Substitute Advice on Consequences

This is a post I found helpful on the A to Z Teacher Stuff forum in a discussion about giving out consequences.  The context was about substitute teaching, but I do think this post applies to any teacher giving out consequences for misbehavior.  


Thanks again for allowing me to post this, EdEd!

One of the biggest secrets I've found is not what the specific consequence is, but how it is structured. For example, all of the consequences you've listed above are "one and done." The behavior happens, you give the consequence, and you are out of ammo - nothing left to do. If the behavior continues, you have to move on to something else because they already have a note going home.

Often, you can get away with much smaller consequences than you'd ever imagine, if structured right. For example, you can take 10 seconds off of a 2nd grader's recess, and they might be devastated! Naturally, that leaves you with a lot of ammo - you can take off a lot of "10 seconds of recess" and still have a lot left over. Likewise, because of the nature of the consequence, you can also add it back on - for example, kids can earn back a portion of their recess if lost.

Also, think more immediately. A lot of the things you've mentioned above are consequences that occur well into the future - note written to the teacher won't be felt until 24 hours, referral won't be read by a parent for a few hours. Think about things in the child's immediate environment that they care about. Here's a little trick - the closer in time the consequence or reward, the smaller it can be. Believe it or not, kids may act up even when they know they will get a playstation for Christmas in 3 weeks. But, if they know they could be moved to the front of the lunch line if they walk quietly in the hall way, they may just shape up. Why? Because they don't have to wait 3 weeks. Extend that out into "adult time." What if I said to you as a sub, "I will pay you $140 tomorrow morning, or $300 in 10 years." Which one would you chose? 

The mental trick to creating these momentary reinforcement/punishment opportunities is to put yourself in the minds of the kids standing in front of you - what would make the next 10 seconds of their lives that much more awesome? For example, an extra 30 seconds of centers might do it, or offering to the class that you will pick one person who is particularly well-lined up to move to the front of the line. Or, 10 minutes before recess, you might say that you'll pick one student who is particularly well-behaved (define what this is to them) carry out the basketball to recess. 

Many of us make our ways through less exciting parts of our own lives like this - we let ourselves eat extra ice cream after we clean up the living room; we let ourselves go to happy hour Friday after working hard to do lesson plans Thursday night; we let ourselves watch 10 minutes of Tivo after grading 10 papers. We give ourselves little treats to keep us alive, interested, and motivated to get through the less interesting parts of day.

Of course, there is something to be said for not encouraging our culture of momentary and immediate reinforcement, but as a sub you probably won't find yourself with opportunities to utterly influence kids' worldviews on reinforcement through your one-day classroom management plans. In addition, even asadults, we need reinforcement. Some things we love to do - for everything else, there's ice cream .

--EdEd, A to Z forum

This gave me something to think about after a bad day a couple of weeks ago, in which I spent most of my time repeating the same reprimands to the same students.  It was particularly aggravating because there was nothing I could really use as "punishment."  There was no recess for that day, and there seemed to be no real classroom discipline policy for me to enforce.  The warnings that I would be reporting their behavior in a note to their teacher fell on deaf ears.  I was, as EdEd described, "out of ammo."

What did that class want "immediately" that I could have used as an incentive?  After reading this post, I was reminded that several of the offending boys tried unsuccessfully to fold paper and draw instead of doing their work.  If I had been proactive, I could have compromised and required 15 minutes of real work to earn 5 minutes of free drawing time, or something to that effect.  Some would disagree with this method, but 15 minutes of productivity is 15 more minutes than they were willing to give me that day.  Anything would have been better than what I was doing!  

Sometimes, it's good to have a reminder.

-Veronica

Substitutes Without a Seating Chart

A quick tip I learned about how to handle not having a seating chart left by the teacher:

I know it's one of substitutes' top annoyances.  I also understand many teachers move students around a lot, rearrange desks, and sometimes have trouble remembering to add or change seating charts.  So what do you do?

I got a tip (I can't remember where) that seemed to solve the problem:

• Get to class early enough to grab a blank sheet of paper and sketch a makeshift seating chart based on the desk arrangement.  Doesn't have to be fancy, just some little boxes on notebook paper.  It should go without saying to get to work early.  You don't want to have to bother with this as students are walking in the door.
• As you take attendance, quickly jot down the position of the students who are present.  This helps you to covertly make a seating chart and learn students' real names.  Sometimes, you have crafty kids who don't want to reveal their real names but,  9 times out of 10, they want to be counted present and so they'll tell the truth while calling roll.  Make the seating chart as you're taking attendance without calling too much attention to what you're doing, if you think the class is being sneaky.
• Once attendance is done, your seating chart should be ready!  Walk around with it, look at the names written in your little boxes, and surprise students that you know their names already!  It's delightful to see how much this throws them off.  If you want them to get in their real seats, just let them know you've already made a seating chart that you'll leave for their teacher at the end of the day, which means the teacher will know who lied to the sub and sat where they wanted.  I'd give them a chance to go to their actual seats without penalty.

Honestly, I'm no longer a big stickler about seating charts.  I used to feel like it was very important to have students exactly where the teacher has placed them, but I feel like if the teacher thought it was really important, I'd have a seating chart!  So, maybe it's really not a big deal.  Another factor is I often feel like the teacher has students sitting in the WRONG seats, with the most talkative kids sitting in within too close a proximity for me to be comfortable.  I move talkative/troublesome kids around all the time, whether it's their assigned seat or not, so I long ago stopped caring so much about seating charts.

But I do understand many subs like seating charts.  I still have a hard time with student names (I find myself saying, "You... in the red shirt!" far too often), and charts are good for that very reason.  Maybe I shouldn't discount them completely!

-Veronica

image credit: microsoft

Substitute Lifesavers: How to Survive When You Don't Have Lesson Plans

Picture it:

Early one morning, you excitedly enter an elementary school.  You haven’t worked in the last couple of days, and you had become a little concerned about your next paycheck.  Around 6:00 am, you hopefully and groggily checked the substitute assignment system to see if there were any jobs available.  What luck!  A third grade assignment had been placed since you checked the system last night.

You arrive early, greet the secretary with a smile, sign in and head to the classroom.  “Today feels like a good day,” you think to yourself.

You enter the classroom, view a neat space and place your things down near the teacher’s desk.  You look around for the lesson plans.

Ruh roh!

You look everywhere.  On the teacher’s desk.  On the reading group table.  You even trek to the teacher’s box and see if there’s a sub folder there.  Nothing.

You look at the clock in a panic.  Ten minutes until the bell rings.  You realize, with horror, what this means:  what in the world are you going to do with thirty students for the next seven hours?


Suddenly, what appeared to be an auspicious day has quickly descended into the dark pits of your nightmares.

Chances are likely that if you sub long enough, you’ll encounter this scenario.  In some lucky districts, many subs can go for a long time without this occurrence.  In other districts, it’s much more commonplace for a substitute to be left with nothing.

The chances of this increase when you make yourself available for jobs posted at the last minute, when teachers probably didn’t realize until too late they wouldn’t be in to work that morning and, therefore, may not have left any plans.

One very large part of being a substitute is being flexible, and that includes being prepared for these situations.  Resist the urge to panic; there are ways to handle this situation with dignity and grace.  They’re called Lifesavers.

Lifesavers are particularly important to substitutes since we are dependent on whatever plans the teacher has left.  If you don’t have plans, then you’ll have to learn to think on your feet.  A teacher successfully leads a classroom by being prepared and taking control.  Revealing that you are not prepared means you are not in control of the classroom, and it will lead to a stressful day.

Students need to know their substitute teachers are in control.  They smell blood when they hear innocent questions from the sub like, “Well, what were you guys working on yesterday?”  Don’t ask.  You’re the teacher for the day, and if you have no idea what to do, you have to be good at faking it.  Even if you have lesson plans and something runs short, or a plan backfires (like going to the computer lab only to discover a scheduling error:  there’s a class already in there), you have to have something to fall back on quickly. 

I never leave students to their own devices.  You’d be surprised at how five or ten minutes of “nothing to do” can result in disaster.  The time-honored default activity in these situations (otherwise known as “read silently”) has its limitations:  students, especially the young ones, can only read silently for so long.  After about ten minutes, if you’re lucky, they will start to fidget, talk, draw on their desks, bother other students, etc.  Also, some students may not have books.  If you send them to the class library, they can create a mess on the shelves, play near the bookcase, not find a book they want to read, and so on.  In other words, I steer clear of the “silent reading” unless there are only a few minutes to fill, and the students actually want to read.

That begs the question that most substitutes have asked themselves at one time or another:  what do I do?  Well, that’s what I’ll address in this Lifesavers series.

First, however, let’s discuss a few things you can do to mitigate panic in these situations.

8 Things Substitutes Should Do When They Don’t Have Lesson Plans:

1. Always assume you won’t have lesson plans, especially if you’re working a job posted that same morning.  If you assume you will get to work without a plan, you’ll prepare for the worst.  It’s likely you’ll have some sort of lesson or activity when you get there, even if it’s just bare-bones, so you’ll only have to rely on a few things you’ve brought with you, or maybe none at all.  But don’t get too complacent!  When I get lax and leave my extras at home or forget to print some, that’s just the day I’ll need them.  Remember, you can’t really anticipate not being prepared for a job, so always expect to need your backups.
2. Research.  You’re not a full-time teacher, but you can still do research to improve your craft.  Research includes internet searches, professional books, talking to other subs and teachers, etc.  Just by visiting this blog, you’re doing research!  I get a wealth of ideas from books and things I see in classrooms I sub for the day.  I find quick classroom activities, and I take notes in a growing list of things I can use when needed.  My idea notebooks I take to school have a ton of activity ideas in them (most of which will be posted on this blog at some point, lucky you).  Steal ideas!  You may even purchase a few handy things and take them to work everyday, like math flashcards, a few interesting books and magazines, etc.  The tough part is subbing for different grade levels and needing to choose activities that are kind of flexible.  If you only have copies of some worksheets for first-graders, it won’t be useful for the day when you’re subbing for fifth-grade.  That’s why I usually focus on activities and games that can be modified to fit several age groups.  I save time, ink and paper by doing that. 
3. Get to work early.  If you have time to spare, you will know that you have no lesson plans and can start with your backup ideas.  I try to get to work at least fifteen minutes before the class arrives.  Those few moments are precious!  Whenever I don’t see plans when I enter a classroom, the first thing I do is ask a neighboring teacher.  Sometimes, teachers leave their plans with another teacher, or email them at the last minute.  Usually, this is the explanation as to why I don’t have plans.  Other times, the school’s staff will know where the absent teacher keeps emergency lesson plans.  At the very least, 95% of the time, other teachers will be sympathetic towards you and do all they can to help.  They may have an idea of what this class has been working on and get some last-minute plans written up for you, and give you copies of worksheets for the class.
4. Always have a warm-up activity ready for the beginning of class.  No matter what, don’t let students enter the room and not have something to do when they first arrive.  Several jobs I’ve had went sour from the very start because there was no clear activity for the students to begin, and so they stood around, talked, and played with their friends.  Students should not be chatting and wandering around aimlessly for the first five minutes.  Once a class starts off badly, it’s hard to regroup.  Get them seated and focused on an activity, even if they’re just waiting for the morning announcements.  Sometimes, students are so used to routine that they will begin whatever their warm-up usually is without any prompting from you.  Other times, they need to be told to work on.  If you must, write a few math problems, or sentences with grammatical errors to correct, on the board for the warm-up.  While they are working, use any spare minutes to continue planning your backup lesson.  Keep them busy.
5. Learn to extend activities.  This is a skill I acquired on the job, and I think every teacher should be able to do it because it’s so useful, even when you have good plans!  Imagine that each assignment/activity is a soaking-wet sponge.  When you have time to fill, it’s essential to squeeze that sponge enough to so that each and every drop of water is released.  It’s not just for the sake of time; often, students need to approach an assignment from many different ways to strengthen their thinking skills.
6. Learn the schedule for the class.  Whether you have lesson plans or not, you’re still responsible for making sure they get to art class at the right time, arrive punctually for lunch, and other things like that.  This is particularly important when subbing elementary because you usually have to escort them everywhere.  Teachers often have the general schedule posted somewhere in the room, outside their door or on their desk.  If you can’t find it, ask another teacher.  Older students will know most of their schedule, but ask another teacher just to make sure, especially if the school does not use bells.
7.  Use what’s in the classroom.  I rely on whatever is in the classroom before I use my extras so I can save what I have for later, or I may not have to use it at all.  Look around.  You may find some clues as to what the class usually does with the teacher; if you see writing notebooks, or centers, or a word wall and other things, try to implement them into your makeshift lesson.  If you see textbooks around the room (or workbooks, classroom magazines, journals, etc) flip through and see if you can string together an assignment from them.  With textbooks, I like to use the supplemental pages that are generally at the end of the chapter.  (In math books, they are usually practice tests; in science, reading and social studies books, they are typically articles that tie-in to the chapter’s theme, but are not part of the chapter’s main content.)  This is because most teachers ignore those pages, so it’s likely that the class hasn’t already done them.
8. This last one is optional, but I don’t ever tell students when I’m assigning them work their teacher did not assign.  I don’t make them aware that I don’t have any lesson plans, or that I’m giving them something extra (although I guess it would be ok if it was something like a game).  Why?  I suppose it’s a power thing.  Older students may become defiant and ask, “Well, if Mrs. Applebaum didn’t assign it, then why should we have to do it?”  I want to avoid that conversation, so I don’t let it come up.   Whatever extra work I have, I hand it out and assign it with the same adeptness as I would from the teacher’s lesson plans, so students are none the wiser.  Occasionally, if you have a really good class, they may freely let you know that they are actually supposed to work on something specific (they have a spelling test that day, or they’re supposed to keep working on a history project, for example), and then you can adjust what you planned.

My Lifesavers series will give you a full description of each activity, including some helpful tips for executing and modifying it, as well as some potential challenges.  If you know of anymore, tell me about them and I’ll give you full credit!

People call quick classroom activities Lifesavers because it can feel like you’re drowning if you aren’t prepared.  Subbing is tough enough even when you have perfect lesson plans.  Keep a list of Lifesavers in your arsenal to help your unpredictable days run a bit smoother.  

-Veronica

Substitute Teaching: How to Work More Consistently

This post was initially going to be about what a person considering substitute teaching should know, but I think there is enough discussion about that all around the internet.  What you don’t see as often are specific substitute teaching tips that get right to the heart of our paychecks:  how to work more consistently.

Few jobs are as precarious as that of substitute teaching.  Essentially, we’re underpaid day laborers whose work depends entirely on a number of factors we can’t control.  Substitute teacher pay is hardly enough to make a living, and low pay is compounded by not working very much.  Holidays and breaks don’t offer any money, and with the economy the way it is, many people are turning to substituting, which creates more competition in each district.  Many districts are in such financial straights now that their laid off teachers have been injected into the substitute pool, which means that many subs will have their workload, and paychecks, dramatically decreased.

With that said, there are a few things we can all do to work as consistently as possible.  Even if all those these tips don’t apply to your situation, I think a few would help us out:

•      Research school districts.  Deciding where to work is a huge factor for substitutes.  When applying, do as much research as possible about surrounding districts and how consistently you would be able to work there.  Call the administration building and ask questions, such as how many teacher absences they have per year and if laid-off teachers have priority in the sub pool.  Go to the district website and see how many schools the district has.  Large districts mean more work opportunities, but more competition as well.  Working in multiple districts is a good idea, especially if you are not working in very large districts.
•      Place few limits on what you’re willing to do.  This is a big one, and there are several things to consider.  Most subs have a preference for particular grade levels.  If your workload has decreased, open up yourself to more opportunities by accepting assignments for grade levels you generally avoid.  This also applies to schools where you’ve had bad experiences, areas you’ve shunned (such as PE, music, or even paraprofessional jobs), and especially assignments placed the morning of a job.  Expand the boundaries of your comfort zone, and try to be as prepared as possible for any job.
•       Be an exceptional sub.  This is obvious, but probably the most important thing on this list.  Even being a “good” sub is not enough these days.  Go above and beyond what you normally do, even if you already have a great reputation as a sub.  What could you do to be even better?  Doing a great job on the jobs you have increases your chances of the same teacher requesting you again.
•   Network.  This is also important.  Be friendly to the secretary when you sign in, administrators and all staff members you meet.  Greet them with a smile and introduce yourself.  Eat and chat in the teacher’s lounge, which is a great place to get new jobs from other teachers.  Make others notice how great you are with students, such as when you lead a class down the hallway in a quiet, orderly fashion, or when students wave and greet you when you return to their schools.  This impresses other teachers!  They may keep you in mind and specifically request you for jobs, if they can.

I hope these tips are able to help at least a few subs out there.  This year, I’m looking forward to improving on a few of these fronts myself. ;-)

Note:  If last-minute assignments posted the morning of a job cause you trepidation (as they did for me!), fear not!  Coming soon is a list of Lifesavers that are hopefully a big help to substitutes who walk into a class and discover they have no lesson plans.

-Veronica

A Little Bit of Background...

Hi!  I just wanted to give a little bit of background info about myself, and my goals for this blog.

Who I Am:

As my bio states, I am a substitute teacher about to begin my third year in the classroom.  I am also working on my teacher certification.  Like many, I’ve been applying to different school districts for the last couple of years but, unfortunately, I’ve yet to get hired as a full-time teacher.

I haven’t given up hope, though!  I am genuinely excited to be in the classroom teaching everyday, so I know this is the career path for me.  I’m learning and growing each time I step into the classroom, and I’m convinced that it will pay off soon.

I suppose I should note that I intend to work in the elementary/middle school age in Reading and English Language Arts, and that tends to be my area of focus when I’m looking for teaching ideas.  I will, however, strive to be more inclusive on this blog.

Why I Started This Blog:

I chose to start a teaching blog because I wanted something with a lot of resources on it for people like me.  I love finding lesson plan ideas, stories about teaching, advice for teachers and education news.  I thought, “Why not blog about it?”

Inspired by Kauai Mark's relatable stories, I knew that substitutes everywhere have some of the most interesting work experiences of any career.  Every day is an adventure! 

You may be thinking, “Wait a minute.  Who does she think she is?  How can she give teacher advice when she’s just a sub with two years of experience?”

You’re right!  I’m no expert.  Not to sound incompetent, but I often make mistakes.  But I also approach substituting as a learning experience.  I reflect, take notes, and work actively to improve.  I receive tips from others and research effective teaching methods (such as  Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12 ).  I can see that I’m ten times better in the classroom now than I was on my first day.

The best thing about subbing, in my opinion, is that I get the chance to visit tons of classrooms and see what works and what doesn’t.  I can glean so much about how a teacher runs a classroom just by spending the day with the students.  By doing this every day, at least a couple of hundred times now, I learn how classrooms operate effectively and what problems hinder learning.  I get to grab ideas from many classrooms instead of just a few.  It’s made me a better substitute and, eventually, I think it will make me a great full-time teacher.

This blog is called “Substitutes, FTW!” because I try to substitute “for the win” each day.  Perhaps I can help other substitutes do that, too.  This site, however, is not just for subs.  It’s for any teachers and educators looking for tips, stories and ideas.

This isn’t a one-sided thing, either.  I’m here to learn, too!  Comment and tell me what you think, what you’ve experienced and any ideas you have.

I’m new at this, but I’ve tentatively decided on 5 different sections for this blog:

·      Top 5 Teaching Tips of the Week

This is a quick list compiled of different teaching resources.  This will include websites, ideas, helpful forum and blog posts, etc.

·      Ain’t Misbehavin’:  Classroom Management

This section is for what I find that’s a good example of what to do, or what NOT to do, in order to manage the classroom and behavior.

·      Made of Awesome:  Lesson Plan Ideas and Classroom Activities

Cool lesson plan ideas and classroom activities are my favorite things about teaching.  I think they make education so much more rewarding for both students and teachers, so I take my quest to find good ideas very seriously.  Whether it’s an emergency lesson plan, a quick learning-review game, a book that can be used for a lesson, or whatever… I’m on the hunt, and I’m going to share it with you all.  Please note, this section will NOT provide actual lesson plans.  I am not going to type up objectives and all the aspects included in a lesson plan.  It takes a lot of time, and I also think the specificity lesson plans require would inhibit flexibility.  These are lesson plan ideas, not entire lesson plans.  I will provide the basic idea and resources, and you can create your own complete lesson plan around it however you think would be the most beneficial for you and your students’ particular needs.

·      Education in the Media

This section will include mostly education news, but don’t be surprised if you also find a mention of films or TV shows dealing with this topic.

·      My Workday

This is where I detail my own day-to-day triumphs and defeats as a substitute.

In an effort to preserve anonymity, I use a pseudonym for this blog and I change some key details about my work experiences.  Nevertheless, 99% of what I will describe about my workdays is true.

I plan to update regularly.

The new school year is here!  I hope everyone is prepared and excited.

2010-2011, FTW!

-Veronica

Coming soon:

·      Thinking About Subbing?  Here’s What You Should Know

·      How To Make Emergency Lesson Plans

·      Lifesavers for When You Don’t Have Lesson Plans!

Substitutesftw… Going Live!

Welcome to my blog!  It’s a long time in the making.

The 2010-2011 school year is upon us, and I’m looking forward to it.  I hope this blog is both able to assist you as well as help me improve my teaching methods.

Updates are coming soon!

-Veronica