Notes Are Important
At the end of each substitute job, take the time to write a note to the teacher. Even if the day went extremely smoothly, teachers appreciate seeing comments about how the day went. Substitutes who leave notes consistently get higher ratings and compliments from schools!
Below are 3 tips for leaving useful notes for teachers.
1. Balance the Positives and Challenges
One of the most discouraging things for a teacher is returning from an absence and receiving a note from the substitute that only mentions the things that went wrong with the class. While it is important to share about students who had behavior issues, it is also important to share about positive experiences and exemplary students.
You might think about some of these questions:
- Was there an activity or part of the lesson that went well?
- Did something really engage students?
- Was there a good class discussion?
- Was there a routine that students followed really well?
- Were any students especially helpful to you or their classmates?
- Were there students who participated well?
- Were there students who stayed on task?
2. Note Anything Important
What counts as important? Think about anything teachers might need to document, that they might want to call home about, or that helps them with planning or supporting students when they return. Here are some things you might note:
- How much of the lesson plan you were able to get through; stopping points
- How much work students were able to complete
- Explanation why some of the lesson or work wasn't done
- Any concepts or activities that seemed particularly difficult for students
- Any medical incidents
- Any bullying and significant behavior incidents
- Praiseworthy students and positive experiences
- Anything else notable (bathroom accident of young student; school fire drill; broken materials; etc.)
3. Be Specific
It is important to be specific in your notes. Consider the difference between the first set of blanket statements versus the second set with specific details:
- "Students struggled with the lesson."
- "Everyone did great today."
- "The class was really noisy."
- "We didn't get through the whole lesson."
- "I had to send Lucy to the nurse."
- "James was very disrespectful."
vs.
- "Students had a hard time understanding why a negative times a negative equals a positive number. I gave an explanation, but they might need another review."
- "Students were on task throughout the lesson and completed all their work. I appreciate how they get started and cleaned up when asked. Jamison and Esperanza were especially helpful to their groups."
- "I had to remind the class several times to quiet down. Groups 2 and 5 responded, but Groups 1, 3, and 4 needed extra reminders."
- "We were able to read 3 pages of the article, but we didn't get to that last page because students had a lot of questions to try and understand the topic. They were able to answer all but the last 2 questions on the worksheet since we didn't get to that last page."
- "Lucy had a bloody nose, so I sent her to the nurse. She returned after about 20 minutes but wasn't able to finish all of her writing."
- "James kept interrupting me and others during the lesson. I asked him to move seats after he kept poking Mina."
Teachers will be better able to pick up their teaching, support student learning, reward good behaviors, and discipline misbehaviors when they have specific, detailed notes.
