I bet if you surveyed a group of 100 teachers, ninety-seven of them would say they went to school when they were sick just to avoid writing sub plans. Writing sub plans is oftentimes more work than it’s worth, especially if you get stuck writing sub plans for a sub who doesn’t speak Spanish!
I train my students to look at my website every day, especially when I’m sick. They know they cannot blame the sub because I will upload my sub plans for them!
Here are some great activities you can leave for any sub and any level!
Sub plans for 30-40 minute classes
It’s sometimes hard to infuse as much culture as we would like to in our daily spanish lesson plans. So on the bright side, having a sub can give you the time to press pause and expose students to some really interesting culture they may not get otherwise. Each of these cultural activities below are meant to be completed in a 1:1 classroom. Simply upload them to your learning management system and the sub plans read:
“Ask students to go to the school website. They should independently complete the activity on their computers with headphones. “
Famous places webquest
Through short video clips, students will visit a variety of historic landmarks including:
- Machu Picchu (Peru)
- La Sagrada Familia (Spain)
- The Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
- Chichen Itza (Mexico)
- El centro del mundo (Ecuador)
- Arenal Volcano (Guatemala)
- Tikal (Guatemala)
- Iguazu Falls (Argentina)
- Alhambra (Spain)
- Easter Island (Chile).
For each location, students will answer three basic questions. I generally ask my students to choose three places from the list. However, if you have block periods, you could have them visit all ten locations. Click here to read about additional virtual field trips!
(Available in both English and Spanish for beginners-AP.)
Holidays and festivals webquest
What are some holidays and festivals only celebrated in the Spanish-speaking world? Students will choose two of the celebrations listed below to research by watching short YouTube clips. Again, if you need to fill more time, assign them all six!
- Los Sanfermines (Running of the Bulls)
- La Feria Sevillana
- La Tomatina
- Las Barilletas Gigantes de Guatemala
- Carnaval de México
- El Día de los Reyes Magos
Foods webquest
Let students discover that tacos, burritos, and nachos are NOT eaten in all Spanish-speaking countries! Students will research traditional foods from four countries, and then choose a fifth country to research on their own. Finally, they will be asked to reflect on their own eating preferences.
Sub plans to last more than one day
If you think you will be out for a few days, consider one of these activities as sub plans for your Spanish students!
Famous Artists Project
For this set of sub plans, students will see a series of self-portraits by famous hispanic and latino artists. Each student will choose an artist to research and create a presentation about the individual and their art work. Lastly, they will create their own self-portrait in the style of that artist. This project has the ability to be adapted from a 50 minute period into two or three days if you ask students to complete their own artwork and present. It also comes in both English and Spanish so it could be left as sub plans for a native speaker class.
Stories with audio as sub plans
If you still want your students to hear Spanish while you are absent, these silly stories can easily be assigned as sub plans with a sub who doesn’t speak Spanish. I wrote these comprehensible stories to help my students work on their pronunciation. I bet you’re thinking “Um, that sounds like something you need a spanish-speaking sub for!” Nope!
Each story has audio throughout to listen and practice the pronunciation of the key sounds that confuse students.
Then it includes a video of the story read aloud, so students can listen on their own without a teacher to guide them.
Lastly, there are questions included to test their comprehension of the story and recording activities for them to show off their new understanding of pronunciation. If you assign all 4 stories it should provide you with 4 days of lesson plans, depending on how long each class period meets. And, you’re students will have the opportunity to practice something they probably really need to help boost their confidence!
