Communicating

In order for subs to effectivly communicate with with teachers, all of the schools I have subbed in provide Substitute to Teacher Communication forms.

Each schools makes their own, so it looks slightly different, but the idea is the same. I have seen some free communication forms online which leads me to believe that not all school systems offer these. By providing this tool the school ensures that teachers gain at least a minimum amount of information about what occured while they were out. Subs are required to list any absent students as well as the overall behavior of the students. In general, I will say that behavior was along the lines of outstanding (rare!), very good, good, and ok. If I have an issue with a specific student I will leave a detailed note. There is a section on the second page for additional comments if I need more room. I will also give the teacher an idea of the amount of work completed so that they know where the students left off. 

 

The few subbing blogs that I follow make me realize how organized this school system is. Many school systems do not provide communication forms, let alone require that teachers have emergency lesson plans ready at all times.

Schedule

This schedule is from the classroom which I sub in regularly. The teacher is a Doctor and is out frequently for training (she is in training and/or she is the trainer). I love the schedule which she has made which hangs in the back of the room. Each grade level is on a slightly different schedule which makes it difficult for me to remember.



Although I am not sure that it is easy to tell from this picture, the schedule is quite large. If you look to the left you can see a standard size piece of paper, which should give you an idea. The clear pocket flaps are sewn on to some sort of vinyl/poly cloth. All you have to do is write or print whatever you want on paper and slide it in. 

Cubbies

Here is another creative way to organize student work which also helps students keep track of their class materials.

This system works in a connections (elective) classroom.  It would probably work well in a standard academic classroom as well. The teacher has two of these cubby shelves, one for the morning classes and one for the afternoon. Each row is for one grade level - 6th, 7th, and 8th.

It is not perfectly clear in the picture, but if you look along the first row near the right you can see that each cubby is numbered. Within each class all students are given a number which identifies her/him throughout the 9 weeks. They will put that number on every assignment they turn in, or save in their folder. This way, if their paper gets misplaced it can easily be reshelved into their cubby.

Students are encouraged to leave their class folder in their cubby so that they do not have to remember to bring it every day. Every day on upon entering the classroom students pick up their folder, and drop them back off when they leave.

In-And-Out Systems

One of the great things about being in different classrooms is seeing how different teachers organize their classrooms. As I mentioned previously, different classes of students have different personalities. Obviously, teachers have different personalities as well. What is interesting is the way in which their classrooms represent their personalities. The most visible difference is neat versus cluttered.

Besides the fact that I think of myself as a fairly organized person, coming into the classroom as a sub means that I much prefer an organized classroom. Everything is easy to find as well as to keep organized. When I am in a cluttered classroom I feel less in control and a little frazzled. I need a place for myself, to have space to take roll and keep up with my substitute report to the teacher. Unorganized means everything from not labeling to having papers everywhere (on every teacher desk and not in stacks) to piles of books and papers on the floors and shelves. This seems to work for those teachers; however, I want to have a super organized classroom.

This is all leading up to the point of this post:
I have been compiling some great ideas from different teachers. One of the most important things to organize (for me) is the way students turn in assignments. A place for students to turn in work so that it does not get lost as well as a place for work to go once it has been graded is a necessity. I was in a classroom a few weeks ago with an excellent work turn-in system.

As you can see, there is a large space, labeled for each class period, for students to turn in their work. There is also an out box. I'm not sure how this teacher utilized the out box system. I would assign one student and one back up student to check the out boxes daily for work to be passed back out to the students. I'm not sure what the storage containers on top of the crates are used for. This is the best in-and-out system which I have seen so far.

Lesson Plans

The most important tool for a successful day is a good lesson plans which include all of the information required for the full day. The middle school which I sub for provides excellent lesson plans. They require each teacher to fill out an entire binder full of information which includes behavior expectations, seating charts, lunch instructions/route, bathroom breaks, emergency lesson plans, and a lot of other information which helps to ensure that I have a successful day. Middle school subbing requires much more behavior management and watching the students constantly, including taking them to and from lunch and keeping an eye on hallway behavior.

High school subbing is a little easier in that the students do not require such constant vigilance. When students leave the classroom, they are not my responsibility (as much). Certainly, if I witness any inappropriate behavior in the hallways I would need to address it. However, I do not have to take the students to lunch, which is nice.

Because of this, it seems that there is less emphasis on standardized lesson plans within the school. Teachers have left very detailed lessons for me as well as the bare minimum of information. Some will leave information of behavior expectations and specifics about work to be taken up and work to be completed. One teacher left the same lessons for me as he had for the sub the day before. Almost all of the students had completed the work the prior day. Luckily we were in a computer lab and I asked the students to just stay seated and only look at appropriate material on their computers (the school blocks out most inappropriate sites anyways). One teacher left a note saying that the lesson plan was with a certain teacher. However, not all of the rooms have signs with teacher's names so I was unsure about where to find said teacher. Luckily the teacher brought the plans to me soon after I arrived.

The more information that the teacher leaves for me, the better. There is no such thing as over planning!