A Glimpse into Sub Life, Take 4

    I have learned that it's definitely an advantage to have teaching experience when subbing but  subbing is a far cry from teaching. Subbing has illustrated the importance of Relationship. The three R's (Relationship, Rigor, Relevance) get hammered in college education courses, and they're addressed in interviews, but I think substitute teachers might best realize the importance of Relationship.
     I have learned that my classroom management style has relied heavily on the relationships I have fostered with my kids. I don't have a heavy hand - I don't particularly like having to use a heavy hand - and I have noticed how a lack of relationship has affected my classroom management style.
     As a sub, you're already a few notches below human in the eyes of the kids. It's like a feeding frenzy. I can't tell you how many kids have walked through the classroom door and shrieked with glee, "We have a sub today!" Picture kid licking his chops. Classroom management is challenging, but I think it's especially challenging for substitute teachers.
     It doesn't help when a glance at the lesson plan reveals this: One hour for math. Kids silently read if they finish early. One hour for reading. Kids silently read if they finish early. One hour for writing. Kids silently read if they finish early.
    No kid wants to read all day, especially not intermittently. If you're going to give them time to read, then give them a chunk of time so they can really sink into their books. So I have taken the liberty to tweak plans to maintain sanity for all. Here are my go-to activities:

Younger Grades
These are my favorite go-to activities because they require zero prep or very, very minimal prep.

• Have a crossword puzzle for kids to complete if they finish an assignment early. Kids like choices!
• Most elementary classes have a weekly spelling list. This activity requires zero prep and kids really like it. It's called Spelling Sparkle. Gather kids in a large circle and designate a kid as the starter. Call out a spelling word, and the designated kid gives the first letter. Moving clockwise, each student contribute a letter until the word is spelled out. The student who follows the last letter calls out Sparkle and sits down. The next word starts with the student following the one who sat down. The goal is to be the last one standing. 
• If I find I'm teaching math, I'll usually stick this extra challenge into the lesson to get the brain juices flowing (somewhat). Have students start with a number between 1-10 (I do this because I don't have a clue about their mathematical expertise). Then give them 3 or 4 steps where they subtract and add various numbers designated by you. The final step is always to have them subtract the number they started with. This way, all kids will end up with the same number depending on the steps you told them to do. At first, it's like I've done a magic trick and kids are baffled. The second time, at least a kid or two has caught on. I ask them to explain it, and then we usually do one more problem to help the others understand. Simple but fun. 
• Pictionary: I have pre-made index cards in my sub bag, and if we have 10 minutes to burn and kids are burned out on silent reading, I'll divide the class into two teams (usually boys v. girls) and we'll play pictionary. Snowstorm usually stumps them ;)
• This activity can get a little rowdy so pre-teach expectations, but it's a handy activity if the kids are getting restless and need a brain break and movement. Pair the kids up and then have Partner 1 do some type of gesture (e.g. clap their hands 3 times, slap their knee once, stomp their foot, e.g.). Partner 2 imitates what Partner 1 did and adds a gesture to it. This continues with kids going back and forth and adding to the sequence for a designated time period - about a minute - and I usually use music. The challenge is if kids can remember their entire sequence. Once they mess up, they have to sit down. 
• I have Junior Trivia cards in my sub bag and I use these any time we have a couple minutes to kill, usually before we line up for lunch, recess, or a trek to the gym. These are handy.
• Pack Jolly Ranchers. Always. 

Secondary Grades

High schoolers are a tough sell, and honestly, I don't tend to tweak the lesson much. High schoolers just want to get the work done, and then they want down time. And my experience has been that most high schoolers are capable of handling down time. Middle schoolers not so much. They need structured time just like the 5th and 6th graders do. Here are some activities I've used with middle schoolers:

• Top 10: Most classrooms have a stack of abandoned newspapers piled in some corner. Grab these and distribute pages to the kids and ask them to skim the articles. You may need to quickly review what constitutes a news article. Ads and comics are not news articles. They have 10 minutes to learn 10 things from the news. They write 10 sentences on a piece of paper, sharing what they learned, and then we hold a whole-group share at the end. Kids have fun sharing.
• Hide the Adjective: This activity takes about 20 minutes and requires about 5 minutes of prep. I have pre-made cards in my sub bag. Here's the link to my lesson. On the flip side, when I had my own classroom, this was a go-to sub plan for me. 
• Those Junior Trivia cards are still handy at this level. They're great for those awkward last two minutes of class before the bell rings.
• Pack Jolly Ranchers. Always.