Teaching and tutoring
Write a substitute-teacher handoff from approved information
A substitute needs to know what happens in what order, where materials are and who to ask. Write the handoff from your own plans and school-approved details only. Keep student information to what the day requires, and list open questions so the substitute does not guess.
A text to start with
I will be absent on [date] and need a handoff for a substitute teaching [class and subject]. The schedule is [periods and times]. Lesson order: [activities]. Materials and where they are kept: [list]. Routines the substitute must follow: [routines]. School contact: [name or office]. Open question I could not settle: [question]. Draft a one-page handoff using only this information.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Substitute handoff sheet
Date and class: [ ] Schedule with times: [ ] Lesson order: First: [ ] Second: [ ] Third: [ ] Materials and where to find them: [ ] Instructions to read aloud or post: [ ] Routines to follow: [ ] Student information needed today, and why: [ ] School contact and how to reach them: [ ] Procedures I confirmed with the school: [ ] Unresolved question: [ ] Who can answer it: [ ]
Strip data and invented procedures
Read the draft for anything that names a student when the task does not require it. If a seating note or support need is essential, check that your school allows sharing it this way. Remove any sentence that describes a school procedure you did not supply, such as attendance steps, emergency rules or discipline policy, because the draft may have filled the gap with a plausible guess. Confirm that times, room numbers and material locations match your own plan. State the open question plainly instead of burying it in a paragraph.
Ask another agent to check the result
Read this handoff and list every school procedure, policy or student detail that was not in the information I supplied. Flag student names or data the substitute does not need for today. For each flag, say whether to delete it or confirm it with the school.
Confirm before you share
Check the handoff against your school's rules for what substitutes receive, and ask your school contact about anything you were unsure of. Fill the open question with an answer or name who can give one. Print or file the handoff where the substitute will find it, and confirm the contact can be reached that day. Keep a copy so you can review what worked afterward.