Custom Lesson Plans to Easy Sub Plans!

So, if you're here, chances are very good that you found me through my customizable, editable lesson plan template. (The thing has- no joke- over 98,000 page views. Thank yoooou, Pinterest!) Well, if you've made one, I have news for you...

It's now super easy to make sub plan templates in Microsoft Word. It takes a little time up front, but trust me when I say that it makes sub plans so much easier later, when you need them.

I make my plans at the beginning of the year, but for the next few weeks, I try them out and make notes to myself of what I need to change or add. Things like "Johnny to speech" and "Kasey to O.T." are great little notes to add in in a tiny font as they come up.

Once I feel like I've got it just about perfect and definitely not right before I actually need sub plans for the first time, I make sample sub plans. If I have the basic format, this is so easy to do ahead of time, and makes it much simpler to just fill in later. Here's how:

First, save a copy of your lesson plans with a different name. No need to accidentally lose your lesson plans! Then, I like to open it so I can see a 2-page spread.

Next, you'll need to split the cells that are merged going across, if you have any. Just highlight the cell, right-click, and go to Split Cells...

Now, highlight the column you want to make plans for. I'm making sub plans for Friday. Copy this column, and then open a new Word document.

Paste it into the new document.  You may want to adjust the margins. When I did this, my table fell off the side of the page. Oh no! What to do now?

Not to fear! Go down to the views and click Web Layout. It'll let you see the edge of the table so you can bring it back in again. You don't have to be exact- just bring it in a little.

Then you can switch back to the normal page view to adjust.

I go back and copy/ paste the time column, too, to stick in front of the Friday column.

Hit Save As... and name it something like Sub Plans- Monday 2012. (I put the Sub Plans part first so that they all end up right next to each other in my folder.) I totally suggest using DropBox for this, so you can access it from home or school!

Now, I go through and type in more details where a sub would need them. I always include this in a folder that has more information about normal procedures, but I want to put the most necessary things here, such as attention-getting, behavioral system, and any special health needs.

It's okay if your table goes over one page. My sub plans are usually 2 or 3. I still like how the table breaks up the day into parts and makes it really easy to tell when something major (like a special or lunch) is happening. I leave the subject spaces empty to fill in later.

 If you want to keep making plans for each day, keep this document open so you can copy and paste the explanations that stay the same from day to day.

You can go back to your lesson plan page and copy relevant columns to make a document for each day of the week. Delete or add columns until you have just the time and day. Then, proceed to copy/paste any relevant explanations (for instance, my explanations for lunch, attendance, and dismissal stay the same every day) and fill in any that are different.

Now, when I need to be absent, I have a file ready for each day with most of the complicated stuff written out, and spaces for each subject.

My sub folder usually includes:
- these lesson plans (and an extra copy of them)
- a map of the school
- classroom roster with photos
- allergy or medical info they need to know
- behavioral issues they need to know
- more detail about procedures
- seating chart (using Post-Its in a file folder made this EASY to leave!)
- list of student jobs
- some "just in case" activities (Color By Number works well for this because it can take up plenty of time as needed!)

I always include an extra copy of the sub plans in the folder, and underneath I put copies and resources in order, paper-clipped together, with Post-It notes labeling each one.

I usually also leave enough change for a Coke in the teacher's lounge with a little thank you note, and the plan for bribing motivating my kiddos to behave. (5 cotton balls for our behavior jar are a BIG motivator!)

Of course, if you're looking for sub plans that are easy to leave in a pinch, I posted about some of my favorite lesson plans to leave for subs at the last minute and linked to 5 freebies for you, so be sure to check out this post!

Meanwhile, you may be wondering why I put myself through all this work to leave sub plans for last Friday.

Well, my "twin" got married this weekend! We've been friends for as long as I can remember, she was one of my bridesmaids, and it was incredible to stand up with her on her beautiful (and incredibly crafty) wedding day. Congratulations, Sarah! :)

The Punctuation Dance

Have you ever had a student who can finally decode words quickly, and so they race through the words, never stopping or pausing?

An important piece of fluency is teaching kids how to react to punctuation. They need to know when to pause, when to make their voice rise, and when to change their tone- and be pausing at the right places, they also gain better comprehension!

The first step for me is helping kids pay more attention to punctuation, and the best way I've found also happens to be the perfect way to get kids up and moving during reading.

This is *not* my original idea- but when I learned it at a reading workshop, I fell in love!

The Punctuation Dance is very simple. While you can use any text, the Punctuation Dance works best for a text with lots of different punctuation.

When you get to a period, you stomp.
When you get to a comma, you step to the side.
When you get to a question, you put your hands up side to side like you're asking a question and wiggle down a little.
When you get to an exclamation point, you jump in the air with arms up!

This is perfect for that "WOW these kids need to move!" type of morning, but it also helps kids pay attention to the punctuation and how they should read it.

5 Great Freebies to Leave for a Substitute Teacher

Well, it's been a rough week.

I found out on Sunday that my godmother, Joanna, has passed away.

Everything else pales in comparison to that kind of news. She was one of those beautiful people who found joy in everything and never let go of her passions, even as she dealt with the frustrating and debilitating symptoms of MS for years. She was only 55.

I didn't live as close to her as I would have liked to, but I will still miss her infectious laugh like crazy. For those of you who pray, please keep her husband and kids in your prayers.

Unfortunately, as teachers, we don't just get to call our bosses and say, "I'll need to be gone" and go. A lot of times, I will avoid being gone simply because it's hard to be gone. I hate writing sub plans.

But in order to carpool to Wisconsin for Joanna's service tomorrow, I will need to miss some school time. I'll share next week how I use my custom lesson plan template to make easy sub plan templates, but in the meantime, I thought I would share a few of the go-to freebies on my blog and elsewhere that work so well to leave for a sub.

First of all, I would be crazy if I didn't mention the free emergency sub plans over at SubHub. She takes a book or book series as the focus, and develops age-appropriate substitute plans that are meaningful but could be used any day of the year. Terrific resource for the "just in case."

One of my favorite reading activities is this free foldable from Rulin' The Roost. It can work with any fiction book, and once I've introduced it, the kids can do it completely on their own. Plus, it's still meaningful review of reading strategies.

I love to have the sub read aloud Miss Nelson is Missing (okay, I don't love it... actually, I wish I could dress up and be a "sub" one day and then read it aloud, but that is an awful lot of work and I'm not sure I could really convince them I was someone else anyway).

Anyway, after we read it, it's fun to have the kids write about where they think I am. Ginger Snaps just shared the cuuuutest way to do this, with both primary and intermediate paper, and for free, too. This is SO much cuter than how I usually do it- and to top it off, she included a way for them to write it as a news article, too. LOVE IT!

In spelling, I love to have a game. We've played them before, the kids will be a little active, but they won't be too active. Perfect. My go-to games are pretty simple, but you can download them here.

One easy math activity to leave is the My Number sheet (my very first freebie!). Again, meaningful review at any point in the year (although I do update it and make it a bit harder by the end!)- and the kids already know what to do.

 

I also think that there is simply no way to have kids practice math facts enough, so I have some of the great games from Deb at Oh My Little Classity Class, like this free addition one. I like to include games at least once during the day- especially with a sub, it helps with the wiggles.

I really try to make sure that days with substitute teachers are worthwhile- in part because we just have too much to learn to skip a day, and in part because I know the kids can see right through busywork and I know they won't behave as well.

Other great options?
- Scholastic News, Time for Kids, etc.
- Math Journal prompts (I gave away some freebie prompts here!)
- Free video on BrainPop.com or BrainPopJr.com (if you trust technology to work!)
- Color-by-Number type sheets- great to leave "in case you have extra time"

None of us like to miss school, but these are some of the freebies that sit in my "sub plans" file, easy to copy in a pinch to make it a little easier. Any other easy activities to leave in sub plans that I'm missing?