Lesson Plans

Today I had a very nice 2nd grade classroom, except of course one student who was constantly going out of the way for attention. All together a good group! The only thing that gave me frustration was the lesson plans themselves, hand written and on binder paper!

As a substitute teacher I find lesson plans on binder paper completely unacceptable! There have been times where I couldn't read what the teacher had written because of their handwriting. All classrooms in the district that I work in have computers in them. Most teachers are issued their own laptop to use for lesson planning. So I ask, why do they hand write plans? One thought is out of laziness, do they simply not take the time out to type of some lesson plans? Most teachers have a template on their computer for substitute lesson plans and just alter it accordingly. Teachers need to get with the times and use technology that is there!

When writing lesson plans teachers need to make sure to add in details, like how they usually teach lessons, that way a sub has a place to start. Frequently I have to ask the students the procedures of the class since the teacher doesn't have them included. What I would love most to see included in lessons plans would be a seating chart. Yes the teachers know their students names but as a sub going to a different class everyday can be challenging. Knowing students names give you power. Most of the time for upper grades I make a quick seating chart before the students come in, sometimes there are names on the desks, other times I have even snooped in desks to find a paper with their name on it. For primaries since they aren't at desks too often I make name tags out of masking tape. Yes I used to actually buy name tags, but they are not very sticky and would fall off, masking tape works best. Sometimes teachers actually leave name tags that they have for the students and that I must say is fabulous. I guess most teachers don't realize these things because they have never been a sub before. I can't wait until I have my own classroom because I will provide awesome plans and support for my substitutes!