Substitute teacher tips: 3 steps to improve student engagement during a lesson.

As a substitute teacher, student engagement is an essential part of your job. Having tried-and-true student engagement strategies in your back pocket can help you keep the class focused from the start to the end of each lesson. 

You can think of student engagement like taking a vacation — you need to prepare, enjoy the time you have away from home, and unpack and reflect when you get back. 

Here, we’ll explore how you can prepare students for learning and keep them interested and engaged during your lesson. Then, we’ll look at ways to support them as they synthesize the information they learned at the end of class. 

Step 1 – Prepare students for learning.

No matter what time of day you have your students, it can be tough to get a group of students engaged. Whether you’re dealing with a sleepy first-period class, a rowdy after-recess crew, or a checked-out end-of-the-day group of students, you need to wrangle the class immediately. It’s important to let them know that they’ll have a productive learning experience as soon as they enter the classroom. 

Try these student engagement strategies to prepare your students for learning: 

• Give brief, clear instructions. These should set high expectations aligned with their standard classroom rules. 

• Provide an overview of what will happen for the day. Introduce what they should be able to do or to explain by the end of class. 

• Offer a problem, riddle, or connection between the lesson and day-to-day life. 

• Ask students to brainstorm everything they already know about the topic you’ll be covering with a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned).  

To create a KWL chart, simply make two folds in a piece of notebook paper, creating three columns. In the first column, students write the information they already know about the day’s topic. In the second column, they’ll write questions for which they’d like to learn the answers. 

This is the perfect time to pause and check how your students are feeling. Then you’ll know how much you’ll have to work to keep them engaged and on task throughout the lesson. 

Step 2 – Stay on track.

As you move through the lesson provided for you, you’ll need to continue to ensure that your students are focused, engaged, and learning. Modeling by example is key — when you’re engaged and interested in your lesson, so will your students. 

Consider these instructional strategies: 

Narrate using positive statements. For example: “I love how Cynthia is taking her time and double checking her work.”  

Pro tip: If you’re struggling to find a positive behavior to narrate, stretch a bit—even if the behavior is not yet occurring. “I see eight students who already have their names on their papers.”  

Create check-ins for students to regroup and ask questions. For example, set a timer for 10 minutes. This provides students with a set amount of time to work independently or in groups before you review as a whole class.  

Use checks for understanding. For example, after providing instructions for a part of an activity, call on a student to ask them to repeat directions back to you. Another option: when a student correctly answers a question, call on another student to explain why the first student’s answer was correct. 

Use short breaks to help students refocus. Take a few minutes to do yoga poses, dance to a favorite song, or perform breathing exercises as a class. This can make it easier for students to stay focused. 

Use proximity throughout the lesson. Students are more likely to stay on task when they know you’re watching. Circle the room and pause near students who need extra support. This can show students that their substitute teacher is just as engaged as their normal classroom teacher. 

If you had students create a KWL chart, encourage them to continue adding to the W column as more questions arise. If these questions are not answered during the day’s lesson, their teacher can use them to further student understanding in future lessons. 

Step 3 – Solidify concepts.

At the end of any trip, it’s important to unpack and reflect. The same is true for the end of your lesson in the classroom. Be sure to set a few minutes aside to ensure that students know what they’ve learned and are aware of their progress toward a greater goal. This can help solidify new information and prepare students for subsequent lessons. 

Some ways to help students solidify new information: 

• Try a think-pair-share. Ask students to turn to a partner and explain something that surprised them about the day’s lesson. Then, call on a student to share their partner’s answer with the class. 

• If you had students make a KWL chart, ask them to fill in the L portion of the chart. Ask for student volunteers to share what they added to the L portion at the end of the lesson. 

• Ask students to predict what they’ll learn next, if applicable. This can help them synthesize previous and current information while looking for patterns and making predictions. 

Grow as a substitute teacher with Kelly Education. 

If you’re looking for other ways to improve your job as a substitute teacher, check out our library of articles, including: 

• Instructional strategies for substitute teachers 

• Classroom management for substitute teachers 

• How to introduce yourself as a substitute teacher 

If you’d like to make a difference as a substitute teacher, we’d love to talk to you. We’re proud to provide comprehensive training that sets you up for success on your first day in the classroom and beyond. Fill out our interest form to talk to a recruiter about substitute teaching jobs with one of our school district partners. 

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