Everyone gets those situations in life where an emergency has come up at the last minute, and you don't have the time (or sometimes the ability) to get a good lesson plan in to school for your students. Maybe you have a family emergency, a disrupted travel plan, or need a slight ‘mental health break’ and you just can’t get into school to leave detailed lessons. That is why it is essential to have an emergency lesson plan available and handy.

The emergency lesson plan should be able to be used at ANY point in the year. It doesn't have to fit in with what you're currently doing (nor should it - it is to be used when you cannot leave normal sub plans). The lesson should be related to your normal curriculum, but it could be a supplement or an enrichment activity.

Get a folder (or a three-ring binder), and label it appropriately on the outside cover. There are even folders you can purchase (some schools even make these available to teachers) labeled 'sub folder' or 'emergency plans'. Also make sure you have an appropriate spot for your emergency folder on or in your desk area.  And, of course, make sure it is easily accessible by a substitute teacher.

In my plans I always dedicate the first page to explain some of the dynamics of my classroom that he/she should be aware of.  For example: Johnny has asthma and keeps an inhaler in the office, or Jane needs consistent encouragement to follow classroom rules, or watch out, Carla’s a biter!

When it comes to the activities, I prefer timing them to 10 - 15 minute increments. This helps the sub have better control of your kids. Students have difficulties adjusting to changes in their routines, and these shorter increments help break up an already “off” day.

Keep the information organized and easily accessible for a sub. The sub won't know where you normally keep things, and they can't read your mind. Spell out exactly what you want done, where it can be found, and what you want done with it when they're finished.

I always make sure I have made enough copies of any worksheets and usually leave the answer keys. Many subs will actually even grade your assignments for you if you ask them to - less work for you to have to do when you get back – yay!

EMERGENCY LESSON PLAN IDEAS:

Language Arts: Include short writing activities involving students’ opinions. Thus they don't have to have 'background' information, and they can write from their own experiences. Parts of speech review can include mad-libs or easy, fun worksheets.

Math: Leave a calculator activity. These could even be puzzles or partner games. Or give review problems.  Have a math competition where student get to write their answers on the board.

Science: Copy a science article and have students read carefully and answer questions. Make speculations and use the scientific method. Or have students create the plans for a lab activity.

Reading: Leave students a copy of a short story or article, and questions to answer. You could even set up a 'test-taking' exercise, and discuss appropriate answers and strategies.

Social Studies: Map activities are great for emergency plans. You can even set up a one-day unit on any area/region of the world, including your own town or city.

These ideas could also be used for the substitute who whizzes through your normal lesson plans in half the day, and needs ideas that are better than, “Ok, just do your homework, kids.”

It is essential for you to have an emergency lesson plan available and handy. This will be just one less thing you have to think about while you’re out of work (working on your tan, probably).

To see more activity ideas, click here.

Looking for a way to break the monotony of your teaching day? Here’s a fun idea for getting a lot of work done in a short amount of time.

Before I continue, I want to add a little disclaimer about myself as a teacher.  I am not a give-out-a-worksheet-to-fill-time kind of teacher.  I will only have students complete a worksheet if it’s pertinent to their learning.  But there are days when the kids do have a lot of worksheets to complete.  This can take a lot time because you’re waiting around for kids to finish their work before moving to the next subject.  So here’s what I like to do.

In the morning I will teach the concepts the students will be working with, provide examples, then have the students set aside their worksheets for later.  For example, I’ll teach Math, English, and Spelling but the kids won’t do the independent practice until rotation time.  After that it’s time to set up for rotations.

My desks are configured in 6 groups of 4, so it is conducive to easy, collaborative learning (see photo).  At each group of desks, I set up a rotation activity.  The rotations (or groups of desks) are numbered 1-6.  Then I write the name of the activity on the board under the rotation number so that the kids know what they’re doing at each station.  For example, here’s what I might have at all 6 rotations.

• Rotation 1 - Math Worksheet
• Rotation 2 - Math Center with Clocks
• Rotation 3 - English Worksheet
• Rotation 4 - English Centers with Nouns & Pronouns
• Rotation 5 - Finish Daily Journal & Check for Accuracy
• Rotation 6 - Silent Read

The kids start at the rotation they are already sitting at.  Depending on the activities, I usually give about 10 - 12 minutes at each rotation.  I set a timer that has a bell.  When the bell rings, the students know to gather their items, stand up, push in their chair, and stand by their desk.  Then I dismiss them to the next rotation.  The activitythey're supposed to complete STAYS at the rotations, and the kids get up and move with their group.  So the students sitting at rotation 1 will move to rotation 2, rotation 2 moves to rotation 3, and so on until the students have rotated through all 6 stations.

I like to indicate on the board which rotations are group work, and which are independent. I also add where I want papers turned in when they are finished with the assignment. 

My job as the kids are working is to walk around the class and make sure everyone is on-task and answer any questions.  The kids love when we do rotations and they always say that it helps make the day go faster.

To read more tips and ideas, click here.

Here’s a quick tip for how to keep all those papers organized when a student is absent. When passing out worksheets,  keep all of their papers they’ve accumulated throughout the day on their desk.  Then at the end of the day, gather their missed work and staple it to a cover sheet.   Write everything the student missed while they were absent and include the date that it is due.  That way, you have an organized list of every item that was completed that day and it makes things much easier when it’s time to fill in those holes in your gradebook!

You can download the cover sheet I use in the teacher resources section or by clicking here:    Absent Work

Here’s a quick tip for organizing items your students use on a daily basis  My classroom configuration is set up so that my students are always sitting in groups.  I like to keep one red bucket (shown in the picture) at each group.   

Inside the buckets you will find highlighters, hand sanitizer, sticky notes, flashcards, extra pencils and erasers, and homeless pencils (sometimes they find their way back).  These are items we use pretty much every day.  It helps to keep them organized and by using these buckets kids can reach them easily without getting up and distracting other members of the class.

I found these buckets at a teacher’s store where they were a bit costly.  I’ve also seen them at the dollar store for about the same quality, but a lot more cost-effective.  

 Some teachers dread parent teacher conferences yet some view it as a chance to brag to parents how well their child is doing in class.  No matter what category you fall in, one common thing teachers should agree on is the importance of being prepared before conferences.

For me, being prepared means I have filled out a documentation sheet, listing specific items I need to address with the parent.  It always starts with a good story I have about the student, followed by strengths, and lastly I end with the goals we agree to set for the student. I've learned (unfortunately the hard way) that this helps me to have more control over the conversation to guide it appropriately.

There's something about having that piece of paper in front of me that helps the parent see that I've taken my time and really thought about our discussion before hand.  Plus, any good parent loves hearing other people gush about and share great stories about their child.  

If you're interested in downloading the form I like to use for parent conferences, click here.

Hey everyone, I'm linking up with Teachery Tidbits, showcasing my favorite fonts!

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