Sub Plans Don’t Have to Be a Scramble: The Best Tool for Substitute Teacher Plans

Most of us at Common Planner were former teachers, and we know that sick-day feeling of trying to pull together sub plans when you can barely think straight. This post is about the simplest way we’ve found to make sub days less stressful. Stress free? Probably not. But definitely easier.

Quick answer: The easiest way to make substitute teacher plans less stressful is to keep your lesson plan, materials, links, and sub directions together in one place. In Common Planner, you can do that in your digital planbook and share only what your sub needs — from one lesson to your whole planbook.

If You’ve Ever Had to Make Substitute Teacher Plans While Sick, You Know the Feeling

It is one thing when you know you are going to be out ahead of time. It is a completely different situation when you wake up sick and need to figure everything out fast. You are trying to call in, make sure your students are covered, and somehow leave directions another person can actually follow.

And the stressful part is not just writing the lesson. It is making sure the sub has what they need. The directions, the links, the handouts, the schedule, the notes, the “here is what this class is like at 1:30 p.m.” part. That is usually where the thoughts start heading in the direction of “maybe it’d be easier to just go in.”

The Hardest Part Is That Everything Lives in Different Places

Your lesson might be in one place, your slides are somewhere else, the worksheet is in a folder, and the video link is probably in one of your many open tabs. So now, instead of just sharing the plan, you are gathering everything while sick.

Teachers might end up doing some version of this:

• type the sub plans in a separate doc
• add class notes and directions
• go track down the materials
• email it to a teammate, secretary, or whoever is helping
• hope the sub gets everything they need

That is a lot when you are home sick and just trying to function.

What Should You Include in Sub Plans?

Good sub plans usually include:

• the lesson or activity for each class
• links, slides, videos, files, and handouts
• directions for what students should do
• notes about routines, timing, and classroom expectations
• what the sub should pass out, collect, or skip
• who to contact if something goes wrong

Keep the Lesson, Materials, and Directions in One Place

Instead of rebuilding your day in a separate document every time you are out, Common Planner lets you keep everything needed for the day right inside your planbook.

That way, when you need to be out, you are not starting from scratch or hunting through folders while you are sick. You are using the plan and materials you already built.

Share Only the Sub Plans They Need

In Common Planner, you can choose exactly what to share. If you have a sub for one class period, you can share just that lesson. If you are out for the day, you can share the whole day. If you need coverage for a week, a month, or even your whole planbook, you can share that too.

Once you choose what to share, you can copy the link, email it right from your planbook, or download a QR code if that is easier for your school’s sub process.

They can:

• see the lesson or plans you shared
• open the links and materials
• follow your directions

They cannot:

• edit your planbook
• see anything you did not share
• accidentally mess anything up

You’re giving the sub what they need without opening up more than you have to.

And if you do not know the sub’s email yet, you can still send that link to a teammate, admin, or school secretary so it gets where it needs to go.

Want to make sub days easier? Try Common Planner and keep your lessons, materials, directions, and sharing options in one place.

Try This Before You Actually Need a Sub

The best time to make sub plans easier is before you are sick. The next time you build a lesson in Common Planner, try attaching the links, files, and directions right there in the lesson. Think of it like building your emergency sub plans a little at a time, instead of trying to create everything the morning you wake up sick.