Substitute teacher letter and sub plans templates
A welcome letter that tells a sub everything they need to know about your classroom, and fill-in emergency sub plans for the morning you wake up sick. Both free below — print them, fill in the blanks, and put a copy in your sub folder before you need it.
Read the templates Free printable PDF
Keep both in the same place. The letter explains how your room runs and rarely changes; the sub plans cover what the class actually does that day. A sub folder with the letter, three printed sub plans and a class list handles almost any absence without a 6am phone call.
Both templates on one print-ready PDF — free, no email required.
Substitute Teacher Welcome Letter
Copy this, fill in the brackets, and leave it on your desk or in your sub folder.
Dear Substitute Teacher,
Thank you for covering my class today — I really appreciate it. Everything
you need should be here, but if something isn't, the school office
([Office Phone]) can help.
CLASS INFO
Class / Grade: [Grade / Class Name]
Today's date: [Date]
Number of students: [Student Count]
Class list: [Attached / On my desk / In the folder]
SCHEDULE FOR TODAY
[Start Time] [Subject/Period 1] — [Room, if different]
[Start Time] [Subject/Period 2]
[Start Time] Lunch — [Location / Duty notes]
[Start Time] [Subject/Period 3]
[Start Time] Dismissal — [Bus / Pickup / Walker procedure]
DAILY PROCEDURES
- Attendance: [How/where attendance is taken, e.g. "Take attendance
using the sheet on my desk and send it to the office by 9:15 AM"]
- Bathroom / hallway passes: [Procedure, e.g. "One student at a time,
hall pass is on the hook by the door"]
- Signal for quiet / attention: [e.g. "Raise your hand and count down
from 5"]
- Where materials are: [e.g. "Handouts for each period are in the tray
labeled with the period number"]
- Technology: [Login info location, what's allowed]
BEHAVIOR AND CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
- [Note any classroom-specific behavior system, e.g. "We use a clip
chart — clips move up for good behavior, down for repeated
reminders"]
- Students who may need extra support: [General note, avoid naming
individual students' private information in a shared letter — leave
specifics to the school's official plan]
- What to do if a student refuses to cooperate: [e.g. "Send them with a
hall pass to the office, do not leave the room to escort them"]
EMERGENCIES
- Fire drill: [Route and meeting point]
- Lockdown: [What to do]
- Nurse: [Location / how to send a student]
- Emergency contact for me: [Your Name], [Phone Number]
END OF DAY
- Please leave: [What you'd like left behind — a note on how the day
went, completed work in a specific tray, etc.]
- Sign out at: [Location, e.g. "the front office before you leave"]
Thank you again — I hope the day goes smoothly!
[Your Name]
Emergency Substitute Lesson Plan
A one-day, fill-in-the-blank plan — print a few blank copies to keep on hand.
EMERGENCY SUBSTITUTE LESSON PLAN Teacher: ______________________ Class/Grade: ______________________ Date: _________________________ Room: _______________________ SCHEDULE Period/Block Subject Activity (attach handout if needed) ____________ ______________ ___________________________________ ____________ ______________ ___________________________________ ____________ ______________ ___________________________________ ____________ ______________ ___________________________________ MATERIALS NEEDED (location noted for each) 1. _______________________________________________ Location: ______ 2. _______________________________________________ Location: ______ 3. _______________________________________________ Location: ______ SEATING / CLASS NOTES Seating chart location: ___________________________________________ Students who help easily (line leader, tech helper, etc.): ____________________________________________________________________ KEY INSTRUCTIONS FOR TODAY ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ IF YOU FINISH EARLY ____________________________________________________________________ EMERGENCY PROCEDURES REMINDER Fire drill route/meeting point: ___________________________________ Nurse location: ___________________________________________________ Front office phone: _______________________________________________ NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (please leave this filled in) How the day went: _________________________________________________ Anything the teacher should know: _________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
The rest of the sub folder — $6, once
The Sub Plans Bundle — a print-ready PDF with grade-band versions of both free templates, plus the rest of the folder:
- 01Elementary and secondary (multi-period) welcome letters
- 02Elementary and secondary emergency lesson plans
- 03Printable sub folder checklist — what to put in it, in order
- 04No-prep filler activities list, for when a lesson runs short
Instant download. The two templates on this page stay free forever — the bundle is the grade-band versions and the folder system.
These templates are a starting point, not district policy. Schools differ on what may be left in a sub folder — class lists, student health notes, emergency procedures — so confirm your school's own requirements before you print and file anything.
FAQ
What should a substitute teacher letter actually include?
The schedule for the day, exactly how attendance and bathroom passes work, where materials are kept, your classroom's specific behavior system, and what to do in an emergency. Subs cover unfamiliar rooms constantly — the letters that work best are procedural, not general-purpose classroom philosophy.
Should I name specific students and their needs in this letter?
Keep the shared/printed version general ("some students may need extra reminders to stay on task") and hand specific student accommodation details to the sub verbally or through the school's official student-info process, which usually has its own privacy handling separate from a general classroom folder.
Is the free sub plan template enough, or do I need the paid bundle?
The free template above covers one day for one class as a sub plan. The $6 bundle adds an elementary version and a middle/high (multi-period) version, a sub folder checklist so you're not scrambling to assemble one at 6 AM, and a list of no-prep filler activities for when a lesson runs short.
Can I reuse this template for a planned absence, not just an emergency?
Yes — fill it out ahead of time for a scheduled personal day or professional development day, or keep a blank copy in your sub folder for genuine emergencies.