Does your school require emergency sub plans? Emergency sub plans always feel like one more thing to add to the never ending to do list before school starts. But they are crucial because, well, emergencies happen. Even if your school does not require emergency sub plans, they are well worth having in place beforehand. One of my school’s stipulations is that any paper component (ie: worksheets) of emergency sub plans are kept somewhere in our classroom. My solution: The Sub Tub for High School.
If you spend any time on teacher Instagram or Pinterest, you have probably come across the sub tub idea. However, sub tubs are typically used by elementary teachers. I love the idea. The sub tub is a marked box that is easy to find, and everything the sub may need is there and ready. It’s a great solution. I ran with the idea, and adapted the sub tub to work for high school.
What do you use for a high school sub tub?
Elementary teachers usually have some kind of plastic box large enough to hold paper as their sub tub. Instead, I opted for a file box. I purchased mine from Wal-Mart several years ago (pictured below). Unfortunately, this box is no longer sold. Here are a few other options you can consider instead (not affiliate links): a thin file box, a large open desktop file organizer, and a mesh desktop file organizer. Consider your class sizes, how many copies you will need to make, and how many days of sub plans you need to provide when choosing the file box that is right for you.
Using a file box is a great solution because it allows you to easily organize your plans in hanging folders; which means that your plans will be easy for a substitute teacher to find and follow. Personally, I’ve taught anywhere from 2 to 5 different courses in a school year. Having an organized system like this for my sub plans is essential.
How do you organize your sub tub?
My organization system is based on the three day requirement set by my school. Each course I teach has three different folders inside of my high school sub tub. Each set of folders is color coded and labeled, of course. For my Geometry classes, the tabs read “Geometry – Day 1,” “Geometry – Day 2,” and “Geometry – Day 3.” I repeat this labeling system for my other courses.
Inside each folder, I have enough copies of the activity for every student in the course. I also include an original copy in a page protector, just in case. Depending on the assignment, I may also include an answer key in a page protector.
What do you include in a high school sub tub?
Also in my sub tub, I have a folder of sub plans. I use my favorite folder system with page protectors in a pronged folder that I described in a small poster organization post. The first thing inside the folder is an outline of my schedule, and a description of what to do for each day of sub plans. Next, I typed a list of everything that students may need during class, and where to find them. These items include extra pencils, paper, calculators, etc. Lastly, I include rosters and seating charts for each class. Both of these documents will change throughout the year, so I do my best to keep them up to date in the sub tub.
What are your sub plans?
When it comes to my actual sub plans, I usually leave a worksheet or activity that can be recorded on paper. I make sure it is something that can be collected. I do not grade my students on their work left with a substitute teacher unless absolutely necessary. However, I do like to see what students accomplish during the period, and if there is anything we need to review. The emergency work I leave for my students is always some form of review. This is difficult at the beginning of the year before we’ve actually learned anything, but I like to include the more important topics that I know they will need to review.
Here is what my sub tub for high school selection looks like throughout the year:
- At the beginning of the year, I leave work on topics that they need to review from the previous school year.
- As the year progresses, I swap out these worksheets. One thing I love to do is save all of the activities that we do not get to for some reason in the back of my sub tub. (These are kept in separate, unlabeled folders.) You know the practice activity or worksheet that you already copied, but had to cut to save time? I swap them with a set of other worksheets copied for the sub tub.
- Toward the end of the year, I will replace the items in my sub tub with final exam review.
Switching out worksheets in the sub tub is not necessary, but it is in the best interest of my students. If I remember to swap out assignments, great. If I don’t, it’s not a big deal because this sub tub is for emergency plans, and emergencies are (hopefully) rare.
Check Out My High School Sub Tub
When I put my high school sub tub together two years ago, I made a YouTube video all about it. Check it out below!
What makes all of this work is that it is a dedicated system. Systems are the ultimate productivity tool. To learn more about how to implement systems in your classroom, download the free Secondary Classroom Systems Checklist.
