Advance Preparation for a Substitute Is a Must

Dear Teacher Friends,

It's finally the end of a long and stressful school year. You deserve a restful and fun vacation. This tip is one that will help make your next school year get off to a great start. Preparing this now, before you need it, will be so reassuring.

One of the biggest worries for teachers is what to do if you have an unexpected need to be absent. Sometimes you just don't feel like writing out a lesson plan that incorporates the lessons you have been working on in class. At other times, during a family crisis, you don't have time to think about a lesson plan at all. You have to pack, or go to the hospital, or rush in to help a family member who needs you. 

At such times, I always relied on a folder that I kept in the drawer of my desk. 

I would call a teacher friend at my school and ask them to get the folder out of my drawer and put it on my desktop. In addition to the lessons I had prepared, the folder contained my schedule, my seating charts, notes about my class rules, information about the teachers' lunchroom and break room, fire drill information, and any other helpful information I thought a substitute might need.

My go-to lesson was a short story that students would read in class and worksheets they would use to analyze the story. In the folder, I included printed copies of the story and the worksheets. You will find that lesson here.

If I had to be absent for more than one day, I had my teacher friend pull out a second folder in which I had placed a different lesson that could take up to a week to complete. You will find that FREE lesson here.

If you prefer lessons for distance learning, I have many resources that you could use. My Google Drive resources are here, and my BOOM Cards are here.

I learned that if you take the time to prepare these two folders before you need them, they can be a lifesaver later on. 

Take a look at all of the fantastic lessons you could use as substitute plans that were written by teachers who write for TeachersPayTeachers.com. These lessons are classroom-tested and ready to print and use. Why not download them and get your folders ready? Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. I hope you have a fun and restful summer break.

Here are some interesting blog posts my teacher friends in The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative wrote. 

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Tips for Sequencing When Reading and Writing

One good thing about using a computer when you're writing is that you can cut and paste sentences and paragraphs to move them to different locations in your manuscripts. 

Even though a writer may have outlined the plot of the story, the sequence of events can rearrange themselves when you least expect it. That usually happens to me when one of my characters takes over the novel and leads me down a path I did not expect to follow.

I have found that a stack of 3x5 cards comes in handy when I am writing fiction. I name the day and time that the action occurs at the top of the card and write a sentence describing the key action that occurs in each scene. 

Later, after I am well into the novel, if I need to rearrange the sequence of events, I can do so by shuffling the cards into the proper order. When I am sure that I have the sequence exactly as I want it to be, I can begin to cut and paste on the computer and move chapters or scenes around without the risk of becoming confused.

If your students need help with sequencing when they read or write, have them use 3x5 cards as an easy way to arrange the order of events. I found this method especially helpful while students are reading difficult material. 

While reading fiction, they could write the plot points on cards and then arrange them in order to see the exposition and rising action, and more easily determine the climax, the falling action, and the denouement.

When reading nonfiction, students could begin with the author and the title on the first 3x5 card. Then on separate cards, they can write the chapter titles and notes on the content of that chapter. Let them find a direct quotation in each chapter that they might choose to use later in a speech or report.

In my creative writing classes, I had students keep a stack of cards beside them while they were writing. Here's a FREE lesson that would help students when they are doing narrative writing. Click here to grab it.

Students may enjoy another creative writing lesson with which they'll have fun choosing a scenario to plot a mystery story. Click here to read the description in my store.

I spent the summer months creating new distance learning lessons and updating the Middle School and Elementary and ESL editions of Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. Now, they can be used in GOOGLE Drive™. I finished just in time for the back to school shopping.

Whether you are in the classroom or teaching virtually, I know that you will be as awesome as ever because that's just what teachers are. Stay safe and well this year.

Thanks for reading,

  Charlene

Please read some great blog posts from my friends in  The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.

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Teachers Helping Teachers with Distance Learning

In this stressful time, it is gratifying to know that many of the teacher-authors for TeachersPayTeachers.com are trying to do whatever they can to help teachers adjust to distance learning. Teachers who write for TpT are uploading quality resources daily that are helpful and easy to use. Many of the resources are FREE and most are low cost. You will find resources that will make your job easier and make distance learning successful for your students. I am homeschooling my grandson, and I will be doing it while he is at his house, and I am at mine. It will be different, but we will make it work. He's a great kid! We will be using Google Drive resources and BOOM cards. I am creating new ones whenever he needs to review a concept we have studied. He loves the instant feedback he gets from BOOM cards, and I love that they are self-grading. You can use Boom Cards with an unlimited number of students by using the Fast Play option, which is available in all Boom memberships, including the free one. If you want/need to track the progress of more than 5 students, then you'd have to have a paid BOOM membership. Right now, BOOM is giving teachers their Ultimate membership free through June 2020 because of COVID. Here's the link: https://wow.boomlearning.com/covid. Here are links to some of my resources that will work for distance learning. Whether you use these resources with your own children or the children in your virtual classroom, I hope you will find something useful. Free resources on TpT +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Free Simple Steps to Sentence Sense Videos on YouTube Step 1: Prepositional Phrases Step 2: The Verb Step 3: the Subject Step 4A: Action Verb Complements Step 4L: Linking Verb Complements Step 5: Modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) Step 6: Phrases  Step 7: Clauses Step 8: Classifying Sentences +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Resources under $5 Google Drive Digital Resources on TpT Digital BOOM Cards Link to My Store ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I also send out a newsletter with tips and freebies. If you would like to subscribe, click here and receive a free lesson. Thanks for reading. I know we are experiencing frightening times, but I also know that we will make it through this and be stronger and wiser. If I can help you with any lessons, you can send me an email at charlenetess@yahoo.com. Best wishes, Here are some helpful blog posts from some of my teacher friends. You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter