Elementary Substitute Teaching Ideas

Substitute teaching can be much easier if you come prepared.

Schools employ substitute teachers to fill in when a staff teacher is absent. Substitute teaching can be a daunting task. Many teachers walk into a new school for a single day. They are expected to help students learn and shepherd them through activities such as recess and lunch. Substitute teaching can be made less stressful with some planning. The right lesson plan can help engage student interests and make a substitute teacher's job easier.

Let Students Teach

Spend 10 minutes closely observing the students. Look for students who capture the attention of their peers. Pick two boys and two girls. Take a few minutes to speak with them quietly as you give the rest of the class a silent reading assignment. Find out what subjects they particularly like and know something about. Ask the other students to ask these students questions about these subjects. Award little prizes such as balloons or small pieces of candy to the student "teachers."

Play Boggle

Engage students' attention with fun games they may already have at home. Take a few minutes to look through the students' reading and math materials. The teacher should have them in an easily accessible place. If you don't see such material, consider buying books with lists of vocabulary and spelling words that students in each grade should know. Play hangman on the board with spelling words. Bring in Boggle cubes. Write down the letters that come out and ask students to write down as many words as they can from the letters on the board.

Geography Fun

Draw a large outline of the map of the United States on the board. Leave the interior blank. Ask students to come up to the board one by one and point out where a specific state is located. Alternatively, cut out shapes from cardboard designed to look like each of the states. Use at least five or six colors for the state outlines. Leave off the names of the states. Mix up the cardboard outlines and hand out one or two each child. Have the child come to the board and try to place the outline of the state in the correct area. Give points for each state the student names.

References

• Education World: Substitute Teacher Survival Guide
• Super Substitute Teachers
• Hasbro: Boggle