Emergency sub plans are the lessons and instructions a substitute can follow when you cannot write fresh plans: a sudden illness, a family emergency, a car that will not start. They live in a folder that is already built, so your class still has a clear day even if you never get the chance to explain it.
This guide is written for middle and high school teachers (grades 6-12). It covers what to put in the packet, how to keep it ready, and how to fill the lesson slot when you do not have time to write one.
What emergency sub plans should include
- A one-page overview. Your name, room number, school phone and the name of a neighboring teacher who can answer questions.
- The daily schedule. Bell times, passing periods, lunch, duty, and where each class meets.
- Attendance and dismissal steps. Say exactly how attendance is taken and how students leave, in the order they happen.
- Seating charts. A current chart for each class, or a note that students sit anywhere.
- Behavior routines. How you get attention, how students ask to leave the room, and what to do with a student who will not cooperate.
- Safety information. Where the emergency procedures are posted, plus any medical or accommodation notes your school allows you to share with a sub.
- The lessons. One complete lesson per class period, ready to hand out.
Ask your office whether your school has its own emergency plan requirements. Some schools provide a required form or a location where the packet must be stored.
Make the lesson stand alone
The lesson is where most emergency plans fail. A substitute may not know your subject, your unit, or your students, so the work should not depend on any of that.
- Review, not new content. Choose work students can do from skills they already have.
- No technology required. Wi-Fi goes down, logins fail, and a sub may not have access to your accounts.
- Printed and counted. Keep extra copies in the folder so the sub is not hunting for a copier.
- An answer key. Put it in the packet, clearly marked, so the sub can answer questions with confidence.
- A built-in finish. Add an early-finisher task such as a short writing prompt or a puzzle.
Where to keep them
Plans no one can find do not help. Keep a paper copy in a labeled folder where the office or a neighbor knows to look, and a digital copy you can send from your phone. Tell a colleague and your department lead where both are.
Review them twice a year
Check the packet at the start of each semester. Update schedules, seating, and phone numbers, and replace any lesson that no longer matches where your students are.
No time to write the lesson?
Substitute Plans has a library of free lessons for grades 6-12 across the major subject areas. Filter for lessons that need no technology and fit your class length, print one or two, and put them in your folder. For more ways to get ready, see our guides on free printable emergency plans, sub plans templates and building a substitute teacher binder.
Keep reading
- Easy Sub Plans for Middle and High School – a simple day structure that is hard to get wrong.
- Sub Tub Ideas for Grades 6-12 – keep everything in one grab-and-go bin.
- What to Do as a Substitute Teacher – see the day from the sub’s side so your plans fit it.
Browse free sub plans by subject: science, math, social studies, ELA, art, music and theater, PE and health, Spanish, French and German, technology, business and personal finance, CTE, speech, journalism and media, and advisory and study hall.