Any suggestions /advice for a prospective substitute teacher?

You'll basically be babysitting. From what I gather, middle school kids tend to be the unruliest.

That's what I've heard.
I told them I'd take most any class but that I'd especially like to sub in Spanish classes because I speak Spanish and would like to try to engage the kids interest in Spanish.

Good luck jjorge!

The difficulties of being a substitute are legendary.

I have never been a teacher or a substitute, but I had plenty of them when I was going to school.

One substitute was so remarkable, I clearly remember him to this day.

Our 8th grade English teacher was out for a week and after reducing the first two substitutes to either tears or a shouting rage we got Mr. Hestridge, and he kept the entire mob of us enthralled for 40 minutes.

What he didn't do was try to teach us English, like the first two.

What he did do was decribe in great detail what would actually happen if a 5 megaton nuke was dropped on the Empire State building (we lived on Long Island).

I remember that day more than any other in that class that year.

Mr. Hestridge clearly had a knack for telling a captivating story, but the subject matter was perfect for our age group.

In retrospect it was a presentation he must have used before because he spoke without notes (again in great detail) and his only props were the chalkboard and piece of chalk.

This is not to suggest that only this particular subject matter will work.

I think the key is that you need to entertain the kids.

We were a bunch of honor class geeks and certainly didn't have the worst troublemakers in the school, but we were clever and knew how to torment substitutes. We didn't hate school, but we sure weren't interested in a substitute trying to teach us anything we had to learn.

Find a subject that interests you and is likely to interest the kids and stick to it. Provide opportunities for them to engage in conversation on the whatever topic you go with.

(It's really your only hope - they'll eat you alive otherwise)

I saw this after I posted my reply.

Again, I encourage you to not try and engage their interest in the subject of the class you are substituting for. If you want to connect the day to Spain or another Spanish speaking country, that's fine, but unless you're going to teach them Spanish cursewords, forget a language lesson.

How about bullfights?

Thanks for the input Finn!
Actually, what I had in mind was closer to what you describe. I am a fairly good story-teller and have numerous 'war stories' about Spain (I was stationed there in a Marine detachement at the Rota Naval Base) I first learned Spanish as a gate sentry where I spent 8 hrs a day with non-English speaking Spanish Marines and turned them into my teachers.
I also have stories about my several trips to Costa Rica etc.
That said, I won't be trying to 'force-feed' my stories and I know enough not to try to 'ingratiate' myself ( in these situations it's usually perceived as weakness).
... further, I am perfectly willing to be a baby-sitter if that's what the situation requires.
....and, I am unlikely to be reduced to tears.

P.S. Bullfights? I've been to a number of them. They are much more gory and bloody than people suspect.

Make sure you know where the security office is in case one of the kids decides to attack you. We had such a situation here in Boston just recently.
The teacher is now on a leave of absence.

I know, which is why they will appeal to middle schoolers.

Doubt you will cry, but why not have fun with the kids? They'll appreciate it.

A Marine need not worry.

We had Brother Donahue teach us and was a former Marine. He was fun. He taught us how to do push-ups by clapping his hands in between push-ups. He never tried the one-arm push-ups that Jack Palance did on Oscar night.

Me too.

Jjorge, I think this is wonderful, and that you will run into a thousand problems but enjoy it and do well. This is a guy who can engage a speeding russian taxi driver about poetry, folks..

I've never been a substitute teacher, but one of our Smart Ass Group (s.a.g.) of girlfriends was, before she did full time. Her heritage is Mexican, her BA in Spanish, her behavior kind and nurturing. In her earlier days she was a Pan Am stewardess and flew all over the place - Beirut, Rio, Narita/Tokyo and more. She never complained about kids of any age getting to her, though they must have pestered her. After all, she had dealt with her own family stuff.

I hope you will post on how it all goes, if you can do that without feeling it to be compromising.

Have you seen littlek's thread on teaching? A title like "I'm gonna be a teeture".

I'd really caution against trying to get them to like you. They might, but they might not, and the more you broadcast that you want that to happen, the less likely it is to happen. (I don't have extensive substitute teaching experience, but some, and like Finn I remember what happened when I had substitutes when I was a kid, plus I get reports from my own kid.)

Other random-ish thoughts:

Different subbing assignments come with more and less prep -- it varies by teacher but also scheduling. (A scheduled vacation vs. suddenly getting sick.) But preparation from the teacher can help enormously.

If you can get the teacher to identify a kid or two who are likely to be helpful, that can get you far. (I was often one of those kids and now my daughter is.) The feral side of kids can be unleashed when they realize that this person is here today but is likely to be gone forever tomorrow, and having some authority from within the classroom, vested by the teacher, can help. It can be hard on that kid, though, so at least two is best if possible I think.

If the teacher doesn't supply names, you can do a scan at the beginning of class and identify some likely people.

No matter how well the teacher preps things there are always problems of being out of your element, things that the teacher takes for granted. What is the custom for getting to the lunch room? Where are the books kept, exactly? Etc., etc. So having someone helpful who is there can make a big difference. The more things vary from routine, the wilder kids get (in my experience).

Stay calm and amiable and don't expect too much (either in terms of getting everything done that would happen in a usual school day or in terms of keeping them enthralled all day). Sounds like that's about your plan.

Bravo to you for doing this!

Sometimes, my daughter has a substitute teacher in Spanish, he's a very
"young" 80 year old gentleman who lives in a retirement home close by.
The entire class loves this man and they're so looking forward to his next
sub gig. Oh, my daughter is a freshman in high school.

lots of interesting input here! A lot to digest and reflect on.
Thanks all!

Hi jjorge. I think it's wonderful that these children will have the benefit of your experiences as part of their school experience.

I've taught as the regular hired teacher and as a sub and the two can vary wildly- but in the main, I've enjoyed both.

I would say that having the class be your own is usually easier, but being able to move around and substitute can often be more interesting- depending on the ages of the students you're teaching.

First of all, if the classroom teacher leaves a plan or activity, it' important for you to try to do that with the class if you want that teacher to request you again.
They've probably gone to some effort to put that activity and the sub plan together and would like to see that effort respected by having their plan implemented. So I'd start with their plan first.

But I do think it's a good idea to have a back-up plan of your own in case you find that you finish way early with the teacher's lesson plan.

There are a lot of good websites with interesting and distinct one-lesson activities.
I've made a file of these in both literacy and numeracy to have on hand. In the situation in which I teach, I can be asked to teach literacy or numeracy from entry level (which entails recognizing the letters of the alphabet and being able to count) to Level III (which is A-level over here and 10th grade over there and can be anything from analyzing poetry to solving proofs in Geometry).
Because I have developed this file, when I am asked to abandon my plans for the day and fill in for someone else, I have activities that I'm familiar with and that I know I don't need a lot of prep or materials for - as long as I have paper, pens, a whiteboard and participating students - I'm good to go.

Yesterday I was asked to cover a class five minutes before class time. There were no sub plans as it was an unplanned absence. The students were Level I and II Literacy students.
We did an activity on Respect/Adjectives. Each learner had to come up with one name in categories that included politicians, writers, artists, musicians, human rights activists, etc., etc. - give one adjective that they thought described their candidate, and write an essay on someone in their life for whom they feel respect and what about that person has encouraged that respect.

It was a great discussion - we came out of it with a writing sample to give their teacher - and it was interesting and stimulating for me - I learned a lot about writers, artists and musicians I didn't know.

I do tend to like working with older students. I have MUCH respect for kindergarten and grade school teachers and substitutes. That can be very exhausting. Just be conscious of your energy level and make sure you're up for a seven hour day with twenty-something five year olds and all the unplanned and spontaneous issues that can arise around them.
(I say that with a smile).

But I like moving around and covering other classes...you get to meet a lot more interesting people that way.
Good luck - I hope you enjoy it.

Update:
I have substituted four times in the past ten days.
I get computer generated calls starting around 6:15 a.m. and can accept/decline whatever I choose. I'm only required to substitute once per month.
I've discovered that a nice way to ease into subbing is to be a 'special education aid', and, thus far, all of my four times have been in that role which I've enjoyed very much.
w/o having to be responsible for classroom management, I get familiar with the various schools in the county, get to meet and observe different teachers, and work with the kids . It pays a few dollars less, but who cares?
Last week an elementary school teacher asked me how it was going.
I replied: "fine, but the kids are so darn cute that I'm having a hard time getting out of 'Grandpa mode!' "
She said, 'That's fine, we need more of that!'

Make sure they know you're in charge. And make sure they do their work or put them in detention.

I've had seven sub assignments to date.
I've never had a problem setting limits, and the few times I've had to do so thus far, worked out fine. I'm sure I'll encounter more challenging situations, but limit- setting is not something that worries me.

Thanks for the updates, jorge.

I'm starting to figure you may work up some poetry about the kids..