Back-to-school series · Part 7
Sub Plans You Write Before You Need Them
The worst time to design an emergency lesson is while you are having the emergency.
At 5:42 a.m., your standards do not disappear. Your capacity does.
That is why emergency sub plans should not be a shortened version of the unit you are currently teaching. They should be two complete, independent lessons that work in October, February, or the strange week before spring break.
The requirements
A real emergency plan needs:
- no technology
- no preparation by the substitute
- no knowledge of your current unit
- materials that can already be printed
- clear directions students can follow without you
- work worth doing, but not catastrophic if collected a day late
Plan one: read, notice, argue
Choose a public-domain short text, a school-approved article you can legally reproduce, or a passage already licensed for your class. Build a one-period sequence:
- Annotate for two specific moves.
- Answer three comprehension checks.
- Choose the strongest of three possible claims.
- Write one evidence-based paragraph.
- Complete a short reflection on the reasoning.
Plan two: observe, narrate, revise
Use a neutral image, an object in the room, or a brief scenario printed on the page. Students produce a focused description or narrative, then revise it for one craft target: precise verbs, sentence rhythm, point of view, or concrete detail.
The plan remains useful across grade levels because the thinking stays stable while the expected complexity changes.
Build two full-period emergency plans for high-school ELA. They must require no technology, no advance preparation, and no knowledge of our current unit. Include a substitute script, timed student directions, a printable student handout, an answer guide or completion criteria, an early-finisher option, and accommodations that preserve the same learning goal. Flag any material I must supply or verify.
Write for the room you will not be in
Replace “discuss” with a procedure. How many students? For how long? Who speaks first? What gets written? Replace “when finished” with an exact place for the paper. Put the attendance procedure, seating chart location, restroom rule, and emergency contact on the first page.
Do not include passwords, private student information, medical details, or behavior histories. The substitute needs actionable instructions, not a confidential file.
Test the packet
Hand it to someone who does not teach your course and ask them to explain the first ten minutes. If they need you to clarify, the plan is not emergency-ready.
Print two class sets. Label them Emergency Plan A and B. Put them where your department chair or neighboring teacher can find them. Save the editable originals in one obvious folder.
The quiet payoff
You may not use either packet this year. Good. The work still bought something: the knowledge that a bad morning does not have to become a bad school day.
That is the end of the series, and the point of all seven posts. Hand off the repeatable work. Keep your judgment, your voice, and your attention for the students who need the person in the room.
Two readable pages. Twelve builds. A starting prompt for each. Get the list →