All of us teachers have lived to tell this tale:
"Once upon a time there lived a beautiful teacher who loved her job. She spent countless hours in and out of the classroom developing curriculum, creating assignments, grading papers and trying to best help her students. One day this wonderful teacher got sick and didn't feel well. She knew she would only get better if she took the day off. The teacher sat and worried for countless hours, debating what to do. Should she take the day off and take care of herself? She knows that taking the day off would be best for her, but how dare she put herself first? "Let's face it" she thought, "taking the day off will be more work then going to work." She knew she would have to stay up late, creating substitute plans that would keep her students busy enough to allow her colleague to maintain control over the classroom and engage the students enough in which they actually learn something while she's gone. She knew trying to create such a substitute plans would take countless hours and she would just make herself more sick trying to stay up to accomplish such a goal. "I'll just give them a study hall!" She thought to herself! "What a great idea!" She thought. The students would be able to get work done for other classes and would be quiet enough that they wouldn't drive the substitute crazy...... Then the images starting coming to her... Restless students asking to go to the bathroom or to "get something from their locker". Students watching YouTube Videos in the back of the room, or students starting conversations with each other from across the room... The noise slowly gets louder and louder and then... Chaos.. With that image the teacher knew that her plan wouldn't work. This is when she starts questioning her career. "Why couldn't I have chosen a job where I can just call out sick and that's it! A job where I wouldn't have to create substitute plans when I don't feel well. A job where I wouldn't be getting text messages from colleagues asking me questions concerning my my students or my substitute plans!" She knew there was only one option that would solve all these options... Going to work. And so she did. This beautiful and passionate teacher went to bed early, woke up feeling worse that the night before, but put herself together and went to work. This sickness lasted weeks instead of going away because this wonderful teacher never took that day off to help herself feel better, because let's face it, that was too much work. This teacher lived Sickly Ever After... The End!"
Let' face it, we've all been there. Too sick to go to work, yet too sick to put together good substitute plans to take the day off. It becomes an endless cycle of never being able to take care of yourself. That is what it was like for me for my first years until I made one of the best teaching decisions I've ever made: creating permanent substitute plans. I won't lie and say it didn't take a lot of my energy trying to think of something that would work. How do you create substitute plans that will work at a moments notice that are not off topic? As a history teacher this was a challenge to come up with, but eventually I solved the mystery and I came up with my
World History History Substitute Plans and my
United States History Substitute Plans. I keep both of these plans behind my desk in a folder holder labeled "Emergency Substitute Plans." My assistant principal knows that if I call in sick he should go to these folders and he will find the plans for my different history classes. What's wonderful is that if I am too sick to give him a specific plan from it to use he can choose at random and it will still be related to my content. If I feel well enough I can choose something specific for him to give to my substitute for my students to work on.
Included in both of these plans is 11 different activities I can choose from including many different essay options, geography activities and crossword puzzles, all related to history! In the plan is even a letter to my substitute explaining the different activities. The best part is that I don't have to worry! I know that if I am out, even for multiple days, my students are in good hands with activities that I created that are content focused. I know that the substitute will not face a challenge keeping my students focused because they will be working for the whole class period, which means I won't be getting text messages from my colleagues. The cherry on top of all of it is: I can sleep away my sick day, worry free, and actually take care of myself. As a teacher that is rare, but a true blessing. Never again will I leave myself without Emergency Lesson Plans in my classroom. I've lived that tale one too many times and as a historian I have know one thing to be true: Learn from history so you never have to repeat it!
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Apple Graphic by The Hazel Owl @ http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Hazel-Owl
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