The CC Substitute
Pittsol's Cross Curricula Focus Lessons for K-8 Substitute Teachers
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Here’s a book of thirty or so lessons I put together for the grade school sub. Why? Right off the bat in my Chicago Public Schools sub career (1988-89, 1996-2001), I could see that kids just wouldn’t get serious for a sub. A sub at the desk at attendance time meant only one thing – a full day of goofing off, little work done. A few months into my second stretch I began to see some ways of developing my job, being more productive. What gradually came about was this collection of what I call ‘focus lessons’, or ‘minis.’
It is not a book of mere ’funsey’ stuff, busy work. And there are no pullout masters of text exercises for passive work. Rather, these are versatile interactive little oral lessons to do with the kids, lessons right from the heart of the grade school curriculum, from phonics to science, fractions to creative writing. While the average length is fifteen minutes, you can tailor them to suit your needs in any situation. They are not meant to interfere with the lesson plan, but rather to enhance it. Each has a concrete theme with specific objectives.
These are the building blocks of the minis:
- When you start one, get right into it. Enthusiastically get the kids’ attention focused on you the teacher. Let them know there’s going to be something new and interesting coming up.
- Clearly explain the rules or background of the mini.
- Get the kids engaged and involved. It’s all about participation, thinking, and learning.
- Throughout the mini keep that interest level up. The best regular teachers I ever saw used a certain persona with their students, firm but fair, helping yet impersonal, quietly in control. That’s simply not doable in most sub settings. So just be yourself. Get into it. Make the lesson exciting, but do not let the fun obscure the learning. Run these minis as sort of a friendly big brother or sister type, guiding and directing students’ enthusiasm with interest and some flair.
- Finish the mini with a good sense of closure. A sence of accomplishment and completion, Very important.
Those are the basics. Here are the benefits:
- Classroom management becomes easier. Kids won’t be goofing off or getting out of their seat when they’re involved in an interesting lesson. Use the minis like little tools, at just the right times during the day.
- You maximize the educational benefit of your time with the kids. Too many days of unproductive nonsense with a sub can ruin the continuity of a regular teaching cycle. Minimize the problem. With or without using a mini, your thinking and learning style is naturally different from the regular teacher’s. Use this fact to your advantage. One child may understand your way of explaining arithmetic better than that of the regular teacher. Use the opportunity. You can also break the cycle of poor behavior for the next sub.
- Personal satisfaction. The old way, it was just a lot of yelling, a long day. Now, I have a great many memories of good times with the kids, helping them, watching them learn, walking out of the building feeling like a teacher. That’s always been the best part.
The first section, for lower and middle grades, covers a lot of the language arts. Important little building blocks. Once I got started the ideas for many of these came one right after the other within a month, some right in the middle of the day. I spent a lot of time testing them, taking them apart, putting them back together again in a different way. Things to Show, the lead off chapter, is actually a bit of controlled show-and- tell, experiential stuff, but I placed it first because it came to me first. When I saw how well it worked, and why, I started trying to put the same architecture into more traditional areas.
The second section, lessons for lower and middle math, shows some interesting math background and some strong arithmetic tools with clear and straightforward logic for the kids. The upper math section will take some time. Do not be put off by its length – a page of dialog anywhere in this book is actually only a few minutes working with the class. The minis for the upper level and those in the Others section are of a great variety, many drawn from my own life experiences. Enjoy them, try them out, then create some from your own history – that works best.
A final note – my name is correctly spelled as you see below, but is pronounced with a regional German dialect, “Pittsol.” To save time and avoid the ever-present confusion, that’s how I always wrote it on the board, and that’s who I was to the students – “Mr. Pittsol”
Well, that’s all folks. I hope you enjoy the book, and I hope it helps you on the job.
One of the keys to using the mini-lessons successfully is knowing how and when to insert them. Recall, the minis are there to enhance the lesson plan, not to replace it. Maximize the learning. Let’s assume the kids are doing fine on the assignment from the lesson plan:
“Alright, kids, you’re doing really well. Let’s keep it going.” Use stringers to keep good things going, or to transpose to the next lesson or mini as you see fit. Successful subbing is always ‘on the fly.’ You have to see what’s in front of you, and decide what should be around the next corner.
Now suppose some of the primary or middle kids are ten minutes into a written assignment. Some are trying, but as you quietly walk around you see too many don’t understand basic concepts. Some attention is crumbling around the edges.
“Alright, kids. Listen up. Eyes up front. Many of you are trying hard but don’t ‘Get it,’ so I’m going to try something different now. It’s going to be fun but you’re going to learn. too. Close your books, clear your desks, eyes up front. That’s right, put everything away.” Wait for just a second after all attention is on you, then go right into the mini, constantly checking for understanding. After the mini, ”Great. You guys did really well. Now get your books and papers back out, finish today’s assignment, and we’ll go through it together. Piece of cake. I’ll collect your papers, then we’ll go to lunch.”
Or, you can always use the old carrot-and-stick: “Kids, let’s not start goofing off. Remember that new game I promised earlier? (Jeopardy). We’re still going to start it at (25 minute before end of period or day). But only if you get crackin’. I want all the assignments signed and on my desk by that time, and I will count them. Now let’s get busy!
In either case, timing. Timing is everything. And interaction. Get the participation level up. Feedback. Always go through little rapid cycles of advance, double-check, advance, double-check. “Does everybody understand so far?” Spot check at random, and when checking skip around back and forth through different parts of what you’ve covered so far. Keep them on their toes.
Closure. Bring the kids to a sense of something concrete accomplished. A nugget, a kernel mastered. And then, transpose to whatever’s next on your agenda.
Note: Your use of these mini-lessons is predicated upon the students’ needs within the context of your assignments. Are you with the same group of kids for the whole day, or are you on a ‘go-around’ schedule for that day? With the same group all day, you might use a dictation mini in the morning, a different one in the afternoon. I had stretches of go-around schedules two or three days in a row where I would go to a different class every period, giving a mini here, a mini there, sometimes two back-to-back within the same period. And, there were stretches when I would go for two or three days in a row at the same or different schools without giving a mini, period.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Everything about the book can be found in the Preface and Introduction in this website. Please read them carefully.
This is a book that can make a difference no matter what size school district. If a big city sub
administrator were to ask, "How can a single sub using a single book make a difference in my district?"
I suggest look at the math. One sub in real time, traveling to different schools three or more days per
week can easily reach out, using this book, and touch the minds of many hundreds of students in a
matter of weeks. Then, think what ten subs using this book can do over an entire school year. Better
enrichment, better teaching by the substitutes, and more and better learning by the students: a
complete win-win situation.
Verbatim Lessons from a Veteran, August 20, 2008
By: onlittlecatfeet
This review is from: The CC Substitute: Pittsol's Cross Curricula Focus Lessons for K-8 Substitute Teachers (Paperback)
As a former substitute teacher, I wish I would have had a copy of The CC Substitute in my ever-ready bag of sub supplies. There seems to be a dearth of good resources out there for subs, and this book helps to fill that gap.
The CC Sub isn't revolutionary - instead, it contains thirty chapters of Pittsol's tried-and-true verbatim lessons, on topics ranging from career development to algebra. As a source of lesson ideas and examples of how they play out orally, the book is very helpful. Most of the chapters are less interactive and focus more on the teacher's own monologue. As a caveat, Mr. Pittsol's dynamic personality may have fostered his subbing success just as effectively as the words he actually used. For teachers with a less commanding classroom presence, these lessons may provide too few interactive opportunities to keep students interested. However, the book still showcases many interesting lesson ideas, and more dynamic, captivating teachers may find them easy to implement as transitional activities or springboards for further exploration of any of the many topics the book addresses.
The CC Substitute is a fun, engrossing read. Without a doubt, it is a good source of lesson topics, and it may inspire the reader to present lessons in new, more attention-holding ways.
List of Illustrations
Preface: Please see the Free Preview section
Introduction to the Minis for Substitute Teachers How and When to Use: See Free Preview
I. Lessons for Lower/Middle Grades
- Things to Show
- Moneda - Coins and Math
- Beginning Consonant Blends
- Contractions
- Cursive Writing
- Bilingual Sentence Fun
- Dictation
- Homonyms
- Interrogatives
- Irregular Verbs
- Opposites
- Past Tense of Regular Verbs
- Personal Pronouns
- Vowel Sounds
- Mañana
II. Lessons for Lower Math
- Origins of Math
- Big Math
- Long Division
- Mental Math
III. Lessons for Upper Math
- Fractions I and II
- Fractions III and IV
- Fractions V and VI
IV. Lessons for Upper Grades
- Banking
- Story Writing
- Darwin and The Law of Natural Selection
- After High School: 'The Big 6'
- The Apartment Puzzle
V. Other Lessons
- 'How are You' - The Story of Languages
- Jeopardy
- Build a Story
- The Psychology of Roles: Please see the About the Author section
- Taxi
- Time Capsule
- Art
- Gym
- Music
- Special Education
Epilogue
Appendices
Appendix 1 Contractions List
Appendix 2 Homonyms List
Appendix 3 Irregular Verbs List
Appendix 4 Opposites List
Appendix 5 Past Tense Regular Verbs List
Appendix 6 Jeopardy List
About the Author
Bill Picl was born and raised in central Illinois. At the age of fifteen he moved overseas with his family to Brussels, Belgium. For the next three years, he travelled far and wide to over a dozen countries - France to Germany, Denmark to Italy, at times veering far off the beaten track. He brought to substitute teaching a well-honed appreciation for the variety life offers, waiting by the phone early every morning for the call from the sub center to report to a new school, in a new neighborhood, with new students and new challenges to be met.
He has a B.S. in history from Bradley University and now resides in east central Illinois. Of his time as a substitute teacher in Chicago he simply says, "It was the best job I ever had."
I’ve found this lesson to be useful when I am having a problem getting a large class of thirty to thirty-five fifth, six, or seventh graders to settle down at key points during the day. This mini gets their attention quickly, sustains it, and gets them to thinking about some new and interesting concepts of behavior and psychology. Here’s how I introduce it.
“Alright kids, we’re getting nowhere, so I’m going to talk to you about some new stuff that you’ve never heard of before, stuff you need to know. Put all your books away, and let me have your attention please.” Wait for them to get reasonably settled.
“Kids, I don’t like to yell at you. I know at your age sometimes it’s hard to sit still. Your bodies are growing at a rapid rate, undergoing important changes. In a short while, you will no longer be considered children, but rather young adults, and that’s great. You are in a period of change called puberty.” At this point, the kids usually quiet down, expecting some sort of little sex education chat. Not quite.
“But there’s something else going on inside of you that many of you don’t know about. It’s called adolescence, and it relates to your mind, not body. Adolescence is the phase of life when gradually the mind of a child changes into that of an adult. It’s not just that you quit believing in Santa Claus. It’s the formation of your adult personality. What do I mean by personality? Personality is the complete collection of a person’s behavior, in public and when alone. Their habits, character, emotions, attitudes about themselves, attitudes toward other people, attitudes about life itself. Even their most private thoughts.
“Every single person in the world has a distinctly different personality, and that’s for sure. There’s always a never-ending kaleidoscope of combinations of personality traits. But what causes one person to be one way, and the next person, another? Actually, it’s not fully understood even by the experts, but most agree that it has a lot to do with your family life when you were quite young. Some also believe that in early adolescence, without even thinking, boys and girls will try out different behaviors, called roles, which then, according to how well they work, slowly come together at some future point into a final adult personality. This becomes a part of us, in all situations, for the rest of our lives. All of you are in the roles stage right now, whether you know it or not.
“For example amongst a group of adolescents, there’s always the
CLASS CLOWN – the student, usually a boy, who craves attention. Always telling jokes, playing pranks on others, anything to get attention. Who’s the class clown in this class?” I can almost guarantee that you will have their undivided attention by this point. Here, usually without hesitation and with a lot of zingers, fingers will point at one boy.
“Okay, now who’s the
CLASS BRAIN – the guy or girl who always knows the right answers, does math problems in their sleep, is married to the calculator?” With all of these, wait for the identification, then wait for the excitement and teasing to subside, then go on to the next.
“Okay, now who’s the
CLASS JOCK – The guy who might say ‘Hey, none of that school stuff matters, let’s go out and play some football and soccer, then lift some weights, then run around the block ten times before we go home to sleep?” Again, with some hooting, hollering, and wisecracking there will be an almost instant identification of someone.
At this point, throw in the first curve: “Kids, you need to realize it’s never really that simple. A person is never one-dimensional. Almost everyone is a subtle combination of many types, for example, a brainy jock.
“Now, who’s the
CLASS ROMEO – the macho Mr. Hollywood Handsome, muy guapo, Casanova, Don Juan, has all the girls begging at his feet, or at least likes to think he does?
“Now, who’s the
CLASS BEAUTY QUEEN – the Miss Hollywood, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, con mucho egoisma, ‘Don’t look at me without permission, !sin permiso!’?
“Okay, we’re not done yet. Who’s the
CLASS INTROVERT – the very shy one’ ‘Please don’t look at me or ask me to say anything, I just want to be left alone!’?” This student, too, will be instantly pinned, and it usually helps to get them to laugh at themselves. In fact, that’s one general point of the entire exercise for everyone – a new understanding but with some humor.
“Okay, who’s the
CLASS HOOD – The bully, “Grades don’t count, even sports are for suckers. I’m bad, I’m tough, and I’m ready for action!’! This, too, will bring instant identification, and get the budding gangsta to laugh at himself.
By this time, you will have achieved your objective – to help the kids for the first time see themselves and each other in a new light. Go on to explain that in some situations we need to go ‘outside’ our basic personality. For example, a shy person is not going to get a raise if they go in to their boss, stare at their shoes, and mumble. Sometimes being assertive is the only way to get what you want.
Finally, I’ve extended this mini into a little theater lesson a few times, with good results. I ask a girl volunteer to play the part of the egotistical Miss Hollywood. She sits on the edge of the teacher’s desk, in front of the class, silently examining her fingernails and adjusting her hair. When the class Romeo enters from the hall and tries to flirt with her, with some appropriate drivel about going for a ride in his car, etc., she disdainfully just makes a derisive snorting sound, lifts her chin, and turns her face away, leaving him standing there feeling like a fool. Same treatment for the class jock, who asks her if she wants to go with him to a basketball game. Then, lo and behold, when the class brain comes up and asks her if she’d like to go to the library, she takes him by the hand and purposely marches out. Let two or three sets of kids try this, and let them improvise their own lines. For some it will be their first acting experience. They will enjoy it.