Helpful Tips and Activities for August Elementary Substitute Plans

If you’re taking some time out of the classroom this August/September, or just want to have sub plans prepared for an emergency, this post is for you! You’ll find some of my favorite tips and activities for August/September elementary substitute plans all in one place!


back to school picture books
Picture Books for Read Alouds

One of the BEST things to leave for a substitute is a stack of picture book read alouds! They can be used at any time and in a million ways! You can find some of our favorite Back-to-School picture books using the Amazon affiliate links below!

*EXTRA TIP – If your school allows access to YouTube, leave the links for the YouTube read aloud videos for your favorite picture books!*

Back-to-School Rules – Laurie Friedman

The Pigeon Has to Go to School! – Mo Willems

If You Take a Mouse to School – Laura Numeroff

How to Get Your Teacher Ready – Jean Reagan

The Berenstain Bears Go to School – Stan Berenstain

First Day Jitters – Julie Danneberg

Curious George’s First Day of School – Margaret & H.A. Rey


Spiral Review Worksheets

My favorite resources to leave for substitute teachers are resources the students can (mostly) complete on their own. As a former substitute teacher myself, it always made me uneasy to introduce a brand new topic to a group of students who weren’t my own because I never knew exactly how that classroom teacher wanted it done. In addition, I found that managing behavior was MUCH more simple if the students were engaged with activities they could complete confidently.

Instead of trying to find leftover worksheets from previous school days and activities, be sure to check out our monthly spiral review sub packs! Most of the skills in these packs have already been introduced to students prior to the labeled month, so help from the sub should be at a minimum!

Below you’ll find our August/September sub packs and the skills included in each grade level!

Skills in our Kindergarten August/September Sub Pack

Math skills included: shapes, patterns, number order, counting. Sight words included: color words, number words, sight words (can, am, we, the). Phonics skills included: rhyming, blending sounds, beginning sounds, consonants/vowels. ELA skills included: characters, setting, beginning/middle/end, letters/words, school writing prompt.

Skills in our 1st Grade August/September Sub Pack

Math skills included: odd/even numbers, 10 Frames, subitizing, number order, beginning addition. Sight Words included: color words, number words, Kindergarten sight words (that, like, and, with, can, we, play, they). Phonics skills included: beginning sounds, consonants/vowels, ABC order, short vowels, syllables. ELA skills included: story elements, beginning/middle/end, character/setting writing, problem/solution writing, school writing prompt.

Skills in our 2nd Grade August/September Sub Pack

Math skills included: odd/even numbers, number order, place value, addition, hundreds chart, comparing numbers. Sight Words included: color words, number words, Sight Words (best, where, before, play, because, why, about, like, jump). Phonics skills included: long vowels, short vowels, word families, rhyming, ABC order. ELA skills included: story elements, beginning/middle/end, word order, punctuation, school writing prompt.


substitute plans template
FREE Editable Sub Plans Template

Your August elementary substitute plans would not be complete without a simple way to organize them all! These FREE editable sub plan templates are perfect for prepping before your planned day off. But they’re also super helpful for those unexpected days away! Simply download the FREE file to your computer, type in your plans, save the file and e-mail it to your teammates! All they’ll have to do is print and leave them for your sub!


I hope these tips and activities help you prepare your August elementary substitute plans! If you’re looking for other resources for your classroom, check out some of our favorite resources using the button below!


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