Instructional Practices for Subs

At the beginning of the class period clearly tell students the expectations for the day.  Tell students the sequence of activities and the products are required before the class period ends or before the end of the day.

Choral reading is when the class reads out loud together.  For beginning readers, have them chorally read (all together in unison) AFTER they silently read or whisper read to practice the words.  For older readers, have them chorally read all together words on a slide, directions, steps in a strategy, party of a story/chapter, etc.  You can mix this up by taking turns with groups of students reading (boys/girls, half the class/other half, alternating rows or pods, etc.)

Students read silently.  Teachers walks around listening to individual readers.  When teacher tap on a student shoulder, student starts reading a little louder so the teacher can "listen in".  Student keeps reading until the teacher says to stop or moves on to the next student.  

Teacher reads a section and then students reread that same section chorally (in unison) using the same pacing and inflection that the teacher did.

Teacher reads along and pauses every so often so students an "fill in the word" by reading it out loud.  As a teacher, make sure you leave out meaningful words and not small words that don't carry meaning for the text.  An alternative of leaving out just one word is for the teacher to read the beginning of the sentence and then the students read from where the teacher left off to the end of the sentence/punctuation mark.

Assign them a reading partner.  If the text is:

• Narrative - Partners alternate by sentence, page, or time

• Informational text - Partners alternate by paragraph 

Make sure they’re following along by pointing

This is sometimes hard to manage as it requires a great deal of independent work and students will question “why” they have to do such tasks.  The importance instructional step to facilitate this type of learning activity is to actively monitor, use proximity control to promote on-task behaviors, redirect frequently and at times gives students a mental break to engage in content-related discussions about the subject they are taking notes over or working on a worksheet about. 

Be sure to identify expectations for volume level of students’ voices, active participation, and expected products prior to beginning tasks of group work or partner work.  As indicated above, a key to success with this type of instructional activity is active monitoring, redirection, proximity control, and close monitoring for on-task behaviors. 

You may not always feel confident in your own content area expertise to lead question and answer sessions.  But if this type of instructional task has been left for you to lead, engage other students in the conversation to expand and respond to one another’s responses.  Be sure to be aware of and engage those who are not actively volunteering themselves to participate.  Give appropriate wait time.  Do not allow an interaction with a student to get confrontational or escalate if he/she refuses to answer or participate. Simply leave a note for the teacher of students who did not engage in the intended activities. 

The primary charge given to you if a test is assigned the day you are there, is to monitor to ensure students are not copying off of one another or hidden notes.  Be sure to constantly move around the room and be aware of what students are doing.  If there is a test question they need help with that you are unsure of how to answer or if it is appropriate to assist, reassure the student that you will make the teacher aware of the question he/she was struggling with and leave a note for the teacher to be sure assistance can be given later if appropriate.

T : (Think) Teachers begin by asking a specific question about the text.  Students "think" about what they know or have learned about the topic.

P : (Pair) Each student should be paired with another student or a small group.

S : (Share) Students share their thinking with their partner. Teachers expand the "share" into a whole-class discussion.

• Ask questions in which students respond chorally in unison when the answer is going to be short and the same.

• Ask questions in which students respond to a partner when the answer is going to be long and/or different.

• Call on individuals ONLY when the answer is a product of their personal experiences.

• Here is some additional guidance on the various response techniques.

Use this strategy when you ask a question where there can be many answers.

1. Pose the question. 

2. With a quick pace, each student provides an answer.

3. Students may pass, but teacher will go back later and student must answer after given extra think time.  

Check students understanding by asking them to hold up the number of fingers that represents how well they understand what you just asked, the directions, what you just taught, etc.   

0 (fist) = No knowledge, don't understand

3 (fingers) = I think I know what it means

5 (fingers) = I could teach it to the class