Substitute Binder

As with the Teacher Binder, I found a whole bunch of stuff on Pinterest about Substitute Binders. I even made a board for all the stuff I found! After several months of adding to the board and telling myself I’d go through it later, I finally went through it. And again, I found many of the things suggested for these binders either didn’t fit for high school, or didn’t fit my style and personality. So I took what I thought to be the best parts of each of these and made my own Sub Binder.

My school provides binders for our subs, but I honestly have no idea what goes in them, so I just decided to make my own anyway. I figure it’s easy enough to just tell the WonderWoman who deals with the subs that I have it in my room in X location.

I found a very small (maybe ½”) binder in my classroom and put in a cover page that I created in Microsoft Word (did you know Microsoft has a thing for page borders?), then I put a label on the side in case (God forbid) my emergency sub plans need to be used. I also put a “Thank You” cover in the back sleeve so the sub knows which side is the front and that I appreciate them.

I have a few copies of NOTES paper in the inside pocket of the binder for them to leave me a description of how the day went. One tip I found very useful, after I started compiling a list of what was going to go in my sub binder, was to put in a Table of Contents. This way the sub knows whether what they are looking for can be found in the binder and about where they can find it.

Then I have a page that I took most of the information on from my old roommate (Thanks Amanda!). On top it has my class schedule and then I also have what my school calls a “warm body count” AKA how many people should be in the room if everyone is accounted for. This page also has a brief overview of what I, and subsequently my sub, expect from my students. I also have a few major points that I want any sub (even the one who falls asleep—yea, that’s my district in a nut shell) to follow, such as marking down on the seating chart any issues they have with a particular student and NOT to take any paperwork from students (because I don’t want to have to deal with the “well I gave it to the sub, they must have lost it” excuse). We have an A/B block schedule this year, so I have a sheet for each day to make things a little easier to follow in the table at the top of the page. I put them back to back and one upside-down so that all I need to do for a different day is flip the sheet protector over.

After my welcome will be my daily lesson plans, for when I have planned an absence. Since these are for planned absences only, the sheet protector is currently empty, but again if I’m going to be gone for an A and B day, I can put the plans back to back and have them flip the sheet protector over. The next page that I have in my sub binder is probably to most useful page to me, the technology instructions. It was SUCH A PAIN figuring out all the technology in my classroom (for instance, my projector doesn't have a real remote, it’s controlled via an application on the computer which is still running Windows XP!). So I knew that even playing a movie could present a challenge for a sub. So I wrote down instructions for all the different pieces of technology in my classroom. I still refer to this every once in a while to remember how to make something work if I don’t use it often.

Next up is a short blurb on the policies I have in my classroom. For instance, we have a fairly high population of homeless students, but they still almost all have cell phones. I have a plethora of power outlets in my room and the students have asked on several occasions to charge their phones. I allow this for two reasons: it allows them to get in touch with employers/parents after school is over, and more importantly, if their phone is over by the wall charging then I know they aren’t using at their desk *evil laugh*.

In case one of my fellow teachers is asked at the last minute to sub for me on their prep hour, I have our substitute PowerSchool information so they can take attendance. Then I have (or will once I know who my students are) the seating charts for each class period, A day in front and B day in back. This way they can make notes about students and have an idea of where everyone belongs.

After the seating charts are my emergency sub plans. I’ll admit that mine aren’t the best, but at least they exist which is more than a lot of teachers can say. I have 5 days of emergency plans which for the A/B schedule translates into plans for me being gone for up to 2 weeks in case something happens.

The other best idea I think I found on Pinterest that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise are time fillers. These are things like word searches, crossword puzzles, cheesy chemistry puns for the students to figure out; exactly as advertised, things for the sub to give the students to fill time for the ones who finish early or get off task and say they’ll “finish it ask homework” or some other lie that they sub might have to deal with.

The very last thing I have in my sub binder are 10 copies of my school’s office referral forms. I’ve learned that just pulling these out can be a very powerful tool for behavior management.