Emergency Sub Plans for Any Class: 7 Ready-to-Run Lessons (6-12)

The best emergency lesson plans for substitute teachers are lessons that work in any subject, need no new instruction, and can be read aloud word for word. Below are seven ready-to-run mini-lessons for grades 6–12, each with a bell ringer, a main task, an exit ticket, and a script the sub can read straight off the page. Print them once, stick them in your sub folder, and you’re covered for the morning you wake up sick.

Each lesson fills a 45- to 55-minute period. They all use the same rhythm students know from normal days: warm-up, work, exit ticket. That predictability is what keeps a room calm when you’re not in it.

What makes emergency sub plans work in any class

Generic lesson plans for substitute teachers have to survive a few realities. The sub may not know your content. The copier may be jammed. The internet may be down. So every lesson below follows these rules:

• Paper and pencil only. Notebook paper works if copies run out.
• Uses what students already learned. Each task pulls from their notes, textbook, or current unit, so it’s real review in your subject.
• Directions are written for students. The sub reads them aloud. No interpretation required.
• Every part has a time. Bell ringer, main task, exit ticket, early finishers.
• Answers are included anywhere there’s a right answer.

For a full walkthrough of writing regular plans, see our guide to sub lesson plans. This page is the backup: the plans you use when there was no time to write anything.

Seven emergency lesson plans for substitute teachers

Lesson 1: Top Five Takeaways

Bell ringer (5 min): “Without looking at your notes, write down three things you remember from this class in the last two weeks.”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “Take out your notes or textbook for this class. Look back over the last two weeks of material. Choose the five most important ideas. For each one, write the idea at the top, then explain it in at least two sentences, as if you were teaching it to a student who was absent. Number them 1 to 5, with number 1 being the most important. You have 30 minutes.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Why did you rank your number 1 idea as the most important? Answer in two sentences.”

Early finishers: Draw a simple diagram or picture that shows how two of your five ideas connect.

Lesson 2: Make the Quiz

Bell ringer (5 min): “What makes a test question fair? Write two rules for writing a good test question.”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “Today you are the teacher. Using your notes or textbook from our current unit, write a 10-question quiz. Include 5 multiple-choice questions with four answer choices each, 3 true-or-false questions, and 2 short-answer questions. On a separate half of your paper, write the answer key. Make your questions clear enough that there is only one right answer. After 20 minutes, I’ll ask you to trade quizzes with a partner, take each other’s quiz, and then grade it with the key.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Which question on your partner’s quiz was the hardest? Was it hard because it was tricky or because it tested something important?”

Teacher note: Keep the best student-written questions. They make excellent review questions later.

Lesson 3: Vocabulary Four-Square

Bell ringer (5 min): “Write down any word from this class that you’ve heard but still aren’t sure about.”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “Find eight important vocabulary words from our current unit in your notes or textbook. For each word, fold or divide a section of your paper into four boxes. In box 1, write the word and its definition in your own words. In box 2, use it in a sentence that shows you understand it. In box 3, draw a picture or symbol for it. In box 4, write an example and a non-example. You need all eight words done by the end of class.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Pick two of your words. Write one sentence that uses both of them correctly.”

Early finishers: Make a crossword clue for each of your eight words.

Lesson 4: Logic Warm-Up and Problem Writing

This one works on a day when students need something a bit lighter, and it still exercises careful thinking.

Bell ringer (10 min), on the board:

1. What number comes next: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ___?
2. A bat and a ball cost $1.10 together. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
3. If 5 machines take 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?
4. A farmer has 17 sheep. All but 9 run away. How many sheep does the farmer have left?

Main task (25 min), sub reads aloud: “Now write four puzzles of your own that use ideas from this class. They can be number patterns, riddles, or trick questions, but each one must have one correct answer. Write the answer and a one-sentence explanation under each puzzle. In the last 10 minutes, trade with a partner and solve each other’s puzzles.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Which puzzle today fooled you, and what was the mistake in your first answer?”

Lesson 5: Letter to Next Year’s Class

Bell ringer (5 min): “What is one thing you wish someone had told you on the first day of this class?”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “Write a one-page letter to a student who will take this class next year. In your letter, explain three important things they will learn, using details from your notes. Tell them which part was hardest for you and how you got through it. Give them two pieces of advice for doing well. Write in complete sentences and use at least three vocabulary words from this class. Underline the vocabulary words.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Circle the best sentence in your letter. Why is it the best one?”

Teacher note: These are great to actually read to next year’s class on the first day.

Lesson 6: Who Uses This?

Bell ringer (5 min): “Name three jobs. For each one, guess one thing that person needs to know from school.”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “Choose one topic you’ve studied in this class this year. Brainstorm at least five jobs where someone would use that knowledge. Pick the two best ones. For each job, write a paragraph that explains what the person does, how they use this topic at work, and what might go wrong if they didn’t understand it. Finish by writing a short paragraph about which of the two jobs you’d rather have and why.”

Exit ticket (5 min): “Finish this sentence: ‘Before today, I didn’t realize that ______ uses ______.'”

Lesson 7: Silent Debate

Bell ringer (5 min): “Is it better to be a leader or a team player? Pick one and give a reason.”

Main task (30 min), sub reads aloud: “This is a written debate, so the room stays quiet. At the top of your paper, write this question: ‘What is the most important idea we’ve learned in this class so far?’ Write your answer and one reason. When I say ‘pass,’ hand the paper you’re holding to the person on your right. Read what’s on it, then add a response underneath: agree and add a new reason, or disagree politely and explain why. We will pass four times. Then each paper goes back to the person whose name is at the top. Read everything on your paper and write a final paragraph saying whether your mind changed.”

Sub timing: Give students 4 minutes to write their first answer. Say “pass” every 4 minutes after that. After the fourth round of responses, have students return papers to their owners and give them 8 minutes for the final paragraph. Students should write their name at the top before the first pass.

Exit ticket (5 min): “Write the strongest argument someone else made on your paper, even if you disagree with it.”

Quick guide: which lesson to use when

Turn these into generic lesson plans for substitute teachers in your folder

Here’s how to make these grab-and-go:

1. Print one copy of each lesson for the sub, with the read-aloud script highlighted.
2. Add your details at the top: class periods, where the textbooks are, and where to leave finished work.
3. Make student copies of the bell ringers and exit tickets if you like, or write “notebook paper is fine” on the plan.
4. Add a stack of early finisher sheets. Our bell ringer worksheets and printable exit tickets are free and ready to copy.
5. Label the folder “Emergency Sub Plans” and tell a teammate where it is.

If you want a printable version to start from, our sister site has free emergency sub plans in PDF form. For more activity sheets you can copy, see our free substitute teacher printables.

FAQ

How many emergency sub plans should I have ready?

Three days’ worth is a safe number. The seven lessons here give you more than a week if you rotate them, and they can be reused in different units because they pull from whatever students are studying.

Do these lessons work for any subject?

Yes. Each one asks students to use their own notes, textbook, or current unit, so the content comes from your class. They work in math, science, ELA, social studies, electives, and CTE classes.

What if students don’t have their notes?

Tell the sub to let students work from the textbook, or to pair a student without notes with a partner who has them. Lessons 4 and 7 can also run with almost no notes at all.

Should I grade emergency sub plan work?

Grade it at least for completion. Students take sub work more seriously when they know it counts, and the exit tickets give you a quick check of what they remember.

Start sub day with a bell ringer they already know

Any of these lessons runs better when it opens with a routine students recognize. Keep a few extra warm-ups in your folder from the daily bell ringers, or pick by level from the grades 6–8 and grades 9–12 sets. Want a big stack at once? Download the free 1,000 bellringers and exit slips and print what you need.