Tricks for Substitute Teachers

i subbed pre-k, the teacher was rushed to the er the morning i was called to sub for her. i had NOTHING. best thing is to have some age appropriate worksheets and coloring pages ready, a book that you love to read aloud and simple activities that kids love (a 3rd and 4th grade favorite was "mum ball" all kids get to sit on their desks, the students toss a ball gently to eachother. if the toss is not cought both kids are out and have to sit back in their chair. if anyone makes noise they are out and have to sit back in their chair. those children that are out may watch or do something quietly at their desk.)
if the teacher has lesson plans use them! and as others have said, be strict and don't let them push you around.

I take a dry erase marker and write their names on the front edge of their desks (warning first if they give the wrong name I will call them that name forever). I still call one boy "squid" it is a fun joke, we laugh. It wipes right off and most of the day they will wipe at it but it gives me a head start. (Third grade and up).

I always, always take stickers and usually a small bag of "prizes" cool pencils and little plastic toys etc...usually gathered from my kids old stuff. If they can get 10 stickers in one day they get a prize. Or we play "simon says" or some other such game as a time filler and I have a small prize. They love this!!

Learn how to get their attention..with sayings like, "One, two, three, eyes on me" and they answer "One, Two, Eyes on you!" or ask a trusted student how their teacher does it. One teacher has wind chimes...argh...

I have discovered that you have to be strict first thing in the morning. One warning and then move the card or clip. Don't keep giving warning after warning!! Once that two students maybe three have moved a card/clip...the whole class knows you mean business and are pretty good the rest of the day.

Find the nurse slips and the band aids first thing. Everyone will need to go to the nurse. If your school doesn't keep band aids in the classroom I am so sorry!! Most of the time if you put a band aid on it they are happy...but you will still have the three or so kids who will just have to go to the nurse. Send them very hush hush and quietly or a line will form. (I had a sub miss my child's 103 fever once, so I always err on the side of caution.)

Oh, for the older kids I will have complicated coloring sheets in my tote bag. They are great to motivate the kids to do their work and great time killers for when the teacher doesn't leave enough work.

If the teacher leaves a lesson plan...follow it, even if you have to google or youtube the math lesson so you can teach it. They hate subs who do not have the kids do the work they left for them.

And sometimes you have to fly by the seat of your pants...once I was subbing kinder and was only left a tub full of old holiday worksheets (this was in May). I was horrified!! I popped into the room next door and the teacher was glad to copy her lesson plan for me and help me figure out what to do.

Try and have fun with it...and always preface the day with, "I am Mrs. _____ not Mrs. Teacher's Name and so I will do somethings differently and that is okay just go with it." Or they will tell you all day that you are doing _______ wrong. Then you can just remind them you are Mrs. ____ and today is different.

Good luck...it is so fun and so exhausting!! Message me anytime!!

Subbing can be great! I subbed for 3 years, primarily in middle school, and loved it until I started working full time at the high school level.

Give yourself plenty of time to arrive early and read through all the sub notes left by the teacher. The better prepared you are, the more confidence you will exude.

Don't be a pushover just to make it easier on yourself. Word travels super fast if you're the sub that let's them take out phones when the regular teacher forbids it. You will quickly lose their attention and any control. It never makes it easier to change classroom policy.

Learn your students names. You will be outnumbered, but getting to know the students will make a huge difference in how they treat you. Don't be afraid to ask them to remind you of their names. It demonstrates you care about them as an individual.

Pack a lunch and try to find where some of the teachers eat together. Make friends. It's a great way to get prearranged jobs and really get the step up on being prepared.

If you decide you want to stick with subbing, have some magnetic business cards printed with your contact information and pass them out at your preferred campuses. I really laughed at how many classrooms I entered and saw my cards posted somewhere around the teacher's desk. I ordered mine from vista print and they were cute and inexpensive.

Have fun!

I found that 3rd grade through 5th was a lot easier than the really little kids. The difference in maturity really makes YOUR life easier. If I were you, I'd learn how to sub by starting in that territory, rather than going all the way down to first grade.

My biggest advice to you is to observe in the classrooms of a few of the teachers you hope to sub for. TAKE NOTES. That is so important. Write down the phrases she uses in classroom management. Write down non-verbal cues as well. Does she refrain from saying "No" a lot? Write down what she says instead. Does she have groups of desks as opposed to separate ones that she treats in a certain way? Figure that out and write down how she does it so that you can too. Study how she takes up homework. Circle time? Take notes on how she handles that.

Give the kids who are following direction kudos. "I like how Johnny is standing so nicely in the line." When you need to get their attention, try something like putting your hand in the air and verbally and physically counting down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, hand signal (using a fist in the air for hand signal). They will wonder what that means, and then you quietly tell them that by the time you get to "hand signal", everyone should be quiet and have their hand up in the same hand signal. You don't use it often, but it really does help them pay attention to you, because they know they have to listen and "do something" (put their hand up).

I know you don't get paid for observing, but truely, classroom management is something you really have to get a handle on if you want to be a successful substitute. You cannot teach kids if you can't manage them. If you have no experience as a sub or teacher, this is the best way to get it. You won't be sorry. (But you might be sorry if you don't...)

When I was substituting I received some really great training.

You need tons to tricks up your sleeve and you must know and believe that you are far wiser and cunning than any student. Use all of your years of being to your advantage. Different approaches work with different children.

The main thing to learn and learn fast is you establish clear leadership in your classroom. What things have you done when your children's friends have come over your home? What things have you done when you are around others kids in a social setting as it relates to discipline and getting them to pay attention?

You would be using the same skills in the classroom for the most part.

I've subbed primarily in middle and high school, but the best technique I learned was to calm down and slow down. If you're frenzied, the kids follow suit, so better to go calmly and slowly in order to keep control, and maybe not get through everything in the lesson plan.

You may not have quite the control that the regular teacher does, but then that's usually the case with subs, though not always. Praise positive behavior. "I like the way Suzy..." The hand in the air technique describe by Doris is a good one. You can then count or say something like, "Eyes on me..." Above all, your attitude is key. If you feel in command, you usually are.

Ask the school for a class picture with the kids names under their pictures. I remember the days when we would try to trick the sub by not sitting according to the seating chart. The poor woman was confused all day.
My only other idea would be to make it fun. Follow the lesson plan but also do something fun for the kids, laughter can ease a lot of tensions.

Several good ideas already. I don't know how big the district is that you plan on subbing in, (I am in a large district with 2 preK centers, 47 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, 8 high schools, and 3 alternative learning centers) but I would try and stick to just a handful of schools in the beginning. Get yourself very familiar with those 3 or 4 schools, their staff, students, policies, etc. It will be a lot easier than feeling like you are starting from scratch each day. I have my prefered subs that I use so often now that half the time I don't even need to leave much by way of sub plans anymore.

Don't be afraid to be authoritative, do NOT be a push over. Even then younger kids will totally take advantage of that. Also, think of some simple ways to maintain class control. I find positive praise and rewards for those doing the right thing works 100 times better than any negative consequence you can give. Saying "I sure like how quietly Johnny is working." and then giving him a sticker will usually cause the child that is talking to quiet down pretty quickly. One of my subs would bring a stack of notecards and little incentive chart stickers and would give stickers out to well behaved children and then at the end of the day anyone with X number of stickers got a blow pop and a happy note on their behavior chart. I use this sub so often now that I leave my cards and stickers out for her so she doesn't have to bring her own. Be careful about things like loss of recess or private dining at lunch, or missing computer time, etc. Check with the other teachers you are with that day and make sure there is not a school policy against that. (For example, at my school we are not allowed to make a child miss recess for any reason, so I make sure I explain that very clearly in my sub plans.)

Just remember that a lot of these kids (especially the younger ones) don't have the long term memory to remember what happened while you were there when their teacher is back the next day. So the threat of "I'm leaving a note for your teacher" isn't a very good one. By the time I get back to school to carry out a consequence, the student has already forgotten about what happened the day before. Not saying don't leave notes, but don't use that as the only consequence. I hate it when I come back and a sub has left me no notes at all. I like knowing how the day went.