Free sub plans checklist for your sub folder

A sub day goes well or badly based on what is in one folder on your desk. This is the checklist I use to stock mine: a one-page printable you can pin inside your plan book, and the whole list is right here too, free to copy. Check things off as you go; the page remembers.

Download the printable checklist (PDF) One page, no sign-up.

Before anything else

• A one-page substitute note: the schedule, the routines, what to do when a student is stuck
• Seating chart with pronunciation notes for the tricky names
• Class roster with a column per day for attendance and turned-in work
• Two reliable student helpers, named

The work

• Five days of review-only student work, clipped by day
• Answer keys labeled by page
• An early finisher task for every day
• A no-printer backup activity

The logistics

• The real schedule, with pull-out times and specials
• Dismissal notes: buses, pickups, walkers
• Fire drill route and lockdown procedure
• Health notes the sub must know (allergies, medical plans)
• The teacher next door, named, for questions
• A report form for the sub to fill in at the end of the day

If the "five days of review-only work" line is the part your folder is missing, that is exactly what my Math Sub Plans bundle for grades 3 to 5 was built to be, and the math sub plans guide walks through the whole system.

Free emergency sub plans PDF (3rd-5th math)

If you teach 3rd, 4th or 5th grade, the Emergency Sub Binder Starter Kit is free on TPT. It is 14 pages: a sub note template, a checklist, and 3rd to 5th grade math pages. The math is for those three grades only. For Kindergarten to 2nd grade, use the checklist above and the grade packets on the math sub plans page.