Sub Plan Template: A Simple Format You Can Reuse

A sub plan template should save you time.

If filling it out takes almost as long as writing plans from scratch, it is not doing much for you.

The easiest system is to separate the information that rarely changes from the information that changes every absence. Your schedule, basic procedures, room information, and help contacts can stay in the template. The lesson itself gets replaced.

A simple sub plan template you can copy

Copy the structure below into a Google Doc, Word document, or whatever system your school uses.

Teacher and day information

Teacher:
Date:
Grade or subject:
Room:
Best school contact for help:

Schedule

List the day in order. Include bell times, specials, lunch, recess, planning periods, intervention blocks, assemblies, or anything else that changes what the substitute needs to do.

Attendance

Explain exactly how attendance is taken and what to do if the normal electronic system is unavailable.

Arrival routine

What should students do when they enter? Where do they sit? What should already be on the board or on their desks?

Lesson or activity

Goal: One sentence describing what students are practicing or completing.

Materials: Name the material and say exactly where it is.

Directions:

What the substitute says or does first.
What students do next.
How long the work should take.
What students do when they finish.
What gets collected or submitted.

Early finishers

Leave one backup task students already understand. Do not make the substitute invent one.

Classroom routines that matter today

Bathroom or hallway procedure
Device expectations
Partner or group-work expectations
How students get materials
What to do if behavior becomes a problem

Dismissal

Explain what needs to happen before students leave and any school-specific dismissal procedure the substitute needs to follow.

End-of-day note

Ask the substitute to leave a short note about what was completed, where each class stopped, and any issue you genuinely need to know about when you return.

Keep the permanent information in the template

The big time saver is not the blank form. It is keeping the stable information filled in.

If your bell schedule, bathroom routine, neighboring teacher, room number, dismissal process, and basic expectations are the same every time, leave them there. On the next absence, replace the date and lesson.

That is much faster than waking up sick and trying to remember every procedure your classroom has.

Do not make the template too pretty to use

Teachers can lose a surprising amount of time formatting documents that only need to be readable.

A substitute does not care whether the heading has a cute border. They care whether they can find the bell schedule while students are coming through the door.

Use clear headings, enough white space, and bold text for anything that has to be noticed quickly.

Write locations like a person who has never been in your room

“Copies are where they always are” means nothing to a substitute.

“Copies are in the blue tray on the table beside the classroom door” works.

“Use the review packet” is vague.

“The review packet is clipped by period on the front table. Students write directly on it and place it in the black tray when finished” is usable.

Use a separate section for day-specific changes

Anything unusual should be near the top.

If there is a fire drill, shortened schedule, assembly, testing block, field trip, new seating arrangement, or special dismissal change, do not bury it at the bottom of the plan.

Do not overload the student information section

You may need to tell the substitute about a student-specific safety or support need. You may also be required to provide certain information through an approved school system.

Follow your school or district procedure. Do not use the template as a place to write informal labels, medical details, disability information, or behavior histories simply because they might be useful.

Federal privacy rules require schools to limit access to protected education records to people with a legitimate educational interest. The U.S. Department of Education explains that schools must use reasonable methods to control that access. See its FERPA guidance.

Pair the template with a real backup plan

A template tells the substitute how the day works. It does not automatically give students something useful to do.

For unplanned absences, keep a few activities that can run without you. See Emergency Sub Plans for ideas about building that backup.

If you need help writing the lesson portion, read How to Write Sub Plans a Substitute Can Actually Follow.

Before you call the template finished

Hand it the stranger test.

Could a substitute who has never been in your room answer these questions quickly?

Where am I supposed to be right now?
What are students supposed to be doing?
Where are the materials?
What happens if they finish early?
Who do I call if I need help?
What happens at dismissal?

If the answers are easy to find, the template is doing its job.

For the full set of guides, visit Sub Plans for Teachers.