Substitute Teacher List

[d96j97]

I am soooo excited for the new school year! I have been volunteering at my boys' school since they began kindergarten. Well, they are now entering the 7th and 8th grade. I finally decided to take my substitute teacher certification and passed! I was wondering from some seasoned professionals....what would be some "must have" items that I could take with me when visiting different classrooms and schools? I have a great book with some busy sheets to xerox, but what about other items? Thanks in advance!

 

[nena]

As a teacher this is what I can share:

Try to follow the lesson plans as best as you can. Also, try and leave the room as you found it. Leave the teacher notes on behavior issues or anything else you might think is helpful.
I know this isnt what adivce you asked for. But I can tell you that when a teacher does the above for me, I am more willing to call them back. It is hard to find a good sub, so when you are GOOD you will get alot of calls back!! I have had the same sub several times through the year. I also block teachers who take it upon themselves to give out prizes from my prize box or stickers from my desk.

Things I think you would find helpful: word searches, math worksheets, simple art projects and stamps.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Have a stash of "sponge activity" ideas to fill in time when you have 5-10 minutes left before lunch, dismissal, etc. A sponge activity is teacher speak for an activity that mops up bits of minutes and generally does not require any materials.

Since you say you've been volunteering since they were in K, I'm assuming you are subbing for a K-5 or 8 school. Most of these are more for lower elementary, but can be modified for just about any grade.

Some ideas would be coin riddles, such as:
I have 4 coins. I have 8 cents. What coins do I have? (N P P P)
I paid for a 59 cent candy with a dollar bill. I got 4 coins in change. What was my change and coins did I get? (41c, Q D N P)
Depending on the level of the kids, they can generate these riddles also for classmates to solve.

Guess the Number. "I am thinking of a number between 1 and 20."
First Guess: 17. "No, my number is smaller than 17. Now my number is between 1 and 16." (As the kids catch on, they can give the range once each guess is given). Second guess: 4. "No, my number is bigger than 4. My number is between 5 and 16." Third guess: 8. "No, my number is bigger than 8. My number is between 9 and 16." Fourth guess: 10. "Yes, my number is equal to 10! Good job!" This teaches math vocabulary and number sense. Your range could be from 124 to 207, or using fractions or decimals to make it more difficult. For students with developing number sense, you can point out the numbers on the number line.

Sentence/Word dictation. This is good practice for phonemic awareness and listening skills. It's sort of like a spelling test, but with words that can be sounded out phonetically. They can use scratch paper or this can be done verbally. You call out a word 2 or 3 times, then after the children have all made a "smart guess by sounding it out", a child can spell it. You can do whole sentences also, saying the sentence in it's entirety. You can have the child illustrate the sentence to demonstrate comprehension. (Something simple like "The dog is on top of the cage.")

Rhythm repetition. Using a variety of snapping, clapping, and tapping your lap, you can have the children listen and repeat. You can mix it up by crossing your arms while snapping or clapping above your head or behind your back.

Stickers are good to have. Kids also love play-doh. I used play-doh as an infrequent reward, and they LOVED it. Since I rarely gave out "free time" as a reward, it was very special to have 15 minutes of free play with play doh.

Bring a books that make good read aloud stories. Have a teaching point in mind for them. For example, the book "Tops and Bottoms" (Janet Stevens) is good for making predictions; the ending is not what most kids expect. It also has a well defined beginning, middle, and end. You can take copy paper and fold it into thirds and have kids do a book response.

Like a PP said, follow the lessons the teacher has left, but have back up plans in case there are no plans. Make sure the room is left in the same condition you found it.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Thats why I only do high school, all I need is a good book to read, few Advil and a couple of DVD's just in case..

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

If you sub in pre-K, you should have an aide because most (all?) states mandate a ratio of 1:10 for that age. The vast majority of the time, the aides are incredibly helpful!

This holds true when you sub for special education classes. I have yet to see a special education class that did not have at least 2 adults present throughout the day.

 

[Bellastumbles]

I am a teacher too and I have a "substitue box". If I am out due to illness I have general things that the sub can do with the children in it..if I know I am going to be out I will leave activities for the children to do.
1:10 I would love that, in NJ it's 1:13. I am Pre-k/transitional Kindergarten teacher

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

1:10 I would love that, in NJ it's 1:13. I am Pre-k/transitional Kindergarten teacher

Good to know. You have an aide though, right?

And I may be confusing the ratio with the field trip 1:10 ratio. The Pre-K may have been 1:12 or even 15. Now I'm wondering...I just know that every Pre-K I ever subbed in (in 3 different states) always had an aide.

 

[d96j97]

Wow...loved so many of the ideas that I'm going to copy/paste them and take them with me...THANK YOU!!!

I am actually certified to sub for grades K-12 but because of my years of volunteering, the principal at my boys' school have already inquired about subbing there. I am not sure if I'm ready to jump into high school...some of those kids are probably more intelligent than I am...LOL!

 

[smallvolume123]

I am a teacher too and I don't have a "substitue box"...

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Wow...loved so many of the ideas that I'm going to copy/paste them and take them with me...THANK YOU!!!

I am actually certified to sub for grades K-12 but because of my years of volunteering, the principal at my boys' school have already inquired about subbing there. I am not sure if I'm ready to jump into high school...some of those kids are probably more intelligent than I am...LOL!

You're welcome!

I remembered what I forgot to add earlier. My experience subbing was primarily in city schools, and one of the districts did not require teachers to leave plans, so I rarely had them. I could never count on being able to find materials either, so I traveled with my own supply of the basics: pencils, crayons, blank paper (copy and lined). Hopefully, you won't need to use it, because then you won't need to keep refilling your supply.

With those basics, you can have them do writing (free write, to a prompt, or a book review) and illustrating. You can do dictation or math problems.

Name Collection Boxes: give a number and have them generate as many "names" for that number as possible. For example: 10
ten, diez, ten tally marks, 10 stars, a dime picture
2+8, ,8+2, 1+9, 9+1, 10+0, 10-0, 100-90, 10x1, 100/10, etc

And good luck! You are lucky that you are already familiar with at least one school. That can make a huge difference; you already know who you can ask for help and the basic routines of the place.

 

[debbiemomto4]

I sub in my district often. We have 9 schools in all. But last year I mostly subbed at one elementary school.
Suggestions - Make friends with the secretaries. They are the ones that do the assigning and making sure everyone is covered. Be willing to sub half days. Sometimes with meetings they only need you for half days. You would be suprised howmany say no to those. Most of my teachers leave plans. Only once did I not have something and then I had been subbing in there the week before so we pieced it together. These teachers have so much to cover nowadays that to spend a day on videos all day would be a big loss to there curriculm.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Wow...loved so many of the ideas that I'm going to copy/paste them and take them with me...THANK YOU!!!

I am actually certified to sub for grades K-12 but because of my years of volunteering, the principal at my boys' school have already inquired about subbing there. I am not sure if I'm ready to jump into high school...some of those kids are probably more intelligent than I am...LOL!

I have now been subbing for 6 years, the districts I work in expect very little actual teaching at the high school level, about the only exception being Special Ed classrooms..

 

[Swmr359]

I've been subbing since college and I've learned to always bring: a whistle, dry erase markers, advil, a book, and something to snack on if lunch is late in the day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm a sub, too. Welcome!
Some of the things in my "teacher bag" are:

notes from the sub forms - where I fill in what we got through or didn't, who was absent, behavior, and any misc. things the regular teacher needs to know

a few extra activities in case I need to fill a little time - puzzle sheets I can copy, things for math games, a book to read to little ones

some stickers or little prizes

my work calendar (Sometimes as you're checking out, the secretary will ask you about another day that she knows she'll need someone.)

a list of important numbers for each school I sub at

a small hand pencil sharpener and a couple of extra pencils

a whistle (DS gave it me after the first time I did a gym class, but it's great for recess, too.)

hand gel

 

[wlake]

I'm a K teacher. Most of us elementary teachers in my district leave far too much for subs to do because we're afraid you'll run out, and there's not much worse than facing a bunch of 5 year olds having no plans! It still never hurts to have little games in your back pocket to pull out if you have a few spare minutes.

I'm going to pile on to the "leave a note" postings. I hate coming back in and finding no note or one that simply says "It was a good day." Please tell the teacher exactly what got covered and how it went, who was absent, and if there were any outstanding behavior issues. A pp was also right -- I'm allowed to request a sub, and I ask for people who've left me messages!

Good luck!

 

[sk!mom]

In my district, we set up a list of our preferred subs on the substitute website and then the subs receive a computer generated call. Good subs go fast. I would think that most districts use some type of similar system so let all of the teachers know that you are ready to sub. In this type of system, principals and secretaries only get involved in very last minute situations or if a teacher needs to leave during the day.

The sponge activities upthread are great but my number one criteria of a great sub is that my plans were completed and order was kept. I always leave more than enough and detailed plans. The sponge activities would help you fill small bits of time.

Honestly when I subbed for a semester years ago, I never took anything and a sub for me wouldn't need anything.

 

[RumpleMom]

Elementary teachers leave plans, usually way more than you could accomplish in one day. Follow their plan and they will love you. Check every paper that you did with the students, and save the papers for the teacher to review. After awhile, they will even trust you to record the scores in their gradebook.

You will need to take hand gel, your lunch(without any nuts), a watch and an E-Z grader is very handy. You use it to quickly determine percentages when checking papers.

It is nice to write a pleasant note on the board with your name to welcome the students for the day.

Always have one outfit clean in your closet, so you can change into it at a moments notice. If that one outfit is dirty, do the laundry now. You don't need a large wardrobe if you are going to different schools, just try to remember what you wore at a certain school and wear something different. Dress as a professional- look around and see what the teachers are wearing, then dress at least as nice, never more casual. Wear a blazer for a more professional look. This also helps project authority to the kids.

Remember the crockpot is your friend. Have some recipes and ingredients in the house at all times. The paychecks from subbing aren't big, so don't waste your money at the drive-thru because you have a family to feed and didn't plan ahead. I prefer to eat out when it can be a relaxing experience, not just to get us fed.

Subbing is a wonderful job. It can be stressful at times, as the kids will test you, but you are doing an important job. I always tell DH that anyone can be absent at his company and the work just sits there until they get back, but a teacher requires a substitute because education doesn't stop.

Clean your house thouroughly before school starts, put a couple meals in the freezer and go have fun being a substitute teacher.

 

[Bellastumbles]

Good to know. You have an aide though, right?

And I may be confusing the ratio with the field trip 1:10 ratio. The Pre-K may have been 1:12 or even 15. Now I'm wondering...I just know that every Pre-K I ever subbed in (in 3 different states) always had an aide.

It depends on the day. Because it is a combined age groud there are some days I only have a handful of Pre-K students (The Kindergarten students are 5 days a week). I can have as few as 10 students and as many as 20. Talk about craziness! I have two sub's that will call upon regularly since it can be a bit overwhelming to work with two seperate lesson plans.

 

[bucket o' butter]

Definitely try to follow the lesson plans as best as possible. But filler activities are absolutely necessary and I think some of the ones that have been posted are great. It is very important to leave a note for the teacher, highlighting the good and not so good parts of the day. I love it when I come back to work and the sub has told me who was especially helpful to them. But I also want to know the discipline issues as well. I do have to say that one time, a sub left me a three page hand written note with extreme details of how the day went. I wondered if she ever left my desk because it had to take her forever to write the note! LOL! Good luck! Just from your post, I am sure you will be a fine substitute teacher because you are willing to go above and beyond what is expected!

 

[Bellastumbles]

*group*