Michelle from The Autism Helper shows how to build a sub binder and organize student files so substitutes can run a self-contained special ed classroom independently. Her system includes a welcome note, daily schedule, student photos, behavior plans, staff contact info, and pre-made work files aligned to center rotations. Clear documentation and ready materials keep learning on track when the main teacher is out.
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Planning for a sub in a self-contained classroom is so much work. It's almost easier just to come to work, but we deserve to take time off when we need it. I'm Michelle with The Autism Helper, and today I'm going to show you how I structure my sub plans so that my classroom runs like I'm here when I'm not here. This is the sub binder that I have put together to use every time I have been out, and let me tell you, this sub binder has been an absolute lifesaver. It's especially for those last-minute call-outs when I'm not feeling well or if I have a family emergency. When opening my sub binder, subs are welcomed by this welcome note. They can turn the pages and then they will see some notes as well as our daily schedule. I include everything that we do in our schedule from the front to the back, as well as any extra activities that we do with our students. Next, we have our dismissal procedures, and I have this covered for privacy, but this is in detail how students are going to get home every day. Next in my sub binder is a detailed class list with all of my student names and their grades, and then I have all of the student photos here so that my sub can see what my students look like because a lot of them have never been in my class before. Following my student photos, I have this page here that says "Who Can Help?" and this is a detailed list of my students and what their abilities are. So if they need help cutting, if they need help with writing, and this has been incredibly beneficial to ensure that my students are still receiving instruction when I'm not here. Next in my sub binder is my behavior tab. In here I keep any behavior information as well as behavior support plans. I also tell my subs to ask the paraprofessionals for help because my paraprofessionals are the ones who know these students, and so I do not expect my substitute teachers to deal with behaviors and manage behaviors when I am not here. In my self-contained classroom, I have 4 staff this year, so for me it's really important to include my staff in this binder because they are the ones that are going to help run this classroom when I'm not here. So what I do is I include their name, I include what their duties are for the day, and how they can contact my paraprofessionals. When I'm going to be out, especially if it's last minute, I'm probably sick or it's a family emergency, so I'm not going to be able to answer any phone calls or text messages regarding passwords. So I make sure to include all of my login information for my students as well as for me in this sub binder. The final part of my sub binder is my notes section where these substitutes are able to leave me any notes that they wish to. Alright, so earlier I mentioned my students are still learning when I'm absent, and let me show you how I ensure that my students are still able to work on academics when there's a substitute teacher in my classroom. Okay, so this shelf sits behind my desk in my classroom, and these files are for each student. Every student has their own file. I have organized these in a way that when my students come to me, the center rotations are in accordance to how the files are. So Center 1, Center 2, Center 3, and so on. And every student has their own file with work in it. So this is incredibly helpful for my paraprofessionals and for the substitute teacher to be able to implement my center when I'm not here. So I use in my classroom the Autism Helpers Level Daily Curriculum. Each of my students has their own curriculum folder, and this curriculum is routine-based. So students, because I work on this every day in the classroom, students know how to use this. So it's incredibly easy for a substitute teacher to pull the curriculum and use it with my students. I also use the Made for Me literacy curriculum. And so any worksheets that I plan on using with my students, I have prepped in here for the week. So my substitute teachers are able to pull the file and work on either the Made for Me Literacy curriculum or the Autism Helper Level Daily curriculum. And if you are a special education teacher, you know how incredibly important it is to differentiate instruction for your students, and these files allow me to do that but also keep my work incredibly organized for the students. For more special education tips and tricks and classroom organization, like and subscribe to The Autism Helper on YouTube. You can also check out our blog at theautismhelper.com.
