Now that I am substituting to help pay to get my family to Disney World, I've decided to start making activities substitute teachers can use to make their days go a little bit smoother. As a previous teacher, it was always such a relief when you had a substitute who was a self starter. Explaining how to get through the day with a class full of kids, especially kindergartners, is a difficult class. Having a substitute teacher who rolls with it and throws a little fun in there as well is always a great find.
Earlier this week I filled in for a first grade teacher. Her mother had died the previous week and she had been out several days before I had even got there. It wasn't at my previous school, but another one in the district. I thought "Psh, first grade. I got this." I was so wrong. These students were defineitly a challenge. They didn't want to listen to me, do what I said to do, work when I said to work. Thankfully, my Substitute Creacher lesson I made held their attention. At least for an hour anyway.Here is a little bit abou tmy lesson. If you are a substitute teacher, and are subbing for elementary grades, this is a great activity to use. Even better if it is around Halloween, as the story takes place around that time. If you are a teacher and have a Sub Tub, this is a great activity to stick in there. It can be done over and over again, so you won't need to worry about refreshing it, only the copies of the worksheet. I hope you enjoy it and can use it in your (temporary) classroom!
This lesson goes with the book "Substitute Creacher" by Chris Gail. I bought mine through Scholastic when I was teaching, but you can also grab it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is about Mr. Creacher, a substitute living out his lifelong curse being a Substitute Creacher after a Knome put a spell on him after seeing him being mean to other kids when he was a boy.
Read the book with your students. It tells stories of different children who acted up in class when Mr. Creacher was there and their unfortunate endings. For example, one student thought it would be funny to bring in a fish to class while a substitute was there. Turns out, it actually was a shark and it ate through a bunch of stuff! The kids love that page!
After reading the story, I tell students (younger ones, at least) that we are doing this activity in two steps. The first step is to make a list of describing words about your substitute teacher. Now, this isn't for the faint of heart. I got mostly beautiful's, pretty's, funny, but a little boy did throw in mean. I just rolled with it. I wrote the list, of about ten words, on the board. Then I gave the instruction for Step 1: Pick one of the describing words and write it on the first line. Then, draw a picture. You can draw a picture of me or draw a picture of Mr. Creacher. Below are some examples:
Takes as much time as you can on this. The students really like to get creative on this part. When they are all finished with Step 1, I call them back to the carpet (or grab their attention) to begin Step 2. For Step 2, I write their teacher's name on the board, at the top, in the center. Under that, we make a list of places where we think their teacher has gone. Home, LegoLand, Splashtown... all legitimate places. One student said Vacation and I thought, "I'm sure she wished she was there!" Once you write this list, giving them several places to choose from, give them instructions for Step 2: At the bottom of the page, on the first line, write your teacher's name. On the second line, at the bottom of the page, write where you think your teacher went. Below are a few examples:
I leave the students' papers on the teacher's desk at the end of the day, saying that we had a little too much fun when she/ he was gone, but the students are glad you are back! To grab a copy of the worksheet that goes with this activity, visit my store. Don't have a TpT account? You can also download it here.
