How to stock your Teaching Toolbox

Just because you may be traveling to a different school or classroom every day that you are assigned a job, doesn’t mean that you can’t be prepared with a few tricks up your sleeve. Of course, it’s much easier when there are lesson plans left in the classroom, but that is not always the case. And as a sub, you still must be able to keep the class focused and on task. No matter what grade level or subject for which you are the guest teacher, it is always good to have a range of teaching activities and fillers for students to do when there are no plans or students finish early. Check out what our good friends over at STEDI have for activities to print out and keep in your teaching toolbox. They are a great place to start looking when you need ideas for classroom activities.

In addition to having activities on hand, should you need them, always keep your toolbox stocked with supplies that you may need. Bring a selection or sharpened pencils (graphite and colored), ball point pens (in blue, black and red), dry erase markers and make sure they all have your name on them so that you are sure to get them back if they are loaned out to students. Tape, scissors and glue are useful to have on hand. However, you may want to avoid loaning these things out as a safety precaution, especially in elementary classrooms. Post-its, rulers and calculators always come in handy, as well.

Some subs find it makes their day and the students’ day much smoother when the students are given name tags. Keeping some blank name tags in your toolbox wouldn’t hurt either.

You should always have blank copies of our ‘Welcome Back’ letter so that you can let the teacher know how the day went and where you left off. These can be found when you log into your Teachers on Reserve profile.

Last but not least, unless you’ve subbed for a physical education class on a full football field with 30 students, you’ll never fully appreciate the benefits of your own whistle.

Oh yeah! And don’t forget your TOR badge! It serves as your hall pass and identifies you to everyone you encounter on campus. So stock up that Toolbox and happy teaching! Follow us on Twitter or ‘like’ us on Facebook to tell us what else YOU like to keep in your Teaching Toolbox!

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