Middle School ELA Sub Plans, Emergency Sub Binder, Grades 6-8, 9 No Prep Activities

A grammar detective, a book talk mystery and a script for the sub. These middle school ELA sub plans are emergency sub plans for grades 6-8: one full no prep day of reading, writing and grammar that runs from the printout. Your students get both individual work and team tasks: 3 activities they do on their own (a quiet reading with an original article and story, a grammar detective sheet and a writing menu) and 6 with others (a partner check, a rulebook writing project in pairs, a word puzzle tournament and a logic mystery in teams, an evidence stand-off and an optional quiz game for the whole class). Every activity starts with a Say this to the class box, every student sheet has a star challenge for early finishers, and every answer is in the key, so the sub needs no ELA background. No prep and no tech for you: print it once and keep it ready.

Perfect For

• A sudden sick day: emergency sub plans that are ready before you need them
• A sub who does not teach ELA: the script, the steps and every answer are on the page
• Any middle school ELA class with a 40 to 50 minute period: run one activity per period, or the same one all day
• Your sub tub or emergency sub folder, printed once for the whole year
• Your own no prep day, a review day before a test, or a planned absence like a conference

How It Works

1. Print the binder and leave it on your desk. The lesson plan on page 4 is already filled in: every activity with its page, its minutes and three short steps.
2. Each activity starts with a sub script: a Say this to the class box of two or three sentences the sub reads aloud, how to set it up, the timing, and the answer key.
3. Every activity fits one class period (35 to 45 minutes), so the sub can run a different one each period or the same one all day. They all stand alone and review reading, writing and grammar skills the class has met before.
4. Every student sheet has a core task for everyone and a star challenge for early finishers. The games are optional, a fun way to end a class or to fill extra time.
5. Every answer is in the key, and the writing tasks come with a checklist and a model, so the sub can check work or simply collect it for you.

What’s Inside: 37 Pages

• 7 front pages: a binder cover, important information, a note to the substitute, the lesson plan already filled in, a schedule of the day, a class list and dismissal sheet, and a "how it went" sheet for the sub
• Quiet Reading (individual, 45 min): Two short original readings, an article and a story, with questions and keys. It practices central idea, vocabulary in context, inference, text structure, evidence, character and theme.
• Grammar Detective (individual, 40 min): Ten short pieces of writing, each with one sentence to find, name and fix. It practices editing: agreement, pronouns, its and it’s, comma splices, fragments, verb tense, modifiers, apostrophes.
• Writing Menu (individual, 45 min): Three writing sheets to choose from: a story scene, an argument paragraph, and notes turned into a paragraph. It practices narrative writing with dialogue, a claim with evidence and a counterclaim, sequence and transitions.
• Partner Check (pairs, 40 min): Partner A and Partner B read different sentences with the same answers and check each other. It practices figurative language, point of view, sentence types, parts of speech, context clues, prefixes, structure and tone.
• Write the Rulebook (pairs or threes, 40 min): Fix a broken rulebook, then invent a word game and write rules a stranger could follow. It practices purpose and audience, clear procedural writing, commands, vague pronouns and exact words.
• Word Puzzle Tournament (teams, 41 min): 24 word puzzles in 3 rounds: word parts, meaning match and word logic. It practices roots, prefixes and suffixes, context clues, antonyms, idioms, homophones, connotation, analogies and anagrams.
• The Book Talk Mix-Up (teams, 40 min): A logic mystery with reading clues: infer each book’s genre from its blurb and each talk’s format from the notes. It practices close reading and inference: genres from blurbs, details in quotes, reasoning from clues instead of guessing.
• Which Evidence Wins? Stand-Off (whole class, 40 min): Twelve claims, two pieces of evidence each: guess which one wins, then prove it. It practices evaluating evidence: fact or opinion, relevance, specific details, trustworthy and current sources, enough data.
• Whiteboard Quiz Game (whole class in teams, optional, 35 min): An optional board quiz game: grammar, word parts, figurative language, reading and evidence from this binder. It practices a review of this binder: grammar, word parts, figurative language, reading terms and evidence.
• A sub script for every activity, with the answer keys printed on it or right after it (10 pages), and 20 student pages

Here is a quick look at the binder: