Do you carry a bag full of supplies to each sub job? I carry a canvas tote full of stuff. 1. Stickers for the young kids 2. Brain Quest American History for older kids 3. District sub guides 4. A notebook to leave a note for the teacher (this is from experience. I had to pull paper from a printer tray once because I couldn't find writing paper.) 5. Pencils to reward extra good behavior 6. Sticky notes Yesterday I was subbing in a classroom where the teacher left out what I needed for the kids, but locked her desk and all the supply closests. I couldn't find a paperclip to attach my card to the note I left for her, so I guess I'll be adding paper clips. Do any of you bring candy? Its an issue in some schools around here. They're supposedly "non sugar" campuses, so I'm hesitant to bring that, although I'm sure it would work great as a reward.
Those are great supplies you carry with you to schools! I think food should not be used as a reward, as you do not know what kids are allergic to. In my opinion, I do not think food should be an incentive for kids to behave well. I would rather use stickers, pencils, or toys to motivate kids.
No, I've never carried a bag of stuff. At most, I bring a folder of busy work, such as maybe 20 copies of a word search or two, which is something they all know how to do on their own that can kill a good amount of time if for some reason, I'm caught w/ a good amt of extra time on my hands. Since I've always been in college while subbing, I bring more stuff for my own use during my breaks & lunch: A textbook & maybe some lecture notes to read over.
Whhere do you get stickers? And what kinds of pencils do you give out? Regular yellow ones? In my opinion, all these should be supplied to us.
I know you asked the other poster this, but I've seen those little stickers at office supply stores, such as OfficeMax, Staples, & Office Depot. Also Target & Walmart carries various kinds. And Michael's has a ton of different types. They all pretty much carry those fun pencils too w/ the designs on them. I get mine at a teacher supply store that's closeby.
currentsubber, I get the pencils at either the dollar store or Target. I only buy them if they're ten or more for a dollar. And I get the stickers at a local teacher supply. They're tiny--eraser sized--and there are something like 600 stickers in the package. I won't spend a lot of my money on this kind of stuff, especially becuase I make so little as a sub, but if I can make a day go smoother by spending a few bucks, I'll do it. Especially if the regular teacher doesn't have some sort of system in place that I can use.
When I subbed elementary, I always had stickers. The best are at Staples or probably Office Depot. I always carry extra pencils and I use a straight edge razor to cut up cheap erasers into smaller squares (erasers were very useful in elementary school - not so needed in secondary). For secondary school I always carry extra paper and pencils because that is the students' favorite excuse not to do the work. And, I always have hand wipes/baby wipes in my bag so I can wash off my hands when they feel grimy. Dry Erase Markers: I use my own all the time because the teacher's are often running low on ink. I mark mine with permanent ink so I can tell them apart from the teacher's. Chapstick
I always lock everything in my room, including (especially!) my desk. It's not that I think the subs will steal my fancy pens or something. :lol: It's that I don't trust some of my students to stay out of my stuff. Last year I had a box of Nutrigrain bars in my desk drawer, along with a box of fancy chocolates that a student gave me. When I returned from being absent one day, all of it was gone. A few of my students told me that one of my other students took it while the sub was at the front of the room. I absolutely blame the student for stealing (and dealt with that), but I was a little frustrated that the sub didn't notice that there was a student behind and in my desk. And my desk squeaks when you open it, so I can't believe that the sub didn't hear it! I know that subbing in a new classroom can be difficult....Factor in the facts that I teach at-risk high school students, my subject is usually completely foreign to most subs, and my classes have 40+ students....I can see how the sub might have been distracted. Even so, I want all my belongings there when I come back. Ergo, everything gets locked up. I do always try to make sure that I leave what I think the sub will need: lined notebook paper, sticky notes, some blank computer paper, pens, pencils, and a couple of dry erase markers.
I'm trying to think of stuff for a sub to bring to class, since that's the topic of this thread. :lol: I'm thinking about what a sub could do with my classes in the event that I failed to leave lesson plans (unlikely). Since I teach a foreign language, which is difficult to just 'wing' when you don't know it, it might be tricky. A sub could always ask students to journal for all or part of the period. Writing is never a waste of time. Maybe you want to bring a few good writing prompts appropriate for various grade levels? My students love to write about "Imagine that you...." situations--the more bizarre, the better. Imagine that you lived underwater instead of on land. Imagine that people walked on their hands instead of their feet. Imagine that you were principal for a day. The good thing about a writing activity is that you can make it as long or as short as you like. If you need it to be a 10-minute filler activity, you can make it a timed writing. If you need it to stretch out for an entire 85-minute block, you can have them draft, peer edit, proofread, etc. (I'm thinking about this activity for high schoolers. I don't teach elementary kids, so I don't know how it could be modified for them.)
Oh yes the writing prompts are great activities for any grade level, I think. There is nothing wrong with working with the students on improving their writing. This can help the teacher know where the students are at, and the teacher can read what the students have written. Hopefully, this can help advance the curriculum in the teacher's absence.
