Substitute Teachers Lesson Plan Page

Wait! There's no lesson plans in the room. Quick - what will you do? Check with the principal first, sometimes they have copies of the teachers lesson plans. If not, just use these handy educational fillers to keep the students occupied.

Super Stories

Using a timer or the classroom clock, have the students start writing a story. After a set period of time have them switch with another student. The next student reads the story and adds on to it. After a little bit longer period of time, to allow reading what has been written, the students again switch papers. After a few more times the students return the paper to the original author who shares it with the class.

Wondrous Words

Use a big word like Christmas, have the students come up with as many words as they can using just the letters in the word. For younger children it helps to have each letter of the word on a separate card or piece of paper. This will allow them to rearrange the letters and make words on their own. To extended this share the words with the class and have the students write a story using as many of the words as they can.

Trash Bag Ghosts

Here's a nice Halloween project that you can try. Using small white trash bags and some old newspapers make some spooky ghosts. Have the students crumple a few sheets of newspaper into a ball and place inside the trash bag to for the head of the ghost. Secure the bag using the twist ties that come with the bag or black pipe cleaners work just as well. Using a sharpie or other permanent marker draw eyes or a spooky face on the ghost.

Comic Balloons

Clip comics from the newspaper, white out the text in the balloons and photocopy. Have the students add their own text to the comic balloons. Also, you may want to enlarge the comics as you photocopy them to make it easier for the students to add their own text. Finally copy several different ones on a page to keep them occupied even longer. Elementary students like to color the comics.

Graph Paper Art

Do you find yourself covering an art class with no lesson plans? Check this activity out. Although it is an art activity, with the appropriate tie in it can also be a math or social studies lesson as well. For this activity you'll need some quad rule (quarter inch scale) graph paper and colored pencils or small markers (the kind that are like ball point pens). Here's what to do.

First ask the students who likes computers, unless they're weird most students will say that they do. This is also a good way to settle a noisy class. Next explain to students that computers use pixels to display pictures on the computer screen. Draw a comparison to pixels and the boxes on the graph paper (pixels are equivalent to the boxes). Skip this step if you have no idea what I just said. Show the students an example with your picture and explain that they will be making their own digital art on the graph paper. Encourage them to take their time and to do a good job. With positive encouragement, most students will.

You can also tie this into math by discussing patterns or symmetry (mirror images) with the students. A tie-in to Native Americans can be made in social studies by discussing the culture of various groups and showing photographs of artifacts. Check the school library for books on Native American artifacts. As a whole class activity you can make a quilt with the designs. Just have the students make their designs in the same orientation, landscape or portrait.

Readers' Theater

Using an age appropriate book have the students read and act out (not up) the book. Some children are real hams. This works best with literature that they are already familiar with. Do not attempt this lesson with classes that have problems with behavior, it will just make matters worse.

What Happens Next

Using an age appropriate book read up to key point in the book and ask the children to write what happens next. Have them pair up and critique each others work. This lesson works best with older students who have been exposed to the writing process from their regular teacher. Do not try this lesson is a classroom where you do not see evidence that the children are familiar with the writing process.

Cootie Tag

This game takes some planning. Actually you need to get a supply of colored spring loaded clothes pins. You'll need at least two colors. Use a different color for each team. Give each child a supply of the cootie clothes pins. The object is to clip as many cooties as possible on members of the opposite team without getting any on yourself. Younger children, those most often afflicted with cooties, enjoy playing this game. Students older than third or fourth grade will think this game is dumb. This game for when you are subbing in elementary Physical Education.

Sharks and Minnows

You may have heard of this game. It goes by several names including spiders and snakes for Jim Stafford fans. Using the scooters that are popular at elementary level have a few students be the sharks. The rest of the students are the minnows. The sharks try to tag the minnows, which upon being tagged turn into seaweed. The final three or four students get to be the sharks in the next game. This game for when you are subbing in elementary Physical Education.

Number Fun

Here's a left brain/right brain kind of math activity suitable for elementary/middle school students. Assign each student an number and have them make up pictorial number sentences about their number on a piece of construction paper. Assign age appropriate numbers (the younger the smaller the number). When they are done have each student tell about their poster then hang them (the posters) around the room.

Bing!

Here's a game that was named by a student. She decided it should be named Bing! because there was only four squares across the top of the playing cards. It also had the added benefit of keeping the boys quiet.

The game, as I explain it, is a spelling game. However I'm certain you will think of other subjects and applications for it. Because you can play several rounds with the students it will take up as much time as you need it to. This game is great for a quick review just before an assembly or at the end of the day.

Give each student a sheet of scrap paper. The blank sides of old worksheets work great for this. Show the students how to fold the paper to get 16 squares on the paper. Hint: a little showmanship here also takes up time as well. It also will help calm down a difficult room. Once the students 16 squares on the paper have them number the squares randomly. For primary students (K-3) you may need to show them what you mean.

The numbers their squares randomly as well. Then, only the teacher tears up the sheet on the folds to make tickets to be drawn at random. With the spelling word list draw a number a say that word. Students write the word in the appropriate square. Typical Bingo rules apply. When a student has four in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally they say Bing!

After a winner is called write the student's name on the board under a heading that says "Winners." Then have the students draw a line through the words that they have written and the game starts over again. You can do this as often as needed to fill any desired amount of time.