Some schools require teachers to submit their sub plans the first week of school to the main office. You may be wondering, “How am I supposed to create sub plans that are appropriate for the whole year?” The kids change so much over the course of the year. What you would leave for activities for substitute teachers in September would look very different than what you would leave in February. There are many answers to this question, but this blog post will focus on one specific one: Read alouds.
Read alouds are a great sub plans activity to leave for substitute teachers because they are whole-group lessons that all students can participate in. Plus, children love to be read to. Whether it’s by their parents, teacher, sibling, or another adult, it is a time when they can just enjoy quality literature that they may not be able to access on their own. Better yet, they provide incredibly meaningful conversations and learning opportunities for your kids. Check out the list below of 5 read aloud books that are perfect for leaving for sub plans!
5 Reasons Read Alouds are Great for Sub Plans
Here are 5 reasons why read alouds are great for sub plans:
- Students love to be read to so they’ll be engaged and learning during the experience.
- Even if you don’t have a hard copy of the book, your students can still access the literature through technology. For example, you can find a link of the book being read aloud on Youtube and include it in your sub plans.
- All students can access the activity and participate in it.
- It is a sub plan activity that is easy for substitute teachers to understand and implement.
- They lend themselves to great class discussions where they can learn from a different adult and gain a new perspective.
Top 5 Books for Sub Plans
Below are my top 5 favorite read aloud books to leave as part of my sub plans.
1. Miss Nelson is Missing
Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard is a story about an unruly classroom of students and a teacher who finds a creative way to teach them a lesson. The students in Room 207 were the worst-behaved students in the whole school. They were constantly acting up and poor Miss Nelson was unable to teach.
Then one day, Miss Nelson goes missing and Miss Viola Swamp comes into the classroom. She wears an ugly black dress, never smiles, and loads the students up with homework. It isn’t long before the students miss Miss Nelson and start to look for her.
When she returns a few days later, the students are thrilled to see her. They no longer misbehave and act like angels in the classroom. In the end, it is revealed that Miss Nelson was in the classroom all along and she had dressed up as Miss Viola Swamp to teach her students a lesson about being respectful. This is my favorite book to leave as sub plans!
2. The Substitute Teacher from the Black Lagoon
The Substitute Teacher from the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler is a story about how Hubie’s teacher, Mrs. Green, is out sick so the class is going to have a substitute teacher. The substitute, named Mr. Frank N. Stein., is nine feet tall, crashes through walls, and hurls students into outer space. The kids in the class were expecting to party all day, but that is definitely not what the substitute had in mind.
3. Jamaica and the Substitute Teacher
Jamaica and the Substitute Teacher by Juanita Havill is a story about a girl named Jamaica and her experience with a substitute teacher, Mrs. Duval. Jamaica thinks that her substitute is very nice and has a fantastic day with her until it’s time to take a spelling test. Jamaica is not prepared for it and makes a poor choice. She is worried about what Mrs. Duval will think of her. This is another good book to leave as sub plans!
4. Miss Malarkey Won’t Be in Today
Judy Finchler’s story Miss Malarkey Won’t Be in Today is about a teacher who worries about being out of class. With a fever, Miss Malarkey knows that she won’t be able to teach so she calls in sick to school. She worries about which substitute teacher will get called in to teach her class. She hopes the principal won’t call scary Mr. Doberman, or silly Mrs. Ungerware, or nervous Mr. Lemonjello. She knows her students will be too much for Mr. Lemonjello to handle. Miss Malarkey gets so worried that she decides to go to school to check on her class. When she gets there, she realizes that she won’t really have anything to worry about!
5. Substitute Creacher
Substitute Creacher by Chris Gall is a story about how Ms. Jenkins’ class full of troublemakers arrived at school and saw a substitute teacher in their classroom. The substitute teacher has tentacles, yellow spots, and one eye. He encourages the students to follow the rules by telling them stories about his former students, but that does not stop them from their naughty ways. At the end of the story, he shares his personal experience which finally changes the students’ behavior.
Get Your Set of Quick and Easy Sub Plans
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In closing, we hope you found this list of read alouds to leave for sub plans helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts about planning for a substitute teacher and making sub plans. In addition, you might want to download the free eBook, The Clutter-Free Classroom’s Guide to Preparing for a Substitute Teacher and check out my emergency sub plans.
