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

Sick at 6 a.m. and advisory is first period? It is covered. These middle school advisory sub plans are emergency sub plans with 9 no prep SEL activities for advisory or homeroom, grades 6-8: one full day, run straight from the printout. Your students get both individual work and team tasks: 4 activities they do on their own (a reading, an advice column reply, a story ending and a practice menu) and 5 in teams, groups or as a whole class (a logic mystery, a puzzle tournament, a category race, Draw and Pass and a This or That stand-off). Every step is on the page: the sub reads the Read This Out box, and every answer is in the key, so the sub needs no counseling 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 has never taught advisory: every step is on the page and every answer is in the key
• Any middle school advisory or homeroom 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, or a planned absence like a conference or training

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: how to set it up, a Read This Out box written to be read aloud word for word, the timing, and the answer key wherever there are answers.
3. Every activity fits one class period (33 to 45 minutes), so the sub can run a different one each period or the same one all day. They all stand alone.
4. The quiet individual activities settle a class. The team and group games are optional, a fun way to end a class or to fill extra time.
5. Writing comes back to you, and the keys settle every answer, so the sub never has to grade, judge or lead a counseling talk.

What’s Inside: 39 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 advisory readings with questions and keys. An article and a story. It practices reading for detail: curiosity and asking good questions, patience when progress is slow.
• Advice Column Reply (individual, 43 min): Read a student’s letter to a school advice column, take notes, then write a kind reply of about 50 words. It practices finding the real question in a letter, speaking up in a group, giving safe and kind advice in writing.
• Finish the Story (individual, 43 min): A school story stops at a choice. Students plan, then write an ending with a good decision. It practices a good decision under pressure, honesty and fairness, saying no to a friend kindly, writing an ending.
• Practice Menu (individual, 45 min): Three sheets to choose from: scrambled skill words, a question sort, and what would you do. It practices words for good character, open and closed questions, choosing a good next step in school situations.
• Draw and Pass (groups of 6, 33 min): Telephone with pictures. Write a kind or funny school moment, draw it, write it again, in silence. It practices clear communication without talking, kind school moments, patience while a message changes.
• Brain Teaser Tournament (teams, 41 min): 24 puzzles with an advisory twist in 3 rounds: codes, school logic and expert puzzles. It practices teamwork under time pressure, codes that hide upbeat words, logic and number puzzles about school life.
• The Club Week Mix-Up (teams, 40 min): A logic-grid mystery: 9 clues, a soaked schedule, no guessing. It practices careful reading of clues (later than, the day after, only one is true), team jobs, reasoning, not guessing.
• Category Race (groups, 41 min): One letter. Ten advisory categories. Three minutes. Unique answers score. It practices quick thinking: ways to calm down, people who help at school, kind things to say, good qualities.
• This or That Stand-Off (whole class, 42 min): Pick a side, hear one speaker each, vote again. Most votes wins. It practices giving a clear reason, listening to the other side, disagreeing respectfully, changing your mind.
• A sub script for every activity, with the answer keys printed on it or right after it (10 pages), and 22 student pages

Here is a quick look at the binder: