I don't know about you, but I was one of those teachers who struggled to take my sick days. Creating lesson plans to leave for a substitute was so much work. The reality is that we might find ourselves in a situation where an emergency happens or we need to take a day because we are needed somewhere else in our district. That's one of the reasons that I've compiled a list of easy and low-prep social studies lessons that can be left for a guest teacher when you're in a pinch.
Leave a Virtual Field Trip:
Instead of leaving worksheets or busy work for your students, send them around the world on a virtual field trip! All of my virtual field trips are ready-to-go with all of the content, video links, Google Earth panoramic views, and response questions built into the activity. These virtual field trips provide a great interactive lesson that can be conducted whole group, or assigned in Google Classroom (or another LMS) for your students to complete with partners or individually.
Here are some suggestions of ready-to-go virtual field trips:
These virtual field trips make leaving sub plans a breeze. All of the trips include built-in response questions to keep your students accountable while they explore. There's also a grading rubric, and a helpful cheat sheet with Google Earth shortcuts.
Collaborative Posters for Early Finishers:
I tend to over-plan because I would rather a guest teacher have additional materials than not enough. I also like to leave lessons that are not overly complicated so that they are easy to implement and students can get to work right away. For students who finish early, collaborative posters are a great option.
These posters are like a quilt project where each student colors one section of the poster. Each poster kit includes 3 different sizes so you can print a set based on your class size (18 pieces, 24 pieces, 32 pieces). As well, all of the posters have varied pieces so you can give each student just the right amount of detail. Each poster also includes an optional extension activity.
Here are some collaborative poster sets you might leave for a substitute:
With the busy teacher in mind, my goal has always been to create social studies resources that are high quality, but low-prep. Especially if you are a generalist or teach many different subjects, utilizing your prep time effectively is of the essence. If you are looking for additioanl virtual field trips or collaborative posters, you can find more in my TPT shop and in my website store.
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