Emergency sub plans template
A fill-in-the-blank emergency sub plans template for any grade, with notes for kindergarten, elementary art and music, and high school schedules. Free PDF, no email required.
When to use it
Fill this one in the night before, or keep a blank copy on hand — it covers one day with no new content the sub has to teach.
Swap the single lesson block for two or three short stations — a picture book read-aloud, a coloring sheet tied to routines, and a simple counting game a sub can run without training.
A single classroom-teacher lesson plan does not fit a rotation. Use one activity per group instead — a directed drawing for art, a listening-and-clap-along track for music — so every class that comes through has something ready.
Block schedules mean fewer, longer periods. One no-prep task — a reading with response questions or a review worksheet — should fill an 80–90 minute period without the sub needing subject expertise.
Emergency Substitute Lesson Plan
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: _________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________
Both templates on one print-ready PDF — free, no email required.
What to put in it
- Your name, room, grade or subject, and the date the emergency sub plans are used.
- A schedule grid with periods, subjects and one no-prep activity per block.
- Grade-band notes — stations for kindergarten, a rotation activity for art or music, one task per block for a high school schedule.
- Work that needs no login and no prep from the sub — printed, textbook-based or read-aloud.
- What to do with finished work, and what to do with work that isn't finished.
- Two or three filler activities for early finishers.
- Attendance, dismissal, and who covers your duty.
Mistakes that make a sub day go wrong
A kindergarten sub plan and a high school sub plan solve different problems — attention span versus subject coverage. Use the grade-band notes above instead of forcing one format to fit both.
Art and music subs often cover several classrooms in a day. Write the emergency sub plans as if nobody has been in the room before.
Guest logins fail constantly. Keep a printed emergency sub plans template in the folder, not just a link.
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 is an emergency sub plans template?
A ready-to-fill lesson plan for a full day that a substitute can run without you — a schedule, one no-prep activity per block, and the classroom logistics like attendance and dismissal.
Is there a free emergency sub plans PDF?
Yes — the same fill-in-the-blank PDF used across this site, free with no email required. It covers one day; print a few copies for kindergarten through high school classrooms.
Do kindergarten and elementary art or music need a different sub plans template?
The core format is the same, but swap the single lesson block for the grade-band notes above — stations for kindergarten, a rotation activity for art or music, one task per block for a high school schedule.
How is this different from the free printable substitute teacher plans page?
Same free PDF and format — this page adds the grade-band notes for kindergarten, elementary art and music, and high school schedules, plus the emergency sub plans template wording teachers search for.