If your district’s like mine, we’re both trapped right now in the long March toward spring break. Some days, we just need to catch our breath and Vanessa, my science department friend over at Biology Roots, has put together eight tips to keep in mind if you’re in need of a sub day. (#7 is my favorite!)
Check out her latest post, which includes links for print-and-go resources not only for us, but also for our history, health, and science friends. I’m honored that my “10 Supreme Court Cases Every Teen Should Know” lesson, a good match for both ELA and social studies classes, made her short list. (If you don’t already have a copy, why are you waiting? It’s free and the kids love it!)
Hope you’re set for a great week. Teach on, everyone.
Thanks for reassuring us that it is, indeed, okay to catch our breath and take a sick (and tired) day once in a while. I am fortunate to work with amazing people in our department, and we always have each others’ backs. We can email our lesson plans to each other, and we even go in to “tidy up” each others’ desks when someone is absent. We also have binders complete with sub plans, worksheets, and activities that we can grab and use for the day. We spent a few days after school to work together to create plans and photocopy worksheets for those binders. It’s nice to have them as a “safety net” if we are too sick to do any kind of preparation for the sub.
I also have lots of your materials ready to go in my classroom binder. Thanks for having my back, Laura! 🙂
Oh, I like the “sick (and tired) day” label, Michelle. Clever! I, too, just photocopied a fresh set of materials for my sub folder last week, so it looks like we’re both good to go. Have a great Tuesday!
So true, particularly during the long month of March. Luckily, many of us got a “bonus day” today – being in the Northeast, and specifically in NYS, it’s a snow day! So after a morning out and about (look, I’m not far from Buffalo and woke up to just a few inches of snow on the ground, which is a whole lot of nothing for us 😉 I’m using my afternoon to fine tune the rest of my teaching week and grade a few papers. The great thing about doing so on a day like today is there’s no pressure, and I’m actually getting more accomplished in a shorter amount of time!
Thanks, as always, for your encouraging posts and exceptional materials! 🙂
Always my pleasure, Heather. Since I moved from California to Idaho this year, January marked the first time EVER that I got to enjoy some snow days in my 19 years of teaching. It was ah-mazing! My school district ended up eating President’s Day to make up for one of the lost days, but I don’t care. It was so great to stay in those few days, reading and eating too many pancakes. Enjoy today’s unexpected deep breath of air. Jealous! 🙂
Thank you for the reminder and the fantastic lesson, which my sub can use all day with my 8th, 10th and 12th graders (bonus!!). I was scrambling to put together sub plans yesterday when I realized I was getting the flu. Already, I was feeling miserable enough that I wished I still had an emergency plan in reserve so that I wouldn’t have to expend more energy in coming up with ideas. It turns out, our district canceled school for today and tomorrow due to widespread illness. I was so relieved!
Your resources are the best on TpT. Sometimes when I’m reviewing products from other sellers, I just want to say, “Look at Laura’s resources to get an idea of the quality, please!”
A school-wide sick day, Heather?!! Now that’s a first for me. Glad you had the chance to get some R&R. And thanks for your kind words, which I’ll admit made me blush a little. I do like building super-awesome lesson materials that make everyone’s life a little easier. Now, go get some more rest. 🙂