There are no lesson plans.
You’re in the room, the bell is in twelve minutes, and there’s nothing on the desk. No folder, no sticky note, no email.
Check three places before you conclude there’s nothing: the desk surface and top drawer, the sub folder in the front office, and the whiteboard. Then find the teacher next door and ask what this class is working on. That question takes ten seconds and answers most of it.
Why this happens
Absences aren’t planned. A teacher who wakes up sick at 5am is choosing between calling in and writing plans, and the system asks them to do both in the same twenty minutes. Some districts require plans on file; many don’t enforce it. This isn’t a signal about the teacher and it isn’t a signal about you. It’s the most common structural gap in the job, which is why the answer is a procedure rather than an improvisation.
What to do
- Check the three places. Ninety seconds, then stop looking.
- Ask the teacher next door what the class is working on — the unit name, or their most recent worksheet.
- Take attendance out loud and slowly. It buys time and it’s the one task nobody can tell you not to do.
- Tell the class the truth in one sentence, then give them the plan immediately. Truth without a plan invites negotiation.
- Run structure, not content: something to write, something to discuss, something to hand back. Hold the last five minutes for cleanup and one closing question.
If you’d rather not build it from scratch, subin’s Game Plan will give you a period structure for the grade and subject you’re covering.
Say this
K–2
“Ms. Rivera didn’t get to leave us a note today, so we’re making our own plan. First we’re going to…” One sentence, then straight into the activity. Don’t explain the system to six-year-olds.
3–5
“Your teacher was out today and didn’t leave plans. That happens. Here’s what we’re doing.” Students this age will tell you what they’re supposed to be working on. Take one or two offers, then close it. They’re being helpful, not testing you.
6–8
“There aren’t plans today. I’m not going to pretend there are. Here’s what we’re doing instead, and it counts the same.” Naming it directly removes the discovery, which is most of what they’re after.
9–12
If the class has real work outstanding, giving them the period for it is the honest move: “No plans were left. You have a work period — bring out whatever’s due this week.” Then circulate rather than sitting. If they don’t, run the structure instead. A silent room of seniors doing nothing is worse than a discussion that isn’t in the unit.
Where the line is
- Yours: what this class does for this period.
- The office’s: whether it’s okay to show a video, use the library, or move the class anywhere.
- The teacher’s: grades, whether today’s work counts, and the pace of the unit. Don’t promise any of it.
If that doesn’t work
If the room has nothing and the neighbor has nothing, the front office is the next call, not the last resort. “I don’t have plans for third period, is there anything on file?” is a normal question and they’ve heard it before. Ask early rather than at 10:40, and ask once.
In the note
No plans on the desk or in the folder. I ran a writing and discussion period and left the work on your desk.
From Before the bell in The Sub’s Handbook.
Written by a substitute teacher, for substitute teachers. This is what’s worked in real classrooms — not official guidance, and not a substitute for your school’s policies or your district’s training. When something feels beyond you, it probably is: call the office. They’d rather hear from you early than late.
Open subin, the app the handbook comes from. Free to use.
Dan McSpirit is an active guest teacher and the author of The Sub’s Handbook. He built subin for the job he was doing at the time. More of his work is at danmcspirit.com.