Seating Chart for a Substitute Teacher: What to Include

A sub can learn thirty names in one period only with a chart they can read at a glance. Here is what makes one useful.

When a substitute takes attendance from a chart, they are matching faces to desks while the class watches. A cluttered or out-of-date chart costs the first ten minutes of the lesson. A clean one lets them call students by name from the start, which makes the rest of the day calmer.

The essentials

Class name and period at the top, so the chart does not end up with the wrong group.
The date it was made. If seats change often, the sub knows whether the chart is current.
A clear "front of room" mark. A sub standing at the board sees the room upside down compared with a chart drawn from the back. Mark where the board is, or print the chart from the teacher's point of view.
The real desk layout, including empty desks and gaps for aisles. If the chart shows six neat rows and the room has tables, the sub has to translate in their head.
Names students actually use. Use the preferred name, and first name plus last initial if two students share a first name.

Short notes that help

A few lines under the chart are worth more than a long letter. Good things to include:

Two or three students who can help with routines, the projector or where things are kept.
Where the attendance sheet goes and how to send it.
The fire drill route and the meeting spot.
Whether students may move seats for group work, and whether they must return before the bell.

Leave out behavior history and private information. The chart may be left on a desk, so write only what you would be comfortable with any student reading.

Keep a printed copy ready

Absences are rarely planned. Print the chart each time you reseat the class and put a copy in your sub folder right away. Charts with the date on them make it obvious when a copy is old.

Making one in a few minutes

With the free seating chart generator you paste the roster, pick the desk layout, and generate or arrange the seats. Type the class name above the chart and the sub notes under it, turn on teacher view if you want the board at the bottom, then print or save as PDF. Only the chart, the date and the notes appear on the page.

Need students apart or near the front? Read how to separate students in a seating chart. Not sure which desk arrangement to use? Compare classroom desk layouts.