a teacher work room or the like. I did find one room with its door propped open. I popped my head in and introduced myself.
He turned out to be a long-term substitute on his planning period. And also quite possibly an angel in disguise. “How many copies do you need?” he asked as he pried a cardboard lid off a box of copier paper.
“Forty, please,” I responded confidently, though it was a total guess. I didn’t realize this was a Bring Your Own Paper type of school. I felt embarrassed and imposing, but the strong survival instinct overtook me and pushed me to carry on with the request.
Angel in a Striped Tie led me to the teacher’s lounge, where he chatted casually and made me forty copies of “All About Eggs.”
Have no-prep activity ideas in your back pocket
When my first class settled at their desks, I explained that, per the directions on the whiteboard, they were supposed to read the chapter and answer the questions. Once they turned in the questions, they could work on the eggs word search or study for another class.
The directions had barely left my lips before students started saying they had already read the chapter and finished the questions.
It was entirely possible that the whiteboard directions were from a previous day. It was also entirely possible these kids were playing me.
Quick on my Birkenstock-wearin’ feet, I told them that if their questions were already turned in, they needed to work on the word search and then after that consider the period a study hall.
I survived seven periods thanks to a word search about eggs and quick thinking.
Why you need to get students working independently
Try to get the students working on something independently. Quietly, if you can. That way you can use the time to figure out how you’ll fill the subsequent minutes. You can even try to extract some useful information from a trusted student.
I did this in second period. A girl sitting up front was quietly and dutifully on-task, unlike some of her peers. I conferred with her, clearly demonstrating my expertise: “Do you know when this period ends?” She looked up from her work and said “I think at 8:43. There’s a bell schedule up there.” She pointed at the bulletin board over the teacher desk, where there was, in fact, a bell schedule.
Examples of easy no-prep activities
Elementary school
- Silent reading
- Coloring and puzzles, worksheets
- Independent writing: Give a random (appropriate) question as a writing prompt for older students
- Show educational videos (that you’ve previewed for appropriateness)
- Whole-class games
Middle school
- Silent reading
- Worksheets, puzzles
- Independent writing: Give a random (appropriate) question as a writing prompt
- Show educational videos (that you’ve previewed for appropriateness) and have students write answers to questions you come up with on the fly
- Whole-class games
High school
- Study hall
- Worksheets, puzzles
- Independent writing: Give a random (appropriate) question as a writing prompt
- Show educational videos (that you’ve previewed for appropriateness) and have students write answers to questions you come up with on the fly
Carry on with confidence
In other words: Fake it ’til you make it. Students never have to know you were completely dropped into this situation with no help. They don’t have to sniff out even an inkling that each minute of this day has been a supreme struggle. Consider it a fun secret with yourself.
I find students respond well to a substitute who shows him- or herself to be a leader. The confidence can be totally contrived– it shapes a leader nonetheless.
I’m not suggesting it’s necessary to go all drill sergeant on the students. An attempt to do this may laughably backfire. But I like to come across as friendly, firm and informed.
I even lied to a student in order to survive. He asked “Did the teacher really tell us to do this?” when I handed him the egg word search. Instead of telling him that his “teacher” wasn’t really doing the full duties of a teacher, i.e. leaving even a scrap of a lesson plan, I simply said “Yes.”
It is my secret and sin to bear. But I think you’ll understand my motives.
Utilize the resources you do have
In the situation last week, I optimized what I had. The front office had given me a pile of rosters. Between that and the bell schedule pointed out to me, I was able to decipher the schedule for the day.
It was something, at least. This information granted me the privilege of counting down the minutes to each period’s end.
I even tried to infuse each period with a bit of fun. After all, here we were in Culinary class, next to but not able to access a gorgeous restaurant-grade kitchen and slogging through imaginary book work instead.
I happened to have with me a beloved cookbook brought from home.
In the last five minutes of every period, I quizzed the students on recipes by reading the ingredients and having them guess the dish.
“Basil, nuts, Parmesan…” I ticked off.
“Pesto?”
“Pesto!” a handful of students eagerly guessed.
It was worth it.
Do subs need to write lesson plans?
Substitute teachers don’t need to write lesson plans. Taking on this duty is for teachers, so one should be paid like a teacher.
I wrote an entire three months of my own plans long-term subbing for an unplanned leave. I wouldn’t recommend it.
I could see adding in one’s own details to general plans left for a long-term substitute, but there still should be plans.
Surviving even when you’re left high and dry
This was the first time I’ve been left without plans in years. It’s uncommon in my experience, and I sincerely hope it doesn’t happen to you.
If you do find yourself in this situation, I hope my tips and stories from the trenches have been helpful.
It was a hard day, but I managed to get through it. I didn’t expect perfection from myself or the students. We survived, and things were generally orderly. But this particular class has been added to my “mark and avoid” list . There’s no reason to put myself through that again.
Subs– Has this ever happened to you? I’m curious to hear your experiences.
