Teachers joke that it's easier to just show up to work sick than it is to prepare sub plans and then clean up after a day away from the classroom. However, you shouldn't have to go to work when you're sick or have an emergency. Meetings, field trips, training, family emergencies, and a variety of other activities can all take you away from your classroom. When it comes time to build a day (or more) of sub plans, you won't have as much to do if you set up a comprehensive sub binder or folder at the start of the school year.
Place yourself in the shoes of someone who has never seen your school before while making sub plans. Your substitute should ideally be someone who knows the school and your students, but this isn't always the case. If it's your sub's first time subbing in the building—or even subbing at all—you'll want to make it as easy for them as possible. There's a fine line between giving your sub everything they need to know and overwhelming them. Make an effort to be thorough while remaining succinct. There are quite a few components to your subfolder that you should prepare at the beginning of the year. This includes the daily schedule general classroom rules and policies, information about each class, emergency procedures, and info on students with allergies or special accommodations.
Browse through a collection of professional Sub (Substitute) Plan Templates that have been curated just for you.
