In this article
Motivation and fit
Why do you want to be a substitute teacher?
Give one honest reason and one reason that helps the school. Examples are wanting classroom experience before a teaching career, wanting flexible hours, or enjoying students of many ages. Then add what you offer: reliability, a calm manner and willingness to cover many subjects. Avoid saying it is only a stopgap job. The education interviews guide covers the other school roles.
Why it is asked: schools need substitutes who will actually turn up and care about the day.
Tell me about yourself.
Use a short present, past, future shape: what you do now, the experience with young people that matters most, and why this district. Keep it under a minute and finish on the job in front of you. The page on telling your story shows the shape.
Why it is asked: it opens most interviews and shows how you organise your thoughts.
How flexible is your availability?
Say exactly which days and grade levels you can cover and how quickly you can respond to a short-notice call. Be accurate: a substitute who accepts a job and then cancels leaves the class without cover, while an early no lets the school call someone else. If your availability changes, say you will update the system straight away.
Why it is asked: the work is arranged at short notice and reliability matters most.
Before and at the start of the lesson
A substitute day runs in one order, from reading the plan to the note you leave, and the answers below follow it.
Text description of the diagram
- Start with the plan and greet students.
- Leave a short note for the returning teacher.
What would you do if you arrive and there is no lesson plan?
A lesson plan is the absent teacher's written outline of what to teach and when. If there is none, tell the office or a neighbouring teacher first, and check the desk and the class's usual routine. If nothing is found, run a prepared activity in the subject, such as a reading task with questions, and note what you did. The occupation summary lists following lesson plans designed by absent teachers as a task (Department of Labor database, 2026), so a missing plan is a problem to report.
Why it is asked: it tests calm problem solving when the usual structure is missing.
How do you start the first five minutes with a class that does not know you?
Greet students at the door, introduce yourself, say the plan for the lesson and the three rules you will hold: respect, hands up and stay in your seat. Take attendance, meaning the record of who is present, then start the first task at once. A clear start tells students there is a plan.
Why it is asked: the opening minutes decide how the rest of the day goes.
How do you learn names and take attendance?
Use the seating chart if there is one, call the roll and look up when each student answers. Name tents or a quick seating sketch help. Using names early makes redirection friendlier. The task list names taking class attendance and keeping the records (Department of Labor database, 2026), so say you treat it as a safety and accuracy task.
Why it is asked: attendance is a safety record, and names build control.
What do you do if the lesson plan is too short?
Keep a few ready backup activities in the same subject: a reading passage with questions, a review game or a writing prompt. Check with the class what they covered last. Avoid free time as a default, because it invites noise. Note the extra work in your message to the teacher.
Why it is asked: gaps in the plan are common and idle time causes behaviour problems.
Knowing it is half the job. Saying it is the other half.
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How do you handle a disruptive class?
Start with prevention: clear expectations, a visible plan and tasks that begin immediately. When noise rises, use calm, consistent signals, move around the room and speak privately to the students leading it. Follow the school's behaviour policy for consequences. The task list includes enforcing school and class rules to maintain order (Department of Labor database, 2026).
Why it is asked: behaviour is the biggest worry for substitutes and principals alike.
What would you do if a student refuses to follow directions?
Stay calm, speak privately, repeat the expectation and offer a choice: start the task now or discuss it at the end of the lesson. Avoid arguing in front of the class. If the refusal continues or safety is at risk, send for help from the office or a neighbouring teacher and record what happened.
Why it is asked: it shows whether you can hold a boundary without escalating.
How do you deal with students who test a substitute?
Expect it and keep the routine. Use the regular teacher's rules and rewards where the plan lists them, and stay friendly but firm. Do not take it personally and do not punish the whole class. Reward students who follow the plan with specific praise.
Why it is asked: students often test a new adult, and schools want a steady response.
How would you handle a student who is upset?
Speak quietly and privately, listen and ask whether they need a break or someone from the office. Keep the rest of the class working. Do not promise secrecy. Pass a welfare concern to the right staff member before you leave, and report a suspicion of abuse at once. The summary also lists counselling students with adjustment or academic problems (Department of Labor database, 2026), which you handle by bringing in the school's staff.
Why it is asked: care for students and knowing your limits are both tested.
Teaching and support
How would you teach a subject outside your training?
Follow the plan closely, read the material beforehand where you can, and ask students what they already know. Say honestly when you do not know and look it up together. Keep to the teacher's examples rather than inventing new ones. The occupation summary expects substitutes to teach a variety of subjects (Department of Labor database, 2026).
Why it is asked: you will rarely cover only your own subject.
How do you support students with disabilities or extra needs?
Read any notes left for you, such as a summary of a student's individualized education program (IEP), the written plan of support for a student with a disability, and follow it exactly. Ask the office or a neighbouring teacher about adjustments, and let the student take the support they usually use. The summary lists assisting students with disabilities with devices and access (Department of Labor database, 2026).
Why it is asked: inclusion is a duty and a mistake can harm a student.
How do you use technology in the lesson?
Use the tools the plan names, such as the projector or class computers, and test them before students arrive. Have a plan that works without them if the device fails. Keep students on the task, and follow the school's rules on devices. Say how you would ask for help with an unfamiliar system.
Why it is asked: lessons depend on equipment and things go wrong.
How would you work with a teaching assistant or another adult in the room?
Greet them, ask how they usually help and what they know about the class. Treat them as a source of routines and student information. Share the plan and agree who does what. Thank them at the end. Say you would never undermine them in front of students.
Why it is asked: another adult can make or break a short-notice day.
Safety, privacy and professionalism
How do you supervise students outside the classroom?
Know the rules for the duty before you start: where students may go, how many adults are present and who to call. Stay where you can see everyone, count students on and off, and keep your attention on them rather than your phone. The summary lists supervising recess, lunch and field trips and helping students board buses (Department of Labor database, 2026).
Why it is asked: injuries and lost students happen outside the room.
What would you do if a student says something that worries you?
Listen calmly, do not promise secrecy, do not investigate yourself, and write down what was said in the student's own words. If it suggests abuse or neglect, report it at once, as your state's law and the school's procedure require. In 44 states teachers and school staff are named mandated reporters and the rest require every person to report, and 17 states say a school policy does not relieve you of your own duty (Child Welfare Information Gateway, May 2023). Then tell the principal.
Why it is asked: staff must act correctly when a child is at risk.
What would you do in a fire drill or a lockdown?
Before students arrive, find the emergency plan, the evacuation route posted by the door and the class list, often kept in the substitute folder. In a drill, take the class list, lead students out by the posted route and count them at the meeting point. In a lockdown, follow the school's instructions exactly. Report any missing student at once.
Why it is asked: you are responsible for every student in an emergency, in a building you may not know.
How do you protect student privacy?
Share information about a student only with staff who need it, do not post about students or the school online, and keep class lists and notes out of sight. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a United States federal law that gives parents, and eligible students, rights over education records (U.S. Department of Education, read 2026). Say you follow the district's rules on records.
Why it is asked: a privacy slip can harm a child and the school.
How do you stay professional with students and parents?
Keep a friendly, adult tone, no private contact with students, and no discussion of other students. Refer a parent's question about grades or policy to the regular teacher or the office. Dress and speak as the school expects. Keep your phone for emergencies.
Why it is asked: schools trust substitutes with children and their reputation.
Reporting back and scenarios
What do you leave for the regular teacher?
Leave a short, factual note: what was taught, what was not finished, who was absent, who helped, who behaved well and any incident with its time. Plan the note from the start of the day, jotting times and names as they happen. Leave the room tidy and the materials in place. The task list names providing teachers with notes summarising the day's activities and any issues (Department of Labor database, 2026).
Why it is asked: the note is how the teacher judges you and how learning carries on.
Tell me about a time you handled an unexpected situation.
Use the situation, task, action, result (STAR) structure from the STAR method. Pick a modest, true example, such as an event that changed at the last minute. Say what you did first, how you stayed calm and what you would do differently. Substitutes are valued for adjusting quickly.
Why it is asked: the whole job is working with the unexpected.
What would you do if you could not manage a class?
Say you would ask for help early rather than late: send a message to the office or a neighbouring teacher, and keep students busy and safe meanwhile. Afterwards, write down what happened and ask for advice for next time. Asking for help shows judgement, not weakness.
Why it is asked: schools prefer a substitute who calls for help to one who hides a problem.
What changes in a long-term substitute role?
A long-term post covers one class for weeks or months, so you plan lessons, mark work and talk to parents, not only follow a day plan. The task list includes grading students' assignments and exams (Department of Labor database, 2026). Say how you would keep the regular teacher's routines, track progress and hand the class back with clear records.
Why it is asked: a long-term substitute carries the class's learning, not one day.
What questions do you have for us?
Ask how substitutes are assigned, what support the front office gives on the day, where plans and seating charts are kept, who to contact in an emergency, and how feedback on your days reaches you. See questions to ask the interviewer for more ideas.
Why it is asked: your questions show how seriously you take the job.
How these interviews are run
If the district uses a structured interview, every candidate gets the same questions and the answers are rated on one scale. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says the method is designed to measure job-related competencies by asking about past experiences and hypothetical situations (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, read October 2026). Prepare one short true story for each theme here, a one-minute introduction and two questions of your own. For wider technique read how interview loops work, how to answer interview questions and the behavioral interview hub. In Ontario the same job is called occasional teacher; see occasional teacher interview questions.
- Show a plan for the first five minutes: greet, state the plan and the rules, take attendance.
- Follow the absent teacher's lesson plan, and report a missing plan instead of improvising in silence.
- Hold boundaries calmly and ask for help early; know the emergency plan before students arrive.
- Report a suspicion of abuse at once, in the way your state's law and the school's procedure require.
- Protect student information and follow the school's privacy rules.
- Leave a short, factual note for the returning teacher.
Sources
- 25-3031.00 Substitute Teachers, Short-Term, O*NET OnLine summary — National Center for O*NET Development, U.S. Department of Labor, 6 Oct 2026
- Structured Interviews — U.S. Office of Personnel Management (page shows no date; read 2026-10-24), 24 Oct 2026
- Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Neglect (State Statutes Series, current through May 2023) — Child Welfare Information Gateway, Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 31 May 2023
- What is FERPA? — U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office (page shows no date; read 2026-10-24), 24 Oct 2026
