How to Create Emergency
​Lesson Plans that are Effective

Emergency sub plans. Everyone needs them.  But if you’re like me, you don’t exactly like having to put them together.  Or worse, actually having to use them.

​Here’s what I’ve discovered about emergency plans.  They are pretty general, probably don’t fit with what you are currently teaching, and honestly, probably a bit boring.  Personally, I feel like they are a waste of student time.

Are Your Emergency Lesson Plans Effective?
​If you’re like me, you value every minute of your classroom time with kids.  I want to make every minute count.  Just like I want to make every activity count and have a purpose.
​
I’m definitely well known in my school for stellar attendance.  Last year, the only time I needed a substitute was to attend a training at the district office.

But let’s face it – emergencies happen.  To everyone.  At any time.  I also realized, that sometimes these emergencies happen when you’re actually teaching.

What happens when the technology doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to?

What do you do when you suddenly get called from your room and there’s no way someone can do the elaborate lesson you planned?

What happens when all the laptops are dead because the person who used them before you didn’t plug them in last night?

Or what about when you are just having one of those days and you don’t have the energy to put into that fancy lesson?

So here’s my answer – make emergency plans that are meaningful.
How do you do that?
​
I did a lot of thinking on this.  My decision was to put together an emergency plan for each unit that I teach.
​
As a secondary teacher, this totally works for me.  I teach 8 units in a school year.  Therefore, I put together 8 folders of emergency plans.
Master the 6th-grade transition with the exact systems
​I use to build independent scholars.
Right now I am teaching about ancient Mesopotamia.  What happens when one of these emergencies comes up?  I pull out my Mesopotamia emergency plan and give it to the kids.  It’s a relief knowing that what they are doing is meaningful, I am not wasting their time, and they are still learning the desired content.

When I made these emergency plan folders, I pulled from resources that I didn’t already have written into my unit plan.  The material would be considered supplemental to my regular lesson plans.
Inside the folder, in addition to one class set of 30 copies, I keep a master copy of the assignment in a labeled plastic sleeve. There is an answer key in a second plastic sleeve for easy reference.  So if the plans will be used by a sub, they would have to make more copies.  But at least it would get them started for the first class.  
Plus, I couldn’t justify keeping 130 copies around “just in case” and besides, it’s not like the folders would hold that many anyways!

I also tend to color code my units, for quick reference.  So naturally, I color coded my emergency plan folders too.

​So now it’s part of my routine. When I start a new unit, I pull out my emergency plan folder for that unit and keep it with my substitute binder – that contains my class procedures, rosters, seating charts, etc.

What do you think? How do you handle Emergency Sub Plans?


​Ready to keep streamlining your classroom systems? Let’s keep that 'organized teacher' energy alive! Here are three more strategic reads to help you reclaim your time, simplify your routines, and finally break your morning date with the copier.

Pin For Later...

Teaching with Textbooks | Teach Like Midgley

​I’m Hillary Midgley, and I help teachers move from classroom chaos to streamlined success with no-frills systems that make managing student work easy. New here? Start with the Manage Student Work ebook.
*Teach Like Midgley contains affiliate links with Amazon. See full disclosures.