Need help putting a Substitute Notebook together?

Ever wonder if you have it all together just before you plan to be out for a day or out on an emergency? Organization and preparation can never be more important. Your students deserve the best even when you can’t be there, so help the substitute out – plan NOW and save time later. Angie Larner has the “best practice” tip of the month. A well-planned substitute notebook and emergency layout all in one. Within this article you can learn what might be helpful to a person coming into your “world.” Also where you can find the items mention in this article. First find a good 2 inch (or bigger if you like) binder. Remember you will always be updating so use a 3-ring binder. Get dividers (or use folders that you hole punch). How many dividers? It will depend on your personal layout, some use 5 and some as many as 8. Remember once you collect everything YOU organize it best to suit your needs and the classroom’s needs. Make it useful and accessible.

Now things to collect that you will organize into the notebook: red tells you where to find it

  1. A welcome notehelps (not required) – nice cover page does help make them feel wanted.
  1. Rosters and seating charts, include a check list if the sub needsone to check off items too.

(Star-portal is a great way to print off these using roster and seating)

  1. Schedules :your own personal one (could be in the welcome too)

Regular, 1hr delay, 2hr delay, team day, activity day

(if you go to the home page on our school web,

you can download each of these under bell schedules.)

  1. Policies/Rules/Discipline:

Your classroom discipline plan (from beginning of the year you gave to the students)

Bathroom arrangements (pass sample, time for release as a group, sign-out, etc)

WMHS supplement (great of catch-all)

Look through the Faculty Manual and pull other info that may help in running your class.

Discipline Forms to use – get in the office

  1. Crisis Information:

Be sure to explain about the clipboard on the wall

Who are your class helpers

Map to leave for fire drill (extras in the office) highlight the paths

What codes mean (copy from clipboard only necessary items, they can access it too)

List of teachers who could help if needed (next door to you, room # and name)

  1. Homeroom Information:

Roster (can be in #2 too)

Club Schedule for GREEN and WHITE days (access on home webpage)

The chart that states where and which clubs students are in on the Activity Day (we will get one soon, but you access one from Angie Larner too)

If you sponsor a club where the kids go that day if not in a club.

  1. NOW THE PLANS: (these would be placed in the notebook prior to a day out)

Write up your plans and include extra work, to avoid downtime

Make copies of the papers needed for each class (don’t expect subs to do it for you)

Be sure materials are accessible to students and sub if needed (like markers, paper, etc.)

If you need work collected at the end of each class provide a folder or location on your desk.

  1. NOW THE EMERGENCY PLANS:(these would be placed in the notebook NOW)

Write up plans that can be done anytime – review guided, no instruction needed

Make the copies NOW and place in the folder too.

WOW! That sounds like a lot of stuff, but you do a lot and it’s all stored in your head not the substitute’s head. Once you have this in place, all you do is keep it updated. New seating charts, rosters each semester, extra stuff you might want to add later, etc. What a great tool and so practical. You can use it too, especially when you can’t find the bell schedule needed on a 1 hour delay. Have fun and Good Luck, and ask for help if you need it. Angie Larner, Cory May, Angela Loan, Diana Beam all have samples to show; and there are more of us out there just ask!