What to Bring to Schools as a Supply Teacher & Supply Teacher Tips
A supply teacher has such an important job! There are some essential things to bring to schools to ensure a smooth and easy day for yourself. Preparation is key for effective occasional teaching classroom management in every school. Here are some supply teacher tips including essentials that in your supply teacher bag.
Supply Teacher Bag:
- books for read-aloud
- treats (e.g., pencils, erasers)
- stationary to leave notes for the teacher
- business/contact cards to leave the teacher
- personal reading book (in case of prep)
- word searches as early finishers
- running shoes
- white board markers
- pencils (attendance)
- clipboard
- colouring sheets
- sticky notes
- whistle (in case you teach gym)
- a list of cooperative games
- gym wear
Supply Teaching Tips:
- keep a binder for every school you regularly supply at with important information (e.g., school schedule, staff and student names)
- keep a list of what you’ve completed for the day
- arrive early to ease into the day
- go over emergency procedures
- ask the office if there’s anything you should know about any of the students in the classroom
- be aware of any allergies or epipens in the room
- network with others at lunch
- note to the teacher: make a list of all the things you accomplished (e.g., we started this, finished this, etc.)
- hand out business cards to staff members
- if you would like to during your prep, go to the office and ask if they need anything. This is your self-directed time and completely up to you!
Of course, everything is just a suggestion and not mandatory. These are just meant to provide some ideas for your teaching journey. I showed up prepared everyday and excited. It’s important to remember that you are a professional and acting as such will land you a permanent job quickly. I only supply taught for a month and a half after I graduated before I landed a contract for the rest of the year and only worked full-year contracts from then on. It took me 3 years to become a permanent teacher.
