Emergency sub plans: getting ready for a sick morning tonight
Build a sub folder once, before you need it, so a substitute can walk in to a calm plan and you come back to a clear report.
Nobody plans to wake up sick. But a teacher with an emergency sub folder ready can send a couple of texts, go back to bed and know the day will run. A little setup on a calm afternoon saves a stressful morning later.
Write your sick-morning plan
- Find out exactly how your school wants absences reported: who you call or text, and by when.
- Save a short message for the office and one for your team or a teacher next door.
- Tell a trusted colleague where your sub folder lives.
Make a start-here page
The first page a sub sees should answer the basics on one sheet: the bell schedule, where to take attendance, who to ask for help, where the restrooms and staff room are, and what to do at dismissal.
Add the class essentials
- A current class list and seating chart for each class or period.
- Your daily routines: how the day starts, transitions, lunch and dismissal.
- Students who can help, and anything a sub should know about health needs, following your school's privacy rules.
- A simple map of the classroom and where supplies are.
Include the emergency steps
Put your school's fire, lockdown and evacuation steps in the folder, with your room's exit route and the meeting spot. Keep a copy of the class list next to them.
Plan activities that work any day
- Choose a few activities that don't depend on where you are in a unit: a reading response, a review game, a writing prompt, an independent practice set.
- Copy enough for each class and label them clearly.
- Add an exit ticket so you can see what students did.
Ask for a short report
Leave a one-page form for the sub to fill in: what got done, who was absent, who was helpful and anything you should follow up on. It makes your first morning back much easier.
Refresh it a few times a year
Class lists, schedules and routines change. Set a reminder to update the folder at the start of the year, after winter break and whenever your schedule changes. Swap out activities you've since used with your class.
The Sub-Ready Kit: Emergency Sub Plans has the sick-morning plan, start-here page, activity menu and sub report ready to fill in.