Aug 08, 2023

10 Ready-Made Sub Plans

Wondering what to leave the substitute when you are away from the classroom? Read on for 10 ideas that will keep your students engaged! 

[Updated August 21, 2023]

Having a ready-made sub plan is a lifesaver when you have to take an unexpected day (or two!) away from the classroom. We’ve created a list of  lessons, resources, interactives, and activities that are easy to implement and could potentially be used at any point in your course.

  1. NGPF Personal Finance Movie suggestions (with worksheets!)
    • NGPF created discussion questions for 20 personal finance movies. Students will answer questions while they watch the movie and then reflect afterward with questions that tie in personal finance concepts. 
  2. NGPF Arcade
    • The NGPF Arcade offers free online games that connect with a variety of personal finance topics. Use one for a fun sub plan by incorporating the Reflection Worksheet for your chosen game!
  3. NGPF Mini-Units
    • NGPF has 8 mini-units on various topics such as Entrepreneurship, Ethics, Cryptocurrency and more! Select one of these bonus lessons as an easy-to-implement sub plan. 
  4. Use an NGPF Semester Course Nearpod Lesson
    • The NGPF Semester Course lessons (along with the Trimester Course & Middle School Courses) are available in Nearpod. Even though you are absent, you can continue the learning by having students complete their next lesson asynchronously via Nearpod.
  5. Podcasts in the Classroom
    • Financially Inclined from Marketplace is a money podcast designed specifically with teachers and teens in mind (and hosted by Yanely Espinal)! Season #1 includes six episodes ranging in topics from budgeting, buying a car, buy now, pay later, and investing basics. You’re sure to find one to use in the classroom! 
      • Financially Inclined podcast episodes are approximately 15 minutes in length and each have an accompanying student worksheet, which makes it a great sub plan! 
    • The Million Bazillion podcast is great for middle school students. Be sure to check out the “Money Talks” questions and additional resources available!
  6. Use the NGPF Interactive Library
    • NGPF has an Interactive Library that is filled with simulations, graphs, quizzes, and other online activities. Covering a variety of units, many of the interactives have a ready-made worksheet, making it a perfect supplement to your instruction or for a sub plan! 
    • Interactive Suggestion: INTERACTIVE: What’s the Most Common Job in Each State?
  7. NGPF Case Study
    • Nearly every NGPF unit has a Case Study available which presents personal finance issues in the context of real-life situations. They're a great activity for students to complete while you are absent. You can then engage them in discussion when you return.
  8. Use an Activity NOT in the NGPF Semester Course 
    • With NGPF’s re-designed unit pages, you can easily tell which activities are included in an NGPF Semester Course lesson. As a sub plan, assign an activity that is NOT already included! On each unit page, activities with the SC (In Semester Course) symbol are already included in a Semester Course lesson.
  9. NGPF Data Crunch Activities
    • Data Crunch Activities are available in each unit (the link above takes you to the Budgeting unit!) and require students to analyze a chart or graph about a specific topic and answer five scaffolded questions. Since these activities are easily printable and customizable, they would make an excellent sub plan! 
    • Once students finish, you could encourage them to create their own Data Crunch by finding a data source and creating 5 questions or 5 observations of the data!
  10. Have students conduct research
  11. BONUS IDEA: Pair FinCap Friday with an Activity

About the Author

Amanda Volz

Amanda joins the NGPF Team with over 20 years of experience teaching personal finance. During that time, she led her students to hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, won multiple awards, and most importantly, impacted the financial lives of thousands of high school students. Amanda prides herself on being an educational leader and is constantly looking for innovative ways to make the classroom relevant, rigorous, and fun. She is a passionate advocate for financial education and has been a long-time member of the NGPF community. Fun fact - Amanda was NGPF’s first teacher account! When Amanda isn’t working, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and traveling with her husband and two children.

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