subbing

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subbing
By Jen

You have some excellent questions.
Yes you need to have what some subs call "a bag of tricks". You need extra activities and assignments you can use for each grade level or two. You can get ideas from this website and
there are hundreds of others - some have worksheets you can print out. For younger children you could buy some dot-to-dot and coloring books for emergencies. Most teachers leave lessons plans but sometimes you finish everything and there is time left.
There are some substitute books and I have several but I wouldn't spend the money. Basically they have ideas for games like Heads

up 7up, creating a bag of worksheets and activities, and tips on handling behavior.
Some classes are easy to manage, others could be horrible. You need to have several different ways to get attention, like clapping a rhythm, holding up your hand, etc.
One idea I have used which can be fun is to make your own raffle tickets, give these out to those who are following directions, etc. They put their names on them and you have a drawing at the end of the day. You bring a prize attractively wrapped that you can hang on the board. It's a lesson in probability - if you have more than one ticket you have more chances to win. I used to do this with Kindergarten kids and taught them to congratulate the winner and be happy for them. They liked it even when they didn't win because they wanted to see what the prize was.
I have been a teacher and guidance counselor and now semi-retired but just started subbing. So far I have had two half days which were great. The first was 5th grade and we finished all the plans an hour before the end of the day so instead of having them read the story the teacher had assigned, I read it to them. I loved that and they enjoyed it too. Then I did an activity where I had a box of situations and questions. One student picked one, answered it and then we discussed it. Things like: another students makes fun of your lunchbox, what would you do?
My next position was also half-day and in a computer lab with lst and 2nd graders. It was good that I am somewhat computer savvy!
Start getting experience as soon as you can to get confidence and rapport with kids. Good luck.