The Substitute Teacher's Report

Wrapping it Up

Submitting a report of what happened in the classroom is very important. It may very well distinguish you from other substitute teachers. Once thing that frustrates teachers is returning to their classroom and not knowing where to pick up where the substitute teacher left off. Students will more often than not misrepresent what occurred. If you leave a detailed report of what happened, it clears up any questions or misconceptions that teacher could have about what you did.

I usually like to collect all of the student work in one pile with a detailed report on top. If the teacher uses bins to collect student work, I go through the bin and organize the work in reverse date order. I separate the student work in two categories, complete and incomplete. If I have the students do work on the computer, I include the name of the doc file in the report. Once I have sorted through the student work, and leave the teacher's desk the way I found it (or better).

The Sub Report

I start with a check list of the basics: attendance taken, lesson plans followed, work collected, work completed. Then I write a brief narrative of the day's activities. If I included an activity that is not in the lesson plan, I make a note of it. Any student behavior of concern, or exemplary students are also noted. I have emailed teachers on occasion if I have additional information to send. For example, once promised a class I would give their teacher a Class Rubric Score for small group work. I did this at home and emailed to it to the teacher. The teacher was happy to receive this formative assessment. Teachers appreciate grades and/or assessments of any kind because it is such a time consuming process.

Remember to wrap up your day with a report:
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