Besides the obvious

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Besides the obvious
By Mariella

Kimberly, I think most things are obvious - school rules and routines around things like washroom trips (do kids go with a buddy? do they have to wait til lunch or recess?) and class routines (do children line up before
entering/prior to dismissal? do they put chairs up at the end of the day, etc.) the one thing I find MOST helpful is when a teacher has had his/her students make stand-up name cards (one teacher does this as an art activity at the beginning of the year; each child makes a standing bristol board card with his/her name written LARGE and then decorated as the student wishes). It is SO helpful

to know student names and when you are learning new names every day, you'd be amazed at how worn out your brain gets. Seating plans are a good thing but really 2nd best in a way - you have to keep checking back to them but with a card on each child's desk, their names are right there. I find that when the students know that you know their names, they are more accountable for their own behaviour and somehow being addressed by their own names really helps children warm up to the sub.

Another thing which may seem obvious is a clear explanation of games that the regular teacher may take for granted. It's all well and good to say "They like to play Sparkle/play Around the World for Math/Hunter and Hunted is an activity they enjoy/they are using the jigsaw method of research", but if the teacher doesn't recognize that term or name for an activity, it's useless (although the students are very helpful - sometimes too helpful - at explaining).

These suggestions may seem obvious, but they are things I know I would find helpful.