Generally speaking, the more time you can give notice for needing a sub, the more time someone can have to pick up your class and mentally be preparing for it. This is even more true once you have uploaded your sub plans for that particular day.
If you have to set up your subbing late, you will need your expectation of what might be accomplished in your absence to be flexible. PLI staff will try their hardest to find someone to staff your position but the later the notice, the harder it is to find someone with the needed experience for your subject area. Sometimes the person subbing your course will have little knowledge of the subject matter and will have to rely solely on what you provide for them so it will be imperative that you provide ultra-detailed lesson plans in your absence.
SPECIFIC TIPS TO CONSIDER
-Please be as specific as you can in your lesson plans for the sub to follow. Being OVERLY meticulous and detailed is not a bad thing when someone else needs to follow along. Even going so far as to say: "Do this....", "Say this.....", "Use these words and phrases....".
-Include all links you might need the class to use that day and provide them to the sub to use. Maybe consider leaving screenshots of what to look for or very detailed descriptions of where to look for subs to step through piece by piece.
*Always operate under the assumption that subs don't know as much as a regular teacher or are less experienced than a regular teacher and give them the benefit of the doubt by providing extra instructions. If they happen to know a lot, that's just a bonus.
Along with your instructions, be sure to include details like what particular slides from a presentation are needed, what pages from a PDF, and what links from an external website might be involved.
If you happen to use an external site like a Nearpod or something else, also include instructions on how those things operate so a sub has an idea of how to manage things and how to support your students as they work through.
Last Check. Have you included every single thing a sub could possibly need to run your class successfully?
Carefully consider each of these questions.
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