Reading and ELA Sub Plans for the Literacy Block

Math is usually the first thing a teacher plans for a sick day. The reading block is right behind it, and it is harder to hand over: a substitute cannot run a guided reading group they have never seen. What they can run is a good passage, honest questions, and a key that shows where each answer comes from.

These packets are one week of that per grade, Kindergarten through 5th grade, built on the same skeleton as the math sub plans, so one folder covers both blocks.

What the substitute gets

• A Note for the Substitute: the reading block minute by minute, what to say when a student is stuck, and where the keys are.
• Five full days, four pages each: an original passage, comprehension questions (eight in 3rd to 5th, six in 2nd, five in 1st, four listening questions in Kindergarten), a vocabulary and grammar page, and a writing or draw-and-write page.
• A sixth spare day, for when one day out becomes two.
• If You Cannot Print: reading and language with a whiteboard, 20 to 25 minutes depending on the grade.
• Answer keys that name their page and cite the paragraph for every comprehension answer.

You get back a numbered class roster with a column for each day and a What Happened Today page filled in by the substitute. Nothing is dated, so the packet can sit in the folder all year.

3rd grade ELA sub plans

The 3rd Grade Reading Sub Plans are 35 pages for $6.95: five days of 3rd grade reading on original passages, with a spare day, a no-printer backup, and keys that cite the paragraph.

If you teach every subject, the 3rd grade Math and Reading bundle puts this week and the math week together: 71 pages for $9.95, against $13.90 bought separately. The math week on its own is on the 3rd grade math sub plans page.

The 3rd grade Week 2 is 35 pages for $6.95: six new 3rd grade passages, none repeated from Week 1, with eight questions, a vocabulary and grammar page and a writing response each day. Both reading weeks, both math weeks and the Editable Sub Binder come together in the 3rd Grade Sub Plans bundle, 183 pages for $24.95.

4th grade ELA sub plans

The 4th Grade Reading Sub Plans are 35 pages for $6.95: five days of 4th grade reading built on evidence questions, fiction and nonfiction alternating, keys that cite the paragraph.

The 4th grade Math and Reading bundle covers both blocks for $9.95 (72 pages), against $13.90 bought separately. For the math block alone, see the 4th grade math sub plans.

The 4th grade Week 2 is 35 pages for $6.95: six new 4th grade passages, none repeated from Week 1, from glaciers to a spelling bee, with keys that cite the paragraph for every answer. Both reading weeks, both math weeks and the Editable Sub Binder come together in the 4th Grade Sub Plans bundle, 185 pages for $24.95.

5th grade ELA sub plans and emergency sub plans

The 5th Grade Reading Sub Plans are 35 pages for $6.95: five days of 5th grade reading on original passages, with vocabulary, grammar, and a writing response each day. Like every grade, the week comes with a spare day and the If You Cannot Print page, so it works as the emergency plan in the folder.

The 5th grade Week 2 is 35 pages for $6.95: a second week of 5th grade reading on six new original passages, none repeated from Week 1, for when one week out turns into two. Keep Week 1 on top of the folder and Week 2 behind it.

The 5th grade Math and Reading bundle pairs the first reading week with a math week for $9.95 (72 pages), against $13.90 bought separately. The math side has its own page at 5th grade math sub plans.

The 3rd-5th reading sub plans bundle (105 pages)

For a team that needs 3rd 4th 5th grade ELA sub plans, or a teacher who moves between those grades, the 3rd 4th 5th Grade Reading Sub Plans bundle carries the three one-week packets for $14.95, against $20.85 bought separately. The Week 2 packets for 3rd, 4th and 5th grade are sold on their own.

K-2 reading sub plans

Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade each get their own week, built for children who are still learning to read. In Kindergarten and 1st grade the substitute reads the passage aloud first, and the number of questions drops with the grade.

• Kindergarten Reading Sub Plans (34 pages, $6.95): Five days of original read-aloud stories for Kindergarten: the substitute reads each story and every question aloud, and the class listens, circles, traces, and draws.
• 1st Grade Reading Sub Plans (35 pages, $6.95): Five days of short original passages for 1st grade in large print, read aloud once by the substitute and then reread by the class, with keys that cite the paragraph.
• 2nd Grade Reading Sub Plans (35 pages, $6.95): Five days of original 2nd grade passages, fiction and nonfiction alternating, with questions, a vocabulary and grammar page, a writing response, and keys that cite the paragraph.

Each of the three also has a Week 2 with six new stories or passages, none repeated from Week 1, for an absence that runs past five days:

• Kindergarten Reading Sub Plans Week 2 (35 pages, $6.95): Six new read-aloud stories for Kindergarten, none repeating a Week 1 story or topic, read aloud by the substitute while the class listens, circles, traces and draws.
• 1st Grade Reading Sub Plans Week 2 (35 pages, $6.95): Six new large-print passages for 1st grade, none repeated from Week 1, with questions, vocabulary, grammar and a draw-and-write page each day.
• 2nd Grade Reading Sub Plans Week 2 (35 pages, $6.95): Six new 2nd grade passages, none repeated from Week 1, with six questions, a vocabulary and grammar page, and a writing prompt that asks for details from the text.

The K-2 reading sub plans bundle carries the three Week 1 packets, 104 pages, for $14.95, against $20.85 bought separately. For one grade, both weeks of reading come with both weeks of math and the Editable Sub Binder in the Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade Sub Plans bundles, $24.95 each.

For the math block on the same day, the math sub plans cover Kindergarten through 5th grade with the same structure.