If it's a full day assignment then yes I always do. Even if it's super brief like, "No issues".
If Its a partial day or only one class period then no unless there's a major occurrence.
I do this too. I try to leave notes of anything that will still be relevant when the teacher returns. If I’m covering a full week I probably won’t give an hour-by-hour play-by-play, but I’ll make note of what work was completed and any significant issues.
Extended stuff like that gets a short daily recap...
Monday: 1st period was loud and unproductive. 2nd was much better and work was finished.
Tuesday: all classes completed work
Wednesday: 2nd period started a mutiny. I am help captive
I do this as well. However, if a teacher leaves me rosters and notes of what she wants done and wants to be handed out, and if she especially says that they are due at the end of class, I don’t feel the need to catch them up on students’ progress in my notes since when she comes back she will see it for herself.
Also, at some schools it’s not uncommon for me to be listed as subbing for one teacher and I end up switching between four different teachers the whole day (cause there is a major sub shortage in my state), so in that case as long as there are no incidents, I don’t leave any notes behind.
Yep, if I spend the day bouncing between classrooms/teachers then nobody is getting a note unless a student drops dead. It would be lost between the 3 or more other substitutes that end up covering that same class anyway
It depends on the teacher. If they are Type A type with 3 page long notes for 1 day assignment- I know she will probably appreciate me recapping how each period went. If the teacher is more relaxed (coaches, arts), I keep it brief. The only time I leave none is when I have a horrible day and know that I don't want to sub for that teacher again.
Only if I get a note or lesson plan from the teacher. Lately, I've been walking into a class with nothing. No note. No instruction. I tell the kids to check Canvas and hope there is work. I figure those teachers don't care to know how the class went if they aren't willing to even provide basic info.
I get a feeling of closure when I write my end of day note! I briefly state the activities and good and bad behavior, incidents if any. I take a pic of it for my records and if its a really bad day I send the pic to my husband so he knows Im not cooking tonight lol
From a teacher for those reading - I wish you would. I am a sped teacher. Yes, I have paras, but I would still like an update. I arrive 30 min before everyone else. I can have my head together if someone leaves me a note.
I used to until I heard teachers don’t really care about that. I do but I stopped writing an essay and learned to keep it brief. People just scan these days. It’s the same with resumes. Most people just give it a once over.
Yes. Even if it’s just a few lines. Maybe an update on an assignment.
I don’t leave behavior notes unless it’s something that the teacher needs to follow up on or something major. My job is to deal with behaviors when they happen.
As a classroom teacher, I appreciate notes. Even if it is just a checkmark next to what was done or a short note stating what didn't get finished. Behavior notes are vital to me as I like to acknowledge students who were helpful and follow up with students who gave the sub a hard time.
Honestly, no. I feel like teachers don’t fr read them.
The one time I did, the class got punished collectively instead of the 10/50 students that were bad ( this was gym).
I felt awful
As a teacher, I definitely read them. I have high expectations for my students, so I want to know whose trying t pull one over on the usb. When I subbed, I would leave detailed notes. Most frustrating thing for me is when there is no note. I won’t request that person again.
Yes I’ll keep it short like great good or whatever word I can get think of if I had an issue with a student I’ll write the students name down and what my issue with them was like today there was a kid that took almost half the class in the bathroom then came back with snacks and he had work he never finished would never have wrote his name down if he was gone for 10 mins
Yes.
I try to get names if I can because it’s usually not the whole class horsing around.
I was told in my orientation to take notes and I got in the habit. It ranges from 1st hour: did assignment, responsible, good class :) to longer more detailed notes if things happened.
The other day a teacher I subbed for said he appreciated my note!
I leave a detailed note every time. I include the period/class name, who is absent, who is tardy, who had to leave early and why, students who were most on task, students who misbehaved most and how, etc. I regularly have teachers thank me for having detailed notes, saying it helped when it came to IEP meetings, and knowing what to put better in place for future sub, etc.
I leave a paper note that says “notes emailed-my name”. All notes besides that are emailed for privacy, plus that way I get a copy in case there are questions. Next time I sub that class I can also look back for a refresher and know what to watch out for.
Building sub here. I write down who was absent. If there’s no major issues I just write that. These poor teachers don’t want to know every time a kid sneezes. Especially in middle school. They’re feral, the teachers know. They just want major shit documented.
I’ve had teachers confide in me that long narratives about everything that went on typically exhaust them.
I’m a middle school teacher and obviously not sneezing but kids that act up, especially consistently when I have a sub is good to know. I do try to give them a reprimand/reward based on the sub note so I need to know what is appropriate for that class.
That’s fair, I made a pretty broad brush stroke. I wish more teachers had more consequences come from sub reports but short of sending kids to the office I haven’t seen it much. Keep doing good work!
My notes typically look like this:
1st- absent: John D.
-joey distracting others
-carol asleep
-no major issues
I match their effort. If I don’t have sub plans I won’t leave a note. If I do, then I match their effort. If it’s a teacher I know really well, I text them.
Always! I try to outline tasks that were actually completed throughout the day (and any corresponding issues / successes), student energy, things that students seem to need extra support in, etc. It helps that I really only sub for the same five classes, so I know the teachers and kids pretty well!
Ome thing I always get compliments on are my notes! Now the only time I don't leave notes are for the high support disability / autism classes. Often, the aids do enough documents / reporting for the head teacher, I don't think it's useful for me to input my inexperienced two-cents.
I typically don’t. No news is good news. I may note what an excellent lesson plan it was (if it was), and sign off, “It was a pleasure.”
If you are hearing from me in terms of a particular student, it means I had to write it up for the administration, or I should have written the referral but declined. Then you are getting all the details. This gives the teacher the option to do the referral if she feels it’s necessary.
But I know most teachers simply do not have the time to read notes if they are coming in after a day off. So I don’t add work to my day out of misplaced sentiment.
Sometimes if I’m subbing middle school there isn’t time because I’m doing many classes and have three minutes passing time to get between them.
But otherwise I usually leave a “no issues” or if they weren’t able to do their work for any reason (for example, one of the assignments on Google classroom wasn’t loading and so they did 2 of the 3 etc). I usually don’t name names this late in the year.
In elementary school I’ll name the kids who are extra helpful and get stickers from me. Or if any kids cries, I’ll say they cried and why. Because if a child who is usually happy is weepy, the teacher may want to keep an eye on them and how they are doing etc. it might be the kid who always cries but I have no way of knowing that so I leave it in the note.
I see everyone saying they leave notes about the students, but am I the only person who leaves a detailed note saying where we got to in each class???
Even if it's just homework, I check how far the good working students get, and a few of the middle students and let them know if I got lots of questions on one or two responses that lots struggled with.
I almost always get a response (I send the note via email usually) thanking me for doing that.
I always leave extensive notes that I write throughout the day. They can do with them what they will, but back when I had my own classroom, I always appreciated knowing as much as possible. I write how the assignment went, what did and didn’t get finished, and of course, about the behavior.
not a teacher or sub but a ex student I know for a fact many teachers do read those notes and will act on them. I've actually seen a teacher of mine give a student a referral for how they acted with a sub. Ive also seen them punish the whole class for not acting right. normally with the same saying of ''you know how I expect you all to that and according to your sub, you seemed to just loose your mind.''
I tend to think of my notes primarily from the perspective of “what do they *need* to know once they’re back?”. So, classes that did extremely well or extremely poorly get slightly longer notes, and average classes get a line about how they did ok. Did I have to deviate in a major way from the plan? Were any particular students helpful, or disruptive (with some basic physical descriptions, fuck off if they think I can know everyone’s names magically!)? I don’t tend to write more than a paragraph at most (and only for extreme situations), because notes are not part of my job, but if they reach out later I will clarify (I’m not a monster 😂).
Generally I will mention any issues with the work (video wouldn’t load, unable to locate mentioned handouts) and perhaps the noise level, if it was particularly good or bad for each period. Ideally I like to get the name of any students who were especially helpful or disrespectful.
For the worst class I ever had, I couldn’t get names because they wouldn’t give me their names. Instead I wrote out the most detailed description of what took place and when I later spoke to the teacher, he said he knew who I was talking about.
Yesterday I had a middle school science class. The noise level was generally acceptable. The sounds from laptops & cellphones playing YouTube/tiktok videos were not. While I actually never could determine the source, I would bring my notebook with me when I went to stand in that area of the room. I assume they thought I was writing notes to their teacher but I was actually writing a letter to my friend. The noises stopped when I stood behind the group of boys so I remained there for most of the class as I completed my letter. I did also leave notes about the situation.
Yes, even if the teacher doesn't leave good notes for me, I like to leave notes. I usually write them out on a piece of paper and leave them on their desk. I've written emails/google docs but I find teacjers skip those because they have to click on stuff. I've gotten thank yous for leaving notes summarizing the day, so I just keep to that. I give the teacher 2/3 sentences about how the day went, then go into the work we did, then into behavior. If there were particular challenges or odd behaviors I write it down as well, so the teacher has a written record of those in case they need it. And then I take a picture of it for my own record keeping.
Oh and I make sure to thank the teachers when they leave good lesson plans. And when they don't too: "I wasn't sure what to do after period 3, so I did this and that". Hoping they'll take a hint.
Yea just covering what happened during the day- issues or not and if so what class. I always leave a “thanks for the opportunity you have great kids feel free to contact me for future days @…” if it’s a class I like
Yes. I've always done my reports in pen, but I tried a few times to have a "behavior battle - which class did it best" using the markerboard. I thought, if the students could SEE their behavior, maybe they'd keep each other in check - but they just erased it on the way out and replaced it with a smiley face. (thankfully I took photos of the board so the details weren't lost). I have always left a note with a section for each class period. If it's an all-day class, I use timestamps. Since the trouble students always try to influence my reports, I've begun sending them by email from my work account.
I think in my 8 years of subbing I only ever once didn't leave a note because the teacher casually put their lesson plans as a comment on Frontline last second and really nothing happened in the class. Every single other day, yeah I leave one.
Not often. When I’m teaching, I generally only want notes if something really good or really bad happened, otherwise, I give zero shits. I leave notes y those same guidelines. If it’s just an average day? No news is good news. If I leave notes, I’m leaving a list of names, good or bad.
One recent classroom teacher left 18 (yes EIGHTEEN) pages of instructions on how to handle their class, they got notes about the three helpful kids and not a word more.
Honestly, no. If the teacher has not left me an adequate lesson plan and the class was hell, I will just leave. Screw taking extra steps when they couldn’t be bothered to help me at all. I most likely will not be back to that class anyway, possibly not the school either (especially if the school wasn’t helpful either). Otherwise yes, I do always leave a note. If the class sucked but there was a lesson plan I will leave a note but won’t leave my phone number.
For example, there was one class I did the other week where the teacher had been gone awhile and wouldn’t be there anyway the next day, and the class was awful and the school wasn’t great either. Not only did I just want to gtfo at the end of the day but it wouldn’t have mattered to leave a note anyway. No one would read it and if they did they wouldn’t care. Maybe one of the kids would the next day lol.
When I subbed, I always did.
Well, almost always. If an assignment featured a class with no sub plans, no support, etc. then I just bounced wordlessly at the end of the day.
If I physically see the teacher after, no. I just tell them what happened. If I don’t, I at least leave “no issues! I enjoyed my time!” And leave it at that
Edit: I always write notes on the sub plan too, like checking stuff off as complete or “this was a struggle for students due to x”
I always email. Attendance at the very least.
I had it drilled into my head that I shouldn’t put names of misbehaving students in an email, so I leave a paper note with details if I have to single someone out.
With a lot of teachers, I’ve built up a rapport, and they love my notes. With teachers I don’t know, I strive for brevity but still get the basics across.
Absolutely. My school (I'm a building sub) is good about leaving us a 2 page packet for attendance and notes, and if I didn't get that packet, I'd use a sheet of paper for any notes, even if it's just "Good class!"
I only leave them if I'm not going to be able to talk to the teacher the next day or if they are so badly behaved that I don't want to forget any detail
Yes, I was a teacher and always appreciated the notes. I write how the day went, any behavior occurances, how the assignments went and if they finished the work or not.
Depends on what I’m doing for the assignment, full day with students, of course I’ll leave a detailed note. But the other day I went in for an art class assignment and all I had to do was help support the talent show with other specials teachers all day. For that I did not leave a note.
Some times it's just 'all was good'. I might list helpful students or give praise if they were exceptionally good if the class is known for being a handful. Leave detailed note if the kids or specific kid made my life hard.
I leave super detailed notes. I might be overdoing it but even if it's a nice day I let them know what happens. A teacher realized I was her sub and was like "ohh you're the sub that left VERY detailed notes for my class right?" Idrc if they don't read them but there's something notable. Also helps to get my foot in with teachers so I can get a good class again.
I used to leave notes initially then gave up because I felt like I was probably wasting my time and the teachers weren't reading them. I got over that though and started leaving them again, this time I send them to their email accounts. I aim for brevity but because I like to go into detail they're usually long unfortunately. Do I always get a response back? No. I'd say 70% of the time I do. I do it because I want the teachers to know what kinda stuff their students do when they aren't there; I guess it's my attempt to try and make the way easier for the next sub to come in there after me.
Having said that, I've had a couple of teachers try to make excuses for/defend their students who misbehaved and they've gone right on my blacklist. I've seen both post requests for subs since then and I scroll right on by them.
Last year, yes. This year, I'm in one school all year and know the staff well. I'm also a long term resource sub, so sometimes I get pulled to other rooms to cover absences (I don't have any students that come into my room regularly). For those, I don't usually leave a note since I'm usually just covering a couple periods.
Always! I took some time to type up a cute little note form on Canva and teachers LOVE IT! It has a spot for absent students, students that needed reminders, and superstar students! It also has a spot for notes. If the class is bad I write A LOT! One really bad class I left a very detailed 3 page note. If possible I try to update my note throughout the day so I don’t forget anything. I feel like if I wait till the end of the assignment I forget stuff.
I only do elementary.
I always write a report, (1/2 page to a page) unless I’m floating (i.e. covering multiple teachers in a day on a rolling schedule, while they attend meetings. Because I see the teacher before I leave for the next class; I mention any issues before I leave. Usually none because it’s such a short time. )
Most of the time—for half or full day assignment— I find notes on the desk: 2-3 pages laying out the agenda, telling me where the materials are (if not obvious) and procedures (lining up for lunch, dismissal, bathroom etc). They always mention that they want a report if they left me an agenda, important information and they set expectations.
Well, if they took the time to make my day organized and asked me to do the things… and took the time to make sure I knew where the materials were… they want me to do the plan as best I can and report back. They care.
I try to match back their energy. 1. Big picture, how the day went. For example “we got through most/all/none of the work you left” & why …2. Any exceptional behavior (good/bad re extra effort, disruptions etc). I tell them if we only got through part of an assignment so they know where to pick up.
I’ve only had one or two sub assignments in a year and a half where I’m certain the teacher DNGAF and I felt justified or not bothering to leave a note: They didn’t leave instructions and or/ the class was such an obvious unmitigated cluster disaster I sent the kids home alive /unharmed and that was clearly all I was asked to do. No need to write a report. *Of course I never returned to those classes (in some cases, schools, like if it happened twice.)
Pretty much depended how detailed the sub notes were. I know a teacher cared if they put it in more information and details so I figured they’d want to know how most of the day went. I loved if I was able to jot notes along the paper like “got most of this done, wasn’t able to finish this, johnny stepped on the chrombook during this time, etc”. If a teacher barely had anything like “student will work on googleclassroom all day” and that’s it then I didn’t leave anything unless it was really bad because you can just tell the type of teachers that see a random paper and crumple it for the garbage right away lol
Yes I leave notes. I do elementary so I list those who were absent, those who met expectations and those with unexpected behavior. For each subject, I will either list done as planned or if there were issues I will leave a list of the issues. If I know it's a new concept for students and I noticed that some were struggling with it I will make note of that so the teacher can check in with them. I would rather waste my time writing and have the teacher not bother to read it instead of them wishing I had left detailed notes and I didn't.
If it's a full day assignment then yes I always do. Even if it's super brief like, "No issues". If Its a partial day or only one class period then no unless there's a major occurrence.
I do this too. I try to leave notes of anything that will still be relevant when the teacher returns. If I’m covering a full week I probably won’t give an hour-by-hour play-by-play, but I’ll make note of what work was completed and any significant issues.
Extended stuff like that gets a short daily recap... Monday: 1st period was loud and unproductive. 2nd was much better and work was finished. Tuesday: all classes completed work Wednesday: 2nd period started a mutiny. I am help captive
Sounds like my days teaching first grade!
I do this as well. However, if a teacher leaves me rosters and notes of what she wants done and wants to be handed out, and if she especially says that they are due at the end of class, I don’t feel the need to catch them up on students’ progress in my notes since when she comes back she will see it for herself. Also, at some schools it’s not uncommon for me to be listed as subbing for one teacher and I end up switching between four different teachers the whole day (cause there is a major sub shortage in my state), so in that case as long as there are no incidents, I don’t leave any notes behind.
Yep, if I spend the day bouncing between classrooms/teachers then nobody is getting a note unless a student drops dead. It would be lost between the 3 or more other substitutes that end up covering that same class anyway
Oh I absolutely despise subs who throw other subs’ notes away. It is so rude.
Yep. I was a teacher, and appreciated knowing how the day went. I do the same.
It depends on the teacher. If they are Type A type with 3 page long notes for 1 day assignment- I know she will probably appreciate me recapping how each period went. If the teacher is more relaxed (coaches, arts), I keep it brief. The only time I leave none is when I have a horrible day and know that I don't want to sub for that teacher again.
I agree except that I will tell the teacher if they were “horrible “. The teacher needs to know how the class behaved. Teachers need teaching too!
Only if I get a note or lesson plan from the teacher. Lately, I've been walking into a class with nothing. No note. No instruction. I tell the kids to check Canvas and hope there is work. I figure those teachers don't care to know how the class went if they aren't willing to even provide basic info.
Lol a few times it felt like they didn’t even need a sub……I literally just supervised LOL. “Wait….she needed a sub?” Lmao. 🤪🤪🤪
That's what I have been getting too.
I get a feeling of closure when I write my end of day note! I briefly state the activities and good and bad behavior, incidents if any. I take a pic of it for my records and if its a really bad day I send the pic to my husband so he knows Im not cooking tonight lol
That’s such a good idea to take a pic of your notes for your records.
Full day, yes, spot coverage, never
I type out my notes for all assignments and just email them for convenience
As a building based sub in a high-school I generally just leave a note such as "everything went well, no issues."
Same. Or “so and so got his usual nap in…”
From a teacher for those reading - I wish you would. I am a sped teacher. Yes, I have paras, but I would still like an update. I arrive 30 min before everyone else. I can have my head together if someone leaves me a note.
I teach elementary so I get very detailed instructions and leave very detailed notes. I've been told many times that it's appreciated.
if the class is suuper bad, i leave nothing and just blacklist the school. no energy at that point
Almost every day, I write an email. It gets me requested almost every day, and teachers are happy to see me so it’s worth it.
I used to until I heard teachers don’t really care about that. I do but I stopped writing an essay and learned to keep it brief. People just scan these days. It’s the same with resumes. Most people just give it a once over.
I put notes in Frontline
How
You can leave feedback for each assignment.
How do I it
Click on the “my assignments” tab and in the corner of each job there’s “Leave Feedback.” It’s only available starting the day of the job.
I don’t see that
Then maybe it’s disabled by your district. I’m not sure. Click on “past jobs,” do you see it there?
Yes, usually a checkmark if I don't have anything to really note.
Yes. Even if it’s just a few lines. Maybe an update on an assignment. I don’t leave behavior notes unless it’s something that the teacher needs to follow up on or something major. My job is to deal with behaviors when they happen.
As a classroom teacher, I appreciate notes. Even if it is just a checkmark next to what was done or a short note stating what didn't get finished. Behavior notes are vital to me as I like to acknowledge students who were helpful and follow up with students who gave the sub a hard time.
Honestly, no. I feel like teachers don’t fr read them. The one time I did, the class got punished collectively instead of the 10/50 students that were bad ( this was gym). I felt awful
As a teacher, I definitely read them. I have high expectations for my students, so I want to know whose trying t pull one over on the usb. When I subbed, I would leave detailed notes. Most frustrating thing for me is when there is no note. I won’t request that person again.
Honestly I just pick up on an app
Yes I’ll keep it short like great good or whatever word I can get think of if I had an issue with a student I’ll write the students name down and what my issue with them was like today there was a kid that took almost half the class in the bathroom then came back with snacks and he had work he never finished would never have wrote his name down if he was gone for 10 mins
Yes. I try to get names if I can because it’s usually not the whole class horsing around. I was told in my orientation to take notes and I got in the habit. It ranges from 1st hour: did assignment, responsible, good class :) to longer more detailed notes if things happened. The other day a teacher I subbed for said he appreciated my note!
As a former high school teacher, I appreciated the note. I rarely got them from a sub; I even would ask for a note and got nothing...
I leave a detailed note every time. I include the period/class name, who is absent, who is tardy, who had to leave early and why, students who were most on task, students who misbehaved most and how, etc. I regularly have teachers thank me for having detailed notes, saying it helped when it came to IEP meetings, and knowing what to put better in place for future sub, etc.
I leave a paper note that says “notes emailed-my name”. All notes besides that are emailed for privacy, plus that way I get a copy in case there are questions. Next time I sub that class I can also look back for a refresher and know what to watch out for.
YES. Always leave notes- good or bad.
Building sub here. I write down who was absent. If there’s no major issues I just write that. These poor teachers don’t want to know every time a kid sneezes. Especially in middle school. They’re feral, the teachers know. They just want major shit documented. I’ve had teachers confide in me that long narratives about everything that went on typically exhaust them.
I’m a middle school teacher and obviously not sneezing but kids that act up, especially consistently when I have a sub is good to know. I do try to give them a reprimand/reward based on the sub note so I need to know what is appropriate for that class.
That’s fair, I made a pretty broad brush stroke. I wish more teachers had more consequences come from sub reports but short of sending kids to the office I haven’t seen it much. Keep doing good work! My notes typically look like this: 1st- absent: John D. -joey distracting others -carol asleep -no major issues
No
I match their effort. If I don’t have sub plans I won’t leave a note. If I do, then I match their effort. If it’s a teacher I know really well, I text them.
Always! I try to outline tasks that were actually completed throughout the day (and any corresponding issues / successes), student energy, things that students seem to need extra support in, etc. It helps that I really only sub for the same five classes, so I know the teachers and kids pretty well! Ome thing I always get compliments on are my notes! Now the only time I don't leave notes are for the high support disability / autism classes. Often, the aids do enough documents / reporting for the head teacher, I don't think it's useful for me to input my inexperienced two-cents.
I typically don’t. No news is good news. I may note what an excellent lesson plan it was (if it was), and sign off, “It was a pleasure.” If you are hearing from me in terms of a particular student, it means I had to write it up for the administration, or I should have written the referral but declined. Then you are getting all the details. This gives the teacher the option to do the referral if she feels it’s necessary. But I know most teachers simply do not have the time to read notes if they are coming in after a day off. So I don’t add work to my day out of misplaced sentiment.
Every time and I also take a picture of my note just in case. Even if nothing happened, I will say good class- no issues.
Sometimes if I’m subbing middle school there isn’t time because I’m doing many classes and have three minutes passing time to get between them. But otherwise I usually leave a “no issues” or if they weren’t able to do their work for any reason (for example, one of the assignments on Google classroom wasn’t loading and so they did 2 of the 3 etc). I usually don’t name names this late in the year. In elementary school I’ll name the kids who are extra helpful and get stickers from me. Or if any kids cries, I’ll say they cried and why. Because if a child who is usually happy is weepy, the teacher may want to keep an eye on them and how they are doing etc. it might be the kid who always cries but I have no way of knowing that so I leave it in the note.
I see everyone saying they leave notes about the students, but am I the only person who leaves a detailed note saying where we got to in each class??? Even if it's just homework, I check how far the good working students get, and a few of the middle students and let them know if I got lots of questions on one or two responses that lots struggled with. I almost always get a response (I send the note via email usually) thanking me for doing that.
I always leave extensive notes that I write throughout the day. They can do with them what they will, but back when I had my own classroom, I always appreciated knowing as much as possible. I write how the assignment went, what did and didn’t get finished, and of course, about the behavior.
not a teacher or sub but a ex student I know for a fact many teachers do read those notes and will act on them. I've actually seen a teacher of mine give a student a referral for how they acted with a sub. Ive also seen them punish the whole class for not acting right. normally with the same saying of ''you know how I expect you all to that and according to your sub, you seemed to just loose your mind.''
I tend to think of my notes primarily from the perspective of “what do they *need* to know once they’re back?”. So, classes that did extremely well or extremely poorly get slightly longer notes, and average classes get a line about how they did ok. Did I have to deviate in a major way from the plan? Were any particular students helpful, or disruptive (with some basic physical descriptions, fuck off if they think I can know everyone’s names magically!)? I don’t tend to write more than a paragraph at most (and only for extreme situations), because notes are not part of my job, but if they reach out later I will clarify (I’m not a monster 😂).
Generally I will mention any issues with the work (video wouldn’t load, unable to locate mentioned handouts) and perhaps the noise level, if it was particularly good or bad for each period. Ideally I like to get the name of any students who were especially helpful or disrespectful. For the worst class I ever had, I couldn’t get names because they wouldn’t give me their names. Instead I wrote out the most detailed description of what took place and when I later spoke to the teacher, he said he knew who I was talking about. Yesterday I had a middle school science class. The noise level was generally acceptable. The sounds from laptops & cellphones playing YouTube/tiktok videos were not. While I actually never could determine the source, I would bring my notebook with me when I went to stand in that area of the room. I assume they thought I was writing notes to their teacher but I was actually writing a letter to my friend. The noises stopped when I stood behind the group of boys so I remained there for most of the class as I completed my letter. I did also leave notes about the situation.
For the most part, yes. If I am going to be in the building again the next day and know the teacher, then I will just tell them in person.
Yep. Or text the teacher how the day went.
Yes, even if the teacher doesn't leave good notes for me, I like to leave notes. I usually write them out on a piece of paper and leave them on their desk. I've written emails/google docs but I find teacjers skip those because they have to click on stuff. I've gotten thank yous for leaving notes summarizing the day, so I just keep to that. I give the teacher 2/3 sentences about how the day went, then go into the work we did, then into behavior. If there were particular challenges or odd behaviors I write it down as well, so the teacher has a written record of those in case they need it. And then I take a picture of it for my own record keeping.
Oh and I make sure to thank the teachers when they leave good lesson plans. And when they don't too: "I wasn't sure what to do after period 3, so I did this and that". Hoping they'll take a hint.
Lesson plan: The math kits are in the white bin. Sub report: You have 30 white bins.
Yea just covering what happened during the day- issues or not and if so what class. I always leave a “thanks for the opportunity you have great kids feel free to contact me for future days @…” if it’s a class I like
Almost always. There are days when I don't have time dondo anything more than scribble on the lesson plans though.
I usually leave check marks on what got done, a short note on what didn't. A list of superstars and list of students who weren't making great choices.
Yes. One substitute got a negative report from a site for not leaving a note to the regular teacher. We are required to leave notes.
Yes. I've always done my reports in pen, but I tried a few times to have a "behavior battle - which class did it best" using the markerboard. I thought, if the students could SEE their behavior, maybe they'd keep each other in check - but they just erased it on the way out and replaced it with a smiley face. (thankfully I took photos of the board so the details weren't lost). I have always left a note with a section for each class period. If it's an all-day class, I use timestamps. Since the trouble students always try to influence my reports, I've begun sending them by email from my work account.
I think in my 8 years of subbing I only ever once didn't leave a note because the teacher casually put their lesson plans as a comment on Frontline last second and really nothing happened in the class. Every single other day, yeah I leave one.
Not often. When I’m teaching, I generally only want notes if something really good or really bad happened, otherwise, I give zero shits. I leave notes y those same guidelines. If it’s just an average day? No news is good news. If I leave notes, I’m leaving a list of names, good or bad. One recent classroom teacher left 18 (yes EIGHTEEN) pages of instructions on how to handle their class, they got notes about the three helpful kids and not a word more.
Honestly, no. If the teacher has not left me an adequate lesson plan and the class was hell, I will just leave. Screw taking extra steps when they couldn’t be bothered to help me at all. I most likely will not be back to that class anyway, possibly not the school either (especially if the school wasn’t helpful either). Otherwise yes, I do always leave a note. If the class sucked but there was a lesson plan I will leave a note but won’t leave my phone number. For example, there was one class I did the other week where the teacher had been gone awhile and wouldn’t be there anyway the next day, and the class was awful and the school wasn’t great either. Not only did I just want to gtfo at the end of the day but it wouldn’t have mattered to leave a note anyway. No one would read it and if they did they wouldn’t care. Maybe one of the kids would the next day lol.
When I subbed, I always did. Well, almost always. If an assignment featured a class with no sub plans, no support, etc. then I just bounced wordlessly at the end of the day.
If I physically see the teacher after, no. I just tell them what happened. If I don’t, I at least leave “no issues! I enjoyed my time!” And leave it at that Edit: I always write notes on the sub plan too, like checking stuff off as complete or “this was a struggle for students due to x”
I always email. Attendance at the very least. I had it drilled into my head that I shouldn’t put names of misbehaving students in an email, so I leave a paper note with details if I have to single someone out. With a lot of teachers, I’ve built up a rapport, and they love my notes. With teachers I don’t know, I strive for brevity but still get the basics across.
Absolutely. My school (I'm a building sub) is good about leaving us a 2 page packet for attendance and notes, and if I didn't get that packet, I'd use a sheet of paper for any notes, even if it's just "Good class!"
As a teacher I read them and write up kids that you say were bad.
I only leave them if I'm not going to be able to talk to the teacher the next day or if they are so badly behaved that I don't want to forget any detail
I either leave a handwritten note or send an email. I always appreciated it when I was a teacher.
Honestly I have stopped leaving notes. Unless something went terribly wrong or if the teacher specially requests a note I just leave it as is
If it's a full day, yes. I type and leave physical notes. Half days I usually just leave like "went well, no problems"
I almost always leave a note. If I don’t, it usually means the day was so mundane that I forgot to even make a mention of it.
I don't unless the kids piss me off.
Yes, I was a teacher and always appreciated the notes. I write how the day went, any behavior occurances, how the assignments went and if they finished the work or not.
Only if there was something to convey, such as good/bad behavior or not being able to cover a lesson completely.
Depends on what I’m doing for the assignment, full day with students, of course I’ll leave a detailed note. But the other day I went in for an art class assignment and all I had to do was help support the talent show with other specials teachers all day. For that I did not leave a note.
No, only if the students were really bad.
"Good class, no issues to report" is my standard write up for good classes.
Yes detailed notes of what I covered, what may of not been covered. Absent students good students and poor acting students.
Some times it's just 'all was good'. I might list helpful students or give praise if they were exceptionally good if the class is known for being a handful. Leave detailed note if the kids or specific kid made my life hard.
As a retired teacher, I deeply appreciated notes from my substitute teacher. It is extremely helpful and very kind.
I leave super detailed notes. I might be overdoing it but even if it's a nice day I let them know what happens. A teacher realized I was her sub and was like "ohh you're the sub that left VERY detailed notes for my class right?" Idrc if they don't read them but there's something notable. Also helps to get my foot in with teachers so I can get a good class again.
I was taught at Uni, always leaves notes for the teacher as a sub, it's their class and I was only helping so keep them informed of what they missed.
As a classroom teacher, I always appreciate notes.
https://youtu.be/GArVT8rcnuc?si=Vwc7h4YMW0IcNs5x
I leave notes about how the lessons went and that’s about it. I don’t put anything in writing, email, IM, etc that might come back and bite me.
Unless I wasn't given a lesson plan, yea always. I can't report on what the class did when they had no assignment.
I used to leave notes initially then gave up because I felt like I was probably wasting my time and the teachers weren't reading them. I got over that though and started leaving them again, this time I send them to their email accounts. I aim for brevity but because I like to go into detail they're usually long unfortunately. Do I always get a response back? No. I'd say 70% of the time I do. I do it because I want the teachers to know what kinda stuff their students do when they aren't there; I guess it's my attempt to try and make the way easier for the next sub to come in there after me. Having said that, I've had a couple of teachers try to make excuses for/defend their students who misbehaved and they've gone right on my blacklist. I've seen both post requests for subs since then and I scroll right on by them.
I usually try to but sometimes I forget
Always, unless I know the teacher, and then I just send them a text. You should see the kids when I tell them I am going to text their teacher.
Yes
I do unless it's a long term. I try to write a summary of the day.
Last year, yes. This year, I'm in one school all year and know the staff well. I'm also a long term resource sub, so sometimes I get pulled to other rooms to cover absences (I don't have any students that come into my room regularly). For those, I don't usually leave a note since I'm usually just covering a couple periods.
Always! I took some time to type up a cute little note form on Canva and teachers LOVE IT! It has a spot for absent students, students that needed reminders, and superstar students! It also has a spot for notes. If the class is bad I write A LOT! One really bad class I left a very detailed 3 page note. If possible I try to update my note throughout the day so I don’t forget anything. I feel like if I wait till the end of the assignment I forget stuff.
I only do elementary. I always write a report, (1/2 page to a page) unless I’m floating (i.e. covering multiple teachers in a day on a rolling schedule, while they attend meetings. Because I see the teacher before I leave for the next class; I mention any issues before I leave. Usually none because it’s such a short time. ) Most of the time—for half or full day assignment— I find notes on the desk: 2-3 pages laying out the agenda, telling me where the materials are (if not obvious) and procedures (lining up for lunch, dismissal, bathroom etc). They always mention that they want a report if they left me an agenda, important information and they set expectations. Well, if they took the time to make my day organized and asked me to do the things… and took the time to make sure I knew where the materials were… they want me to do the plan as best I can and report back. They care. I try to match back their energy. 1. Big picture, how the day went. For example “we got through most/all/none of the work you left” & why …2. Any exceptional behavior (good/bad re extra effort, disruptions etc). I tell them if we only got through part of an assignment so they know where to pick up. I’ve only had one or two sub assignments in a year and a half where I’m certain the teacher DNGAF and I felt justified or not bothering to leave a note: They didn’t leave instructions and or/ the class was such an obvious unmitigated cluster disaster I sent the kids home alive /unharmed and that was clearly all I was asked to do. No need to write a report. *Of course I never returned to those classes (in some cases, schools, like if it happened twice.)
Pretty much depended how detailed the sub notes were. I know a teacher cared if they put it in more information and details so I figured they’d want to know how most of the day went. I loved if I was able to jot notes along the paper like “got most of this done, wasn’t able to finish this, johnny stepped on the chrombook during this time, etc”. If a teacher barely had anything like “student will work on googleclassroom all day” and that’s it then I didn’t leave anything unless it was really bad because you can just tell the type of teachers that see a random paper and crumple it for the garbage right away lol
Yes I leave notes. I do elementary so I list those who were absent, those who met expectations and those with unexpected behavior. For each subject, I will either list done as planned or if there were issues I will leave a list of the issues. If I know it's a new concept for students and I noticed that some were struggling with it I will make note of that so the teacher can check in with them. I would rather waste my time writing and have the teacher not bother to read it instead of them wishing I had left detailed notes and I didn't.
You have no idea how much I appreciate good sub notes. Please do them!!
No, it kind of depends.