Reply To: Substitute plans help!

[nafmeadmin]

Go simple – games or videos. I’m not usually one to vote for mindless videos, but the reality is that at the end of the year kids – especially hormonal middle schoolers – are NOT looking for intellectually stimulating interactions!! Choose a couple music-related movies like Drumline or Mr. Holland’s Opus, Mad Hot Ballroom, School of Rock are all definitely appropriate for middle school. If you send in a video about composers they will probably not be as attentive or well behaved for the sub. If you have a multimedia projector in your classroom and are able to direct a sub in doing this, fabulous!

IF you’re like me and do not have such 21st Century luxuries, go for paper and pencil word puzzles.
Discovery Education has a free puzzle maker. http://www.discoveryeducation.com//free-puzzlemaker/index.cfm?campaign=flyout_teachers_puzzle
You enter vocabulary words they’ve learned earlier in the year and the website creates a puzzle for you! My favorite are Double Puzzles (letter scramble; one letter from each answer goes into a secret phrase) and Cris Cross (Crossword). The other ones either don’t use enough vocab or are just confusing (I hate math haha). Good luck!!