Emergency Sub Plans

Emergency Substitute Math Plans

Teacher: Alexandra Hatfield

School: The Excel Center, Roanoke, VA

Date: ___________________

To Our Valued Substitute Teacher,

Thank you so much for covering my classes today. The goal for today is to introduce students to a foundational concept for each course. Please treat this as their first time seeing the material. Your role is to facilitate their initial exploration of these topics.

General Instructions:

  • Please take attendance at the beginning of each class period.
  • Encourage students to try their best and work quietly. This is a learning activity, not just busy work.
  • Please collect the worksheets at the end of the period and place them on my desk.

If you have any questions, the teacher next door, [Neighboring Teacher's Name] in Room [Room #], is a wonderful resource. Thank you again for everything!

Class: Math Foundations

Topic: Introduction to the Order of Operations

Objective: Students will be introduced to PEMDAS as the rule for solving problems with multiple steps.

Instructions for the Substitute:

  1. Welcome the students and take attendance.
  2. Distribute the "Order of Operations" worksheet.
  3. Explain that in math, we need a set of rules to make sure everyone gets the same answer. This is called the Order of Operations.
  4. Write PEMDAS on the board and explain what it stands for. Use the phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" to help them remember.
    • P - Parentheses (Do first)
    • E - Exponents (Do second)
    • M/D - Multiplication and Division (Left to Right)
    • A/S - Addition and Subtraction (Left to Right)
  5. Work through the first problem on the worksheet together as a class.
  6. Instruct students to work independently on the rest.

Student Worksheet: Intro to Order of Operations

Name: _________________________

Date: ___________________

Instructions: Use the order of operations (PEMDAS) to find the value of each expression.

1. 10 + 2 × 3

2. 15 ÷ 3 + 2

3. 5 × (4 + 1)

4. 20 - 10 ÷ 2

5. 32 + 1

6. (5 - 2) × 4

ANSWER KEY (For Substitute Use Only)

  1. 10 + 6 = 16
  2. 5 + 2 = 7
  3. 5 × 5 = 25
  4. 20 - 5 = 15
  5. 9 + 1 = 10
  6. 3 × 4 = 12

Class: Algebra 1

Topic: Introduction to Variables and Expressions

Objective: Students will learn what a variable is and practice evaluating simple algebraic expressions.

Instructions for the Substitute:

  1. Welcome the students and take attendance.
  2. Ask the class: "What happens in math when we don't know a number?" Introduce the idea of a variable: a letter that holds the place of an unknown value.
  3. Explain that an expression is a math phrase without an equal sign (e.g., x + 5).
  4. Distribute the worksheet. Work through the first problem in Part 1 and the first problem in Part 2 together as a class.
  5. Instruct students to complete the rest of the worksheet independently.

Student Worksheet: Intro to Variables

Name: _________________________

Date: ___________________

Part 1: Writing Expressions. Write a mathematical expression for each phrase.

1. A number n plus 5: ______________

2. 10 minus a number x: ______________

3. 4 times a number y: ______________

Part 2: Evaluating Expressions. Find the value of each expression if you are given the value for the variable.

4. Find the value of a + 8 if a = 10.

5. Find the value of 20 - b if b = 12.

6. Find the value of 5c (this means 5 × c) if c = 6.

ANSWER KEY (For Substitute Use Only)

  1. n + 5
  2. 10 - x
  3. 4y (or 4 × y)
  4. 10 + 8 = 18
  5. 20 - 12 = 8
  6. 5 × 6 = 30

Class: Geometry

Topic: The Building Blocks of Geometry: Points, Lines, and Planes

Objective: Students will learn the definitions and notations for points, lines, and planes.

Instructions for the Substitute:

  1. Welcome the students and take attendance.
  2. Explain that all of Geometry is built from three simple ideas: Points, Lines, and Planes.
  3. Draw and define each on the board:
    • A Point: A single location. Drawn as a dot, named with a capital letter (e.g., Point A).
    • A Line: Goes on forever in two directions. Drawn with arrows on both ends. Named by two points on the line (e.g., Line AB).
    • A Plane: A flat surface that goes on forever. Drawn as a parallelogram (e.g., Plane CDE).
  4. Distribute the worksheet and have students work independently.

Student Worksheet: Points, Lines, and Planes

Name: _________________________

Date: ___________________

Instructions: Match the term to its definition and then draw an example of each.

1. Point ______________

2. Line ______________

3. Plane ______________

Definitions:

A. A flat surface that extends forever.

B. A specific location in space.

C. A straight path that extends forever in two directions.

4. Draw and label a Point P.

5. Draw and label a Line XY.

ANSWER KEY (For Substitute Use Only)

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. Student should draw a single dot with the letter P next to it.

5. Student should draw a straight line with arrows on both ends, and two points on it labeled X and Y.