Middle School Advisory Maternity Leave Sub Plans, 6 Weeks, Grades 6-8, 30 Days of SEL Lessons, Long Term Sub Plans, No Prep, 408 Pages

Thirty days of advisory, ready on the shelf before your leave begins. I made these middle school advisory sub plans as maternity leave sub plans and long term sub plans for grades 6-8: six complete binders, 30 days of SEL lessons for advisory or homeroom. Every day has individual work (a review set and a calm block) and a team task for groups of four, plus an optional game as a fun way to end the class. Week 1 covers goal setting, study skills, conflict resolution, digital citizenship, and kindness and community. Week 2 covers growth mindset, time management, friendship and peer pressure, managing stress and emotions, and respect and diversity. Week 3 brings communication and listening, responsible decisions, media literacy, healthy habits and teamwork, and Week 4 self-awareness and strengths, empathy, bullying and upstanding, money basics, and gratitude. Week 5 goes on to career exploration, resilience, handling change, community and service, and self-advocacy, and Week 6 to personal values, healthy relationships and boundaries, test prep and test stress, leadership, and reflection and celebration. No prep: print and go. I see the six weeks as a strong start for the first weeks of a maternity leave, and they work just as well for a medical leave, a family leave or any absence of about six weeks.

Perfect For

• The first six weeks of a maternity leave, so your advisory starts the leave with a plan
• Six weeks out: surgery or medical leave, a family leave, a long illness
• A long-term sub who does not know your advisory or your class
• Advisory or homeroom teachers with several periods: one set covers every period that day
• A vacancy or a late hire, when advisory needs six weeks of solid lessons
• Your sub tub or emergency sub folder, ready before you need it

How It Works

1. Print the six binders and leave them on your desk. Week 1 covers days 1 to 5, Week 2 days 6 to 10, Week 3 days 11 to 15, Week 4 days 16 to 20, Week 5 days 21 to 25 and Week 6 days 26 to 30. Each binder has its own week plan on page 4, already filled in with page numbers.
2. The sub runs the day’s review set in every period. Students work on their own, and the set ends with a challenge for fast finishers. The calm block (a puzzle page and a reset sheet) is for early finishers or a loud moment, the team task for groups of four fills a block period, and the game is optional fun for the last 15 minutes.
3. Every set stands alone, so each plan is only a sample order: move any set to any day. Each set opens with a line that says what it reviews.
4. Every answer is in the key at the back of each binder, so the sub needs no subject knowledge.
5. Prefer your own order? Each binder includes a blank weekly schedule.

What’s Inside: 408 Pages, Six Binders

• Week 1 binder, 68 pages: a binder cover, important information, a note to the substitute, the week plan filled in Monday to Friday with page numbers, a blank weekly schedule, a set index, class list and dismissal, a "how it went" sheet and a Monday opener (Meet Your Sub)
• Week 1 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Goal Setting (SMART goals, fixing vague goals, if-then plans); Study Skills (spaced practice, retrieval practice, taking notes, a study plan); Conflict Resolution (I-statements, the four steps to talk out a conflict, role-play scripts); Digital Citizenship (screenshots, the digital footprint, online choices, a before-I-post checklist); Kindness and Community (specific compliments, compliment cards, a class map)
• Week 1 team tasks (groups of four): The Two-Week Crunch; The Quiz Week Study Plan; The Welcome Booklet; The Homework Club Council; The Mixed Lunch Debate
• Week 1 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Reset Sheet; Study Words Match and Grounding Sheet; Secret Codes and Control Sheet; Online Words Scramble and Brain Dump; Word Ladders and Three Good Things
• Week 2 binder, 68 pages: its own binder cover, important information, note to the substitute, filled-in week plan, blank schedule, set index, class list, "how it went" sheet and Monday opener
• Week 2 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Growth Mindset (fixed or growth?, the power of yet, mistakes are information); Time Management (urgent or important, estimate and start, my week planner); Friendship and Peer Pressure (healthy and warning signs, three ways to answer, the no toolkit); Managing Stress and Emotions (naming feelings, the stress thermometer, helping and planning); Respect and Diversity (other perspectives, inclusive language, a class agreement)
• Week 2 team tasks (groups of four): Mindset Makeover; The Fun Run Countdown; The Pressure Play Lab; The Right Tool for the Moment; Fix the Flyer
• Week 2 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Reset Sheet; Time Words Match and Grounding Sheet; Secret Codes and Control Sheet; Calm Words Scramble and Brain Dump; Word Ladders and Three Good Things
• Week 3 binder, 68 pages: its own binder cover, important information, note to the substitute, filled-in week plan, blank schedule, set index, class list, "how it went" sheet and Monday opener
• Week 3 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Communication and Listening (listening moves, tone and body language, saying it and summing it up); Responsible Decisions (a five-step decision model, consequence chains, weighing the options); Media Literacy (fact or opinion, sources and ads, checking a headline); Healthy Habits (sleep, screens before bed, movement, a habit plan); Teamwork (team roles, giving and taking feedback, fixing a team problem)
• Week 3 team tasks (groups of four): Picture in Words; The Ripple Chain; The Fact-Check Desk; The Evening Remix; The Spring Games Crew
• Week 3 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Listening Reset; Decision Words Match and Pause First; Secret Codes and What I Control Online; Habit Words Scramble and Clear My Head; Word Ladders and Good Team Moments
• Week 4 binder, 68 pages: its own binder cover, important information, note to the substitute, filled-in week plan, blank schedule, set index, class list, "how it went" sheet and Monday opener
• Week 4 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Self-Awareness and Strengths (interests, skills and strengths, strength spotting, strengths and goals); Empathy (empathy or sympathy, reading the cues, rewriting replies with empathy); Bullying and Upstanding (the three signs of bullying, bystander roles, being an upstander); Money Basics (needs and wants, budgets and saving, unit prices); Gratitude (gratitude or politeness, spotting the good, a thank-you note)
• Week 4 team tasks (groups of four): The Strength Detectives; Four Sides of the Spill; The Three-Sign Test; The Lemonade Booth Ledger; Behind the School Day
• Week 4 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Strengths Reset; Empathy Words Match and Notice First; Secret Codes and My Upstander Circle; Money Words Scramble and Budget My Attention; Word Ladders and Thanks I Noticed
• Week 5 binder, 68 pages: its own binder cover, important information, note to the substitute, filled-in week plan, blank schedule, set index, class list, "how it went" sheet and Monday opener
• Week 5 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Career Exploration (career clusters, reading a job info card, paths and interests); Resilience (bouncing back from setbacks, helpful self-talk, setback cards); Handling Change (four stages of change, reading a new schedule, what I can control and a change plan); Community and Service (community needs, reading a project plan, planning a service project); Self-Advocacy (when to ask for help, clear requests, emailing a teacher)
• Week 5 team tasks (groups of four): The Career Card Match; The Comeback Cards; First Day Navigator; Service Project Plan; Speak Up Stations
• Week 5 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Curiosity Reset; Bounce Back Match and Steady Again; Secret Codes and Settling In; Service Scramble and Make Some Room; Word Ladders and Three Good Things
• Week 6 binder, 68 pages: its own binder cover, important information, note to the substitute, filled-in week plan, blank schedule, set index, class list, "how it went" sheet and Monday opener
• Week 6 review sets (solo, 3 pages each): Personal Values (values, rules and preferences, values in action, my values compass); Healthy Relationships and Boundaries (four kinds of boundaries, friendship signs, setting and respecting a boundary, online boundaries); Test Prep and Test Stress (test-taking strategies, getting ready for the test, calm on test day); Leadership (leadership qualities, leading the group, from boss to leader); Reflection and Celebration (naming advisory skills, celebrating growth, a letter to my future self)
• Week 6 team tasks (groups of four): The Values Shop; Signal Check; The Test Coach Hotline; The Leadership Relay; The Strategy Awards
• Week 6 calm blocks (solo, each a word puzzle with advisory words plus a reset sheet): Word Search and Values Reset; Boundary Words Match and My Space, My Pace; Secret Codes and Test Calm Control; Leader Words Scramble and Lead Yourself First; Word Ladders and Proud Moments
• Optional advisory games for the last 15 minutes of each day, a fun way to end the class or something for extra time, with new questions in each week: Whiteboard Quiz Game; Paper Password; Class Feud; Classroom Millionaire; Mystery Box
• Answer keys for every set, calm puzzle, team task and game, at the back of each binder

Here is a quick look at all six weeks: