As a music educator, planning for a substitute teacher can be one of the most stressful parts of the job. Whether you’re out due to illness, a family emergency, or attending a conference, having a solid plan in place ensures your students stay engaged and on track. In this post, I’ll walk you through six different types of sub plans that can help make your life easier when the unexpected happens. Note: this blog post includes affiliate links. If you’d rather listen to this as a podcast, keep scrolling!
#1: One-Off Sub Plans
These plans are designed to be used at any time during the year, without requiring prior knowledge or connection to your current lessons. They can often be adapted across multiple grade levels, making them a great choice for emergency situations.
Examples:
- Picture Book-Based Lessons: Books like Jazz Fly can be read by the sub, followed by a discussion on the story and characters. Students can then create their own jazz melodies through scatting.
- Peter and the Wolf Lesson: Students read a picture book like this one, watch a video, and discuss the music and story.
📌 Best for: Emergency situations when you don’t have time to prepare a detailed lesson plan.
#2: Concept-Based Sub Plans
These sub plans focus on reinforcing concepts or skills students have already been working on in class. Unlike one-off plans, they require some prior knowledge and can be useful when you want to keep students on track with their learning.
Examples:
- Be a Composer: Students review what a composer does, then create their own 16-beat rhythmic composition using known rhythms (e.g., ta, ti-ti, tika-tika, and rests). They then perform their composition on a non-pitched percussion instrument.
- Ostinato Creation: Students review what an ostinato is, create their own body percussion ostinato, and perform it for the class.
- Instruments of the Orchestra: Using interactive websites like Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, students explore instrument families and listen to different orchestral performances.
📌 Best for: When you want students to continue practicing skills and concepts they’ve been learning in class.
#3: Center-Based Sub Plans
These sub plans involve students rotating through different activity centers. They’re great for keeping students engaged while allowing for a variety of learning experiences.
Example Centers:
- Picture Book Center: A selection of music-related books for students to explore.
- Puppet Center: Students can sing and explore using puppets.
- Technology Center: Websites like Chrome Music Lab, Incredibox, or Beast Box allow students to experiment with digital music creation.
- Instrument Center: Students practice instruments they’ve been working on, such as recorders or ukuleles.
📌 Best for: Classes that are already used to working in centers and have established routines for independent learning.
#4: No-Tech Sub Plans
Some schools have policies that restrict substitute teachers from using technology, or you may prefer to avoid tech-dependent plans altogether. These sub plans rely entirely on paper-based, movement, or discussion activities.
Examples:
- Rhythmic Composition: Similar to the Be a Composer activity, but with handwritten notation and performance using body percussion instead of instruments.
- Creative Movement Activities: Using only a CD player or a simple playlist, students can explore movement prompts such as “freeze dance” or interpretive movements based on different musical elements.
📌 Best for: Schools with technology restrictions or when you don’t trust the sub to handle tech setups.
#5: Themed Sub Plans
These plans tie together activities under a common theme, such as holidays, seasons, or school-wide events.
Examples:
- St. Patrick’s Day Sub Plan: Watch an Irish dance performance, complete a themed music choice board, and do a worksheet on Irish musical traditions.
- Snow-Themed Lesson: Read a book about winter, listen to winter-themed classical music, and create soundscapes representing different types of snowfall.
- Literacy-Based Lesson: If your school is hosting a reading event, tie in books, songs, and rhythm-based literacy activities.
📌 Best for: Planning around holidays, school-wide events, or seasonal themes.
#6: Keep-On-Track Sub Plans
When you need your students to stay on pace with the rest of their classmates, these sub plans mirror your regular lesson plans as closely as possible.
Examples:
- Song Learning: Record yourself teaching a song and have the sub play the recording for the class.
- Folk Dance Practice: Show a video demonstration of a folk dance and have students follow along.
- Concert Preparation: If students are preparing for a performance, the sub can lead them in reviewing lyrics, movements, or even auditioning for speaking roles.
📌 Best for: Keeping students from falling behind when preparing for a performance or catching up on missed lessons.
Looking for ready-made sub plans? Check out these:
Would you like to listen to this as a podcast? Listen in iTunes, on Google Play Music, on Amazon, on TuneIn, or here:
Which type of sub plan do you find most useful? Let me know in the comments!
