# Emergency Lesson Recipes Reference file for the **sub-plan-builder** skill. When the teacher chooses to build a fresh emergency lesson, the skill uses these recipes to produce a complete, self-contained lesson a substitute can run start to finish. Every recipe follows the House Format below and includes a literacy move calibrated to the reading-level note in Section 7 of the Classroom Reference Sheet. --- ## Non-negotiables (apply to every recipe) - **Stranger-runnable.** A substitute who has never met the class can run it cold. Write the steps TO the sub, in plain language, with timing. - **Self-contained.** No teacher prep assumed. All student materials are generated in full and included in the plan, ready to print or display. - **Meaningful, not busywork.** The day should still teach something, even on no notice. - **Literacy always.** Every lesson includes a short reading-and-writing moment, scaffolded to the class's reading level (see Literacy Ladder). - **Defer to the reference sheet.** Honor the room's behavior norms, accommodations, engagement preferences ("what works / what flops"), and reading-level reality over any default here. - **Needs, not names.** Never reference individual students by name. Speak in roles and needs. - **Respect copyright.** Do not reproduce copyrighted texts (e.g., Prelutsky or Silverstein poems, full news articles, book excerpts) in a printable handout. Use public-domain texts for anything printed, or point the sub to a physical copy in the go-bag. Generated passages must be original writing, never a copy of a source. Better yet, have the tool generate original stories and poems (see Recipe 5) — original work sidesteps copyright entirely. --- ## House Format (the shape of every emergency lesson) 1. **At-a-glance header** — class/period, lesson title, time needed, grouping, and materials. Materials should read "everything is provided" or point to the go-bag; never assume the sub gathers anything. 2. **Sub script** — numbered, timed steps telling the sub exactly what to say and do. Assume a roughly 45–55 minute period and mark each chunk with a time (e.g., "5 min"). Note where to stretch or trim for a block or a shorter period. 3. **Student materials** — the full handout, text, or question set, ready to print or display. 4. **Literacy move** — the calibrated reading-and-writing moment (see Literacy Ladder). 5. **Sub-proofing** — always include both: - *If it runs short:* an extension the sub can add. - *If it falls flat or tech fails:* a no-tech backup. 6. **Leave for the teacher** — what the sub collects and a two-line "how it went" note back. --- ## Literacy Ladder (scaffold the literacy move to the room) Read Section 7 of the reference sheet, then set the reading-and-writing moment to fit: - **Many readers below grade level** — shorten the text; have the sub read it aloud while students follow; preview 3–5 vocabulary words first; offer sentence frames for written responses ("One thing I noticed was ___ because ___"); allow partner reading and drawing-plus-labeling. - **Mostly on grade level** — independent or partner read; a short written response of 3–5 sentences; one analysis question. - **Many readers above grade level** — independent read; a paragraph response; push toward evaluation and synthesis ("Do you agree? Defend it with evidence from the text."). When in doubt, scaffold up: it is better for a sub to have support ready and not need it. --- ## Recipe 1 — SITC Video **Use when:** the teacher drops an SITC video guide for the video they want to use. Also provide the url and that will be listed in the sub plans to help the sub find the video to show it to your class. **Ingredients:** the SITC video link and its existing SITC teacher's guide (the teacher provides the URL; the skill uses the guide's content). **Do not transcribe the video** — pull the objectives, viewing guide, discussion questions, and activities straight from the guide and reformat them into the House Format. **Build it:** 1. *Warm-up (5 min) — literacy preview.* Sub previews 3–5 key terms from the guide and asks a quick "what do you already know about [topic]?" write or turn-and-talk. 2. *Watch (video length).* Sub plays the video and hands out the viewing guide; students complete it as they watch. 3. *Discuss (10–12 min).* Sub runs 2–3 discussion questions from the guide. Include the guide's answer notes so the sub can steer the conversation. 4. *Literacy close (8–10 min).* Students write a short response to one prompt, scaffolded by the Literacy Ladder. 5. *Collect* the viewing guide and the written response. **Sub-proofing:** *If tech fails*, the lesson runs as a key-terms-plus-discussion activity using the guide's questions; have students write their predictions about the topic instead of watching. *If it runs short*, add a second discussion question or an "exit ticket" sentence. --- ## Recipe 2 — Current News Topic **Use when:** the teacher names a topic and wants real, recent reading. This recipe hands off to the **Current Events Researcher** skill to generate four leveled articles with vocabulary and tiered questions, then wraps that output in the House Format. **Honest note on prep:** this recipe is strongest with a little lead time, because it needs the packet generated and printed. For a true no-notice morning, prefer Recipe 1, 3, or 4, which are fully self-contained. **Build it:** 1. *Warm-up (5 min) — vocabulary preview* from the generated list. 2. *Read (12–15 min).* Each student gets the article at the reading level that fits (the literacy move is built into the read). Sub may read the Emerging level aloud. 3. *Questions (10 min).* Students answer the tiered questions for their level. 4. *Discuss (8 min).* Sub runs 2 of the questions as a whole-class talk. 5. *Literacy close.* One written response. 6. *Collect* the question sheet and response. **Sub-proofing:** articles are printable, so no internet is needed during class once printed. *If it runs short*, students compare what surprised them across two articles. --- ## Recipe 3 — Poem **Use when:** the teacher wants a literacy-rich, zero-tech lesson. Excellent no-notice option. **Ingredients:** one poem, leveled to the room. The cleanest source is an **original poem the tool generates** (see Recipe 5) — it can be written to the class's reading level and carries no copyright baggage. Public-domain poets (Frost, Dickinson, Hughes, Sandburg, Whitman, or a traditional rhyme for younger grades) are also fine to print. To use a copyrighted favorite (Prelutsky, Silverstein), **do not reproduce it** — point the sub to the physical book in the go-bag ("Read 'Sick' from the Shel Silverstein collection in the go-bag"). **Build it:** 1. *First read (5 min).* Sub reads the poem aloud once; students just listen. 2. *Second read (5 min).* Students read along or with a partner and underline anything they notice. 3. *Unpack (12 min) — the literacy core.* Tiered questions: what is happening, what words or images stand out, what the poet might mean, how it makes you feel. 4. *Create (12 min).* Students write their own short poem or a response stanza. Scaffold by level: sentence frames or a fill-in pattern for below level; free composition for above. 5. *Share (optional, 5 min)* a few volunteers. 6. *Collect* the writing. **Grade flex:** younger grades — playful narrative poems, draw-and-label plus a sentence; older grades — imagery, theme, and an imitation or rebuttal poem. **Sub-proofing:** fully no-tech. *If it runs short*, students illustrate their poem or swap and respond to a partner's. --- ## Recipe 4 — Primary Source Document **Use when:** the teacher wants a civics/history-rich lesson. Strong no-notice option, and a natural fit for SITC themes. **Ingredients:** a primary source. Foundational U.S. documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Gettysburg Address, famous speeches) are public domain and may be **excerpted and printed**. Chunk the excerpt; scale its length to the reading level. **Build it:** 1. *Context (5 min).* Sub reads aloud a 2–3 sentence background the skill provides. 2. *Close read (12–15 min) — the literacy core.* Students read a short excerpt. Scaffold: sub reads aloud, preview hard words, and have students "put this line in your own words." 3. *Analyze (12 min).* Tiered questions moving recall → analysis → evaluation. 4. *Connect (8 min).* A neutral civic-thinking prompt framed as a question, never a declaration: "Why might this still matter today?" or "What trade-offs were involved?" 5. *Write.* A short response. 6. *Collect.* **Tone:** keep it inquiry-based. Let principles emerge through the questions; no advocacy. **Sub-proofing:** no-tech and printable. *If it runs short*, students rewrite one passage in plain modern English. --- ## Recipe 5 — Build-a-Story (and original poems) **Use when:** the teacher wants a high-energy literacy lesson where the kids invent the raw material and the result is theirs alone. Zero copyright worries, because everything is original. Comes in two flavors — pick based on whether the sub can click a button or not. **Flavor A — Live Mad-Lib (zero tech; the kids yell things out).** The AI's work is done *ahead* by the teacher: the tool prints a story (or poem) frame with labeled blanks. The sub's whole job is to collect words the class shouts out, drop them in, and read the gloriously ridiculous result aloud. No device in the room. Two ways to build the frame: - *Story-structure frame* — blanks for a main character, a setting, a problem, a wild twist, and an ending. Teaches narrative structure while they laugh. - *Parts-of-speech frame* — classic Mad-Lib blanks (noun, verb, adjective, place, exclamation). Teaches grammar while they laugh. The tool generates the frame, a filled-in sample so the sub sees how it works, and a short "now you try" sheet so each student writes a version of their own afterward. **Flavor B — The Reveal (teacher pre-generates a full leveled story).** The teacher gathers the class's ingredients in advance — "a walrus, a skateboard, an astronaut, the local park" — and the tool writes the story before the absence, at three reading levels, with a matching worksheet (comprehension, vocabulary, a sequence-the-events or story-map activity, and a "write the next chapter" extension), all tiered by the Literacy Ladder. Students are told they get their story *when the sub is here* — which conveniently gives them a reason to make the day go well. The sub just hands it out and runs it. Fully self-contained. **Original poems, same trick.** Everything above works for poetry: the tool can generate an original poem from the class's ingredients (or a Mad-Lib poem frame), leveled, with its own unpack-and-respond worksheet — no copyrighted text required, ever. This is the preferred source for the Poem recipe whenever you want something printable and copyright-clean. **Sub-proofing:** Flavor A is no-tech by design. *If it runs short*, students illustrate the finished story or write an alternate ending. *If a class is too wound up to call out together*, the sub has students write their blanks on paper and draws a few at random. --- ## Recipe 6 — Continue Modes and "Something Else" These are not fresh lessons, but the skill still formats them for the sub and adds a literacy move. - **Continue the curriculum** ("do the next lesson in the guide/textbook") — the teacher says where they are; the skill writes clear, sub-facing step-by-step instructions, plus a short literacy add-on if the lesson is light on reading or writing. - **Continue an in-progress project** — sub instructions to keep students working, with a brief written progress reflection at the end. - **Study hall / independent work** — make it productive: open with a 10-minute silent read and a one-paragraph response, then structured independent work, so the period is not lost time. - **Teacher names another source** (an article they choose, a clip, a topic) — apply the House Format and a literacy move from the Ladder. --- ## Output reminder Whatever the recipe, the final product is one clean, printable packet: the at-a-glance header, the sub script, the student materials in full, and the "leave for the teacher" note — something a stranger could pick up and teach without a single phone call.