Substitute lessons

No-prep lessons for a substitute teacher

46 lessons that need nothing but the printed sheets. Each PDF has a step-by-step guide anyone can follow, the student pages and the answers. Leave it on the desk and go.

Pick a lesson for the class's grade below.
Download the PDF: 3 lessons are free with a free account.
Print the student sheets and leave the guide on the desk. Every lesson runs about an hour.

UKG to Class 2

Class 1 to Class 3 Do baby animals look like their parents? Science · 40–50 min
Class 1 to Class 3 Why don't puppies from the same litter look the same? Science · 45–60 min
Class 1 to Class 3 Can where you live change how you look? Science · 45–60 min
UKG to Class 2 What do animals and plants need to live? Science · 40–50 min
UKG to Class 2 Who eats who? Science · 45 min
UKG to Class 2 How do bees help flowers? Science · 45–55 min

Class 3 to Class 5

Class 3 What can fossils tell us about long ago? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 Why do some animals live in groups? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 Why do some animals in a family survive better? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 What happens when a habitat changes? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 Why do stars come out at night? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 Why do the stars seem to move across the sky? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 Why do we see different stars in different seasons? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 What makes a good science question? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 What is a fair test? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 How do scientists turn results into answers? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 What did Ignaz Semmelweis discover? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 Where has the water in your glass been? Science · 45–60 min
Class 3 to Class 6 Where is all of Earth's water? Science · 45–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Where does your stuff come from? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Will our energy ever run out? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Do more people always use more resources? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 How can a town use less and waste less? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Is summer when Earth is closest to the Sun? Science · 45–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Why are summer days longer? Science · 45–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Why is sunlight stronger in summer? Science · 45–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 How big is the solar system, really? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 Why do planets go around the Sun and not fly away? Science · 50–60 min
Class 5 to Class 8 What is each world like? Science · 50–60 min

Class 6 to Class 8

Class 6 to Class 7 Are we in the red? Math · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 What happens to a population when food runs out? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 Are living things competitors, predators or partners? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 What makes a biome? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 How can we protect an ecosystem's services? Science · 55–60 min
Class 6 to Class 7 Which is the better deal? Math · 45–60 min
Class 7 to Class 8 Why do you look like your family, but not exactly? Science · 45–60 min
Class 7 to Class 8 How can two purple-flowered pea plants have a white-flowered one? Science · 45–60 min
Class 7 to Class 8 What did Mendel count? Science · 45–60 min
Class 7 to Class 8 What happens when a gene changes? Science · 45–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 Why do some animals survive and others don't? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 What did the Grants find on the Galápagos? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 How do fossils show life has changed? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 How fast can people change a species? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 Where does a tree's mass come from? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 What happens to the food a plant makes? Science · 50–60 min
Class 6 to Class 8 How does energy from the Sun move through a whole ecosystem? Science · 50–60 min

Practice packs for a quiet period

Worksheets with answer keys. Each has a free sample to try.

Class 4 Grade 4 Rocks and Minerals · free sample
Class 4 Grade 4 Sound: Vibrations, Pitch and Echoes · free sample
Class 4 Grade 4 Light and Colour · free sample
Class 3 Grade 3 Word Problems: 100 Canadian Situations · free sample
Class 4 Grade 4 Time and Measurement Problems · free sample
Class 4 Grade 4 Time and Measurement Word Problems (Common Core) · free sample
Class 4 Grade 4 Word Problems: 100 Canadian Situations · free sample
Class 5 Grade 5 Money Problems: Shopping in Canada · free sample
Class 5 Grade 5 Word Problems: 100 Canadian Situations · free sample
Class 1 to Class 3 Canadian Money: Counting Coins and Bills · free sample
Class 5 to Class 7 Mean, Median, Mode and Range · free sample

On the day: put a lesson timer or visual schedule on the projector, and use the name wheel to pick helpers.