Classroom Management Tips For Substitute Teachers

Looking for classroom management tips as a substitute teacher? You’re in the right place. Being a substitute teacher can be one of the toughest jobs, but also a varied job that is rewarding and never boring.

So much about teaching these days is about building relationships, and you can’t do that in just one day.

I worked as a French rotary teacher in Canada for middle-grades for almost 10 years, so I know what its like to move from place to place; not having the same opportunity to build relationships as a classroom teacher.

I will provide tips below to get the best out of each class and how to improve your classroom management as a guest teacher, which will benefit you not only now, but if you decide to become a full time teacher.

Substitute Teacher Classroom Management Tips

Here are the best tips for substitute teachers, in no particular order. All of these tips are applicable to a range of ages, from K-12.

1. Greet students as they enter the room

Regardless of how old the students are, it speaks volumes when a teacher stands at the door, and greets the students as they come in at the start of the day.

It shows your engagement and attitude from the get go, that you take your job seriously, want to be there and get to know them.

I always tried to do this, even when I was the regular teacher in the room. It sets the tone for the day and lets the students know that you’re not just holding down the fort for the day; you actually care.

2. Use the students’ names

Learning the student’s names as soon as possible creates accountability. When they know you know their name, they’re no longer anonymous and it is much harder to slip under the radar.

Understandably, you can’t learn every student’s name when you’re in a new place each day. But, it helps to identify those few whose names you may need to say more frequently as soon as you can.

Pro Tip: Hopefully, the teacher has left you with a seating chart. Older students may try to switch seats without you knowing.

3. Use their classroom rules

Things go more smoothly when you use the rules that they already have in place. If you get a chance to connect with the regular teacher beforehand, I would ask them about:

• Rules for going to the bathroom
• Cell phones
• Listening to music while working
• Dismissal bell procedures

However, I realize that connecting with the regular teacher in advance isn’t always possible. If they haven’t left this kind of information in their plan for you, then you may have to do your best with the information you have.

If you don’t know the regular classroom rules

If the regular class rules haven’t been made available to you, then ask the students, (or a few trusted students, if you’ve been given some names.) Sometimes this can get out of hand when students don’t agree on what the rules are.

If the students are giving you conflicting information, then use your professional judgment for what rules need to be in place for the day.

I would recommend:

• No more than 2 people leave the room at once (must be different genders, so that they aren’t going to the bathroom together.) Have a sign out sheet, even if its just a T chart on the board, where students can sign their name and erase it when they return
• Phone are to be ‘off and away’ unless you’ve directed them to use them for a specific task, or given permission

4. Circulate the room during work periods

Never spend most of the day seated. Part of showing that you take your job seriously and are committed to managing the class is walking around the classroom during work periods.

This is good for a few reasons:

Overall, it shows the students that you are ‘there’ and present. You’re not simply babysitting, you’re engaged as their teacher for the day. You can only manage the class if you’re engaged.

5. Plan your ‘bag of tricks’ in advance

A bag of tricks doesn’t have to be a physical thing. It can just be some ideas that you have in the back of your mind, or even a folder on your Google drive that you could print copies of if you need to.

Having a bag of tricks helps you keep the class busy and engaged, which reduces the chances of any problems arising.

Here are some things to include:

• Age-appropriate games that the class can play if all their work is done (this works well for incentives)
• A calming activity, such as colouring sheets, sudoku or crosswords
• Grade-appropriate activities in case for some reason, there are no plans left (this is rare, but is always possible)

6. Be Firm, Fair and Fun

A good tip I learned as a teacher was to balance “the three Fs” – firm, fair and fun. Smile, and look like you genuinely want to be there – but the same time, be firm with your boundaries.

The kids will be testing you. Looking like you want to be there is a part of being respected as a leader, but remaining firm with the rules shows that you will not be pushed around.

7. Leave a detailed report for the teachers

I used to write long, long notes for the teachers, thinking they’d want to know every detail about how the day went. This is not what I’d recommend.

Instead, keep your note point form. Tell them:

• if the plans were followed completely, or if you needed to make any changes
• if the students finished something or if they need more time
• if there were any behavioural concerns

Leaving a note for the host teacher is a part of classroom management, because hopefully (if there are any problems) the teacher will follow up with the student(s) in question. Teaching and classroom management is a team effort, and substitute teachers are apart of the team that works to help students be their best

8. Invest in a classroom management book

Classroom management is taught during teacher training, but personally, I didn’t find it to be helpful for dealing with behaviours beyond what required only ‘low key responses.’

If there are any more serious behaviours in the classroom, then you will encounter those as a supply teacher and they will likely be exacerbated by having a new adult in the room, who they don’t trust, or may be trying to test.

I recommend choosing a book on how to respond to oppositional, or defiant students, such as, The Power of Our Words (2nd edition).

See more classroom management book recommendations here.

How to Handle Disruptive Behaviour as a Substitute Teacher

It almost goes without saying that you will find yourself in some classrooms where behaviour is a struggle. Here are some tips for keeping the classroom (and your sanity) intact as you navigate the day with a challenging class

1. Review rules and expectations as a class

You might be thinking, ‘huh’? It may make sense to review rules and expectations at the very start of the day, but I found it much more helpful and effective to spend some time with the class first.

Spending even half an hour with the classroom; through morning announcements, the land acknowledgement and Oh Canada (or pledge of allegiance if you’re in the US) and learning their names will give you an idea of what you’re dealing with in terms of behaviour management for the day.

You will see how they carry themselves and their attitude through these morning activities. If you do feel its important to go over rules and expectations, then I would hold off until about an hour into the day.

This makes it much more meaningful when and if you do need to go over the rules, because you’ve already seen what things you might need to focus on or clarify, based on their behaviour that morning so far.

2. Identify trusted students

If I was lucky, the teacher included in their note the names of a few students who were trustworthy; that I could ask questions to, if I needed to.

If you weren’t given any names, and it wasn’t easy to identify after a day with the students, then you could request this information from the teacher in case you return to that same class.

3. Pick your battles

Personally, I used to dislike the term ‘pick our battles’ when I was a teacher, because I felt like it was an excuse to not address behavioural issues that were sometimes the symptom of a bigger problem.

However, I’m going to be honest here – a big part of being successful as a supply teacher is about getting through the day; keeping yourself sane, and students safe and reasonably productive.

If you become too invested in every little detail or problem, then you will burn out as you face those challenges every day in different without being able to contribute to longterm management of the class.

Since you’re not the regular teacher, you’re not responsible for the little things. By little things, I mean anything outside of what the basic rules and expectations are for the day.

If they’re doing something that goes against a major rule or expectation that you have, then address it. If it’s something unideal but falls outside of that (such as, people doodling when they should be listening) then let it go.

4. Avoid calling out students publicly

If you identify a student (more two, or more) doing something they shouldn’t be, it is most effective to talk to them one on one rather than to call them out in front of the class.

For example, if you’re going over something but Jacob is on his phone? Unless its extremely urgent, I would not call Jacob out in that moment – wait until the class is occupied, and then talk to Jacob later on in private.

Calling students out in front of the class may need to be done at times, but generally, it can create a spectacle where the student will want to ‘save face’ in front of their peers, which isn’t ideal.

For elementary students, continuously being called out can make them feel that you don’t like them, are picking on them, or favouring other students over them. (Which we know isn’t true of course, but we want to be mindful of how they see things.)

5. Create an incentive

An incentive is something you might want to keep in your ‘bag of tricks,’ whether that bag is physical, digital or at the back of your mind.

If you come across a class that is ‘busy’ (hyper, energetic, but overall respectful to you as the guest teacher) then you could offer them a small incentive at the end of the day to help motivate them to stay on track.

I recommend a whole class reward idea something that doesn’t cost you any money. Some ideas are:

• Free time for the last 10 minutes of class
• Go outside early (of course, you still need to supervise until the dismissal bell)
• Just Dance on YouTube (only last period of the day, as it can get them hyper)
• A game on Kahoot, Blookit or Quizlet

6. Remind students of your perspective

Hopefully most students you come across will be kind, and respectful. There will be many though who see you being there as ‘break time’ or a carte blanche to be rude. And some students are challenging every day, whether you or someone else is in charge.

Regardless of how old the students are (you will need to do this in an age appropriate way)- remind them that you are a guest who is new to the school, and is here for the day to teach and help them.

Remind them that their behaviour is not making you feel welcome in the class or the school, and how that isn’t a nice feeling.

Pro Tip: You’re not criticizing the student, you’re focusing on their choices or behaviour. Sure, some students won’t care – but the message of this is strong, and it may encourage some students to reflect on their behaviour

7. Just… wait

One of the most frustrating parts of trying to be a teacher these days, is when its hard to deliver your message or instruction to the class, because everyone is talking over you.

If you find yourself in a class like this one day, it will be frustrating. I recommend waiting until the class is mostly calm before you deliver your message, announcements or instruction. When they see you waiting at the front of the class, 95% of the time, they will hush others to quiet down so that you can talk.

I’ve only ever been in a few classes where this strategy didn’t work.

8. Don’t take things too personally

Even if you follow all the advice on this list to a tea, the reality is that you still will likely face some very challenging classes in your career as a substitute teacher.

The truth is, there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ for classroom management tips. You will find that some strategies work wonders with some classes, and not so well with others.

Furthermore, if the regular teacher doesn’t have a lot of control over the class, then you won’t either. You will have to accept that there is a lot out of your control as a supply teacher, and your primary goals as a supply teacher are to get through the day, keep the kids safe, and to follow the plans and curriculum as closely as possible.

Don’t take negative behaviour too personally and certainly don’t blame or second guess yourself if you’re not able to get a class to behave. Treat each day as a learning experience.

9. Know when to ask for help

Because of the saddening lack of support for teachers these days, the principal probably doesn’t want to hear from you unless something very serious happens.

If it’s a behavioural class, the principal already know this (trust me!) If the class is just disruptive, noisy, loud or even a bit rude, then this is something that you will have to manage.

However, there are a few situations where you shouldn’t hesitate to seek support from the office. They are:

• A student leaving class without permission
• Repeated non-compliance
• Any incidents of violence or aggression towards you or between students (this can be physical or verbal, such as swearing, threatening or using abusive language)

If these kinds of things happen, and you are not able to control the situation yourself through attempting to speak or reason with the student, then the admin should get involved or at least be aware of what is happening.

This is not a reflection of you or your classroom management skills as a teacher. Some situations require outside support, and violence and aggression is one of them.

10. Don’t return to classrooms that you don’t feel safe in

A part of finding joy and fulfillment as a substitute teacher is knowing that you deserve to work in a safe environment, and you deserve to enjoy your job too.

Keep in mind that while substitute teaching can be a struggle, you shouldn’t feel threatened, bullied or disrespected. If you do, and these classroom management strategies don’t work, then you may want to consider whether that’s a class that you want to return to.

You are a piece in the puzzle in helping the students get through your day with them successfully and safely. The other side of it though, has to do with:

• their regular teacher’s management
• how they’re normally held accountable
• what kind of support there is from the school administration, and their parents

Where I live in Canada, supply teachers are very much in demand. You are a professional, and you can decide which classes/schools you can work with, and which ones you can’t.

If you find that you are unsupported, and are not able to do your job effectively, then take that classroom off your list of schools you’re willing to go to.

Pro Tip: Keeping yourself safe is a part of leading a successful career as a teacher, and avoiding burnout.

Classroom Management DOs and DON’Ts for Substitute Teachers

Classroom Management for Substitute Teachers FAQ

How do you handle disruptive behavior in the classroom as a substitute teacher?

Disruptive behaviour in the classroom is not an uncommon challenge to face as a substitute teacher. I recommend waiting until the class is quiet before you speak.

What to do when students misbehave for a substitute?

If students misbehave for a substitute teacher, then it is very important for the regular teacher to follow up with those students. Part of classroom management is creating accountability. Substitute teachers should let the regular teachers know of any concerns or incidents, and regular classroom teachers should follow up with any students who struggled to behave with the substitute teacher.

Final Thoughts on Classroom Management

If you find that the students are out of control despite what you do, the beauty of being a substitute teacher is that you don’t have to return. I personally chose not to return to classes where I found that behaviours were extreme and I didn’t have a good handle on things.

You may find some grades easier to teach, and some classrooms much easier to work in than others. You will learn a lot about your career, yourself and the education landscape from supply teaching.