It’s four o’clock in the morning, and I’m awake. Feverish, achy, and miserable. I want nothing more than to roll over and go back to sleep, but a nagging thought prevents this. Is it worth the effort and consequences to take a sick day? Am I better off dragging myself into my classroom than recuperating at home? I remember this inner turmoil well. And chances are, if you’re a teacher, you’ve experienced this dilemma too.
The aftermath of a day away from your classroom can be disheartening. Behaviour issues, unhappy students, more work to do than when you left—all because you dared to contract the flu! In 2022, after thirty years as an educator, I retired and decided to try my hand at substitute teaching. There have been great days: no major disruptions, work gets done, and I have fun with the kids. And then, there are dismal days: days we dread as teachers and are too often accepted as part of the job.
Because of my passion for the profession and the opportunity to see different classrooms, I decided to share the most effective practices I’ve seen as a substitute teacher that you can follow to make my guest teaching days start on the right foot, and for the most part, stay there. Hopefully, these strategies will ease your return to your classroom after an absence.
1. Provide pictures with names.
I’m usually given a seating plan, but having pictures to go with it is hugely impactful. A separate picture sheet can be printed, put in a plastic sleeve and updated as needed. (This is less time-consuming than adding the pictures directly to the seating plan, although some teachers do that.) In an environment where it’s necessary to set expectations early, the ability to walk to the front of the room (rather than squinting at a computer screen), eyeball the seating arrangement, and put names to faces quickly is tremendously helpful for starting the day on a positive note.
2. Provide the phonetic pronunciation of students’ names.
This minor addition to your class list reaps major rewards. Chronic mispronunciation (of names) can lead to feeling marginalized, not accepted or included, and undervalued and can be experienced as a microaggression. (National Library of Medicine, November 2022). Not a great start to the day for me or the student! Pronouncing names properly facilitates a culture of respect and allows those crucial first ten minutes of class to go smoothly and snicker-free.
3. Have a paper copy of your plans available.
In a 2021 Frontiers in Psychology article, Derakhshan states, “Recent research emphasizes that non-verbal immediacy behaviors, such as teacher movement and physical presence, create a sense of accountability while also fostering positive teacher-student relationships.” When I enter a classroom, I often know fewer than a handful of kids, so I cannot initially rely on the power of relationships to aid classroom management. We know the benefits of proximity, and paper plans allow me to move around the classroom and be near the students who need it. I print my own plans if I get them early enough, but if that’s not possible, sharing plans with someone in the school who can print them is helpful. Many teachers have a presentation clicker and a remote mouse, which are also great for movement within the classroom.
4. Have a contingency plan with a partner teacher.
One school where I work was chronically short of substitute teachers (STs). To address the problem, teachers made plans with a partner for the days they were going to be away. Students know in advance that if they’re struggling with an ST, they’ll be encouraged to work in the partner teacher’s room. They often have a relationship with the partner teacher and don’t mind working there, compared to the office, which many STs feel is their only option for support. I tell students I recognize that having a new person in the room can be unsettling, and if they think it’s too stressful, I can make other arrangements. In this school, the partner often sticks their head in and reminds us that their classroom is available for support. Rarely have I had to remove anyone or had anyone ask to leave. Knowing there is a safe and predetermined “out” seems to be enough to curb disruptive behaviour. It also means the homeroom teacher has fewer issues to deal with when they return.
5. Have an emergency binder.
Early in my career, a principal in the northern community where I worked insisted that teachers leave sub plans on their desks before leaving for Christmas holidays. (This was pre-internet!) We grumbled, but on the day before school restarted, a snowstorm shut down the only highway into town. Those who had travelled were unable to return on time. Our principal was vindicated, and local STs had plans to work with.
Successful emergency binders don’t need to be detailed. General review packages made early in the year, with some interchangeable worksheets or assignments, can be the difference between kids seeing the day as meaningful or a day off. Many sites offer grade-appropriate material (electronic and printable) for emergency plans and can be reused year after year. For elementary and junior high, a box with fun but focused materials— curriculum-based Bingos, read-aloud stories with activities, etc., are useful too. Gone, unfortunately, are the pre-Netflix days, when a movie was a novelty that kept kids enraptured for the afternoon!
Before retirement, my hope for my days away was not much more than a desire for no one to get hurt. This is important, but hardly a pedagogical state to aspire to! Now, after seeing these simple, proactive steps teachers employ to get the most out of days with STs, I realize I could have done more to create an environment conducive to learning when I was away. Nobody will have the relationship with your students that you do, but a few additions to your rainy-day plans can make the difference between a productive day and a wasted one for both you and your students.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patricia Whiting
During her thirty-five years as an educator, Patricia taught all grades from kindergarten to grade ten in northern BC and Alberta, before landing in Medicine Hat, where she currently resides. After shutting down full-time teaching in 2022, she has joined the ranks of substitute teachers and is enjoying all that it offers.
This article is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Spring 2026 issue.
