The relief teacher could not possibly know all of the rules that the classroom teacher has for the students. If you are a relief teacher, go over your expectations for the classroom and guidelines that the students will have to follow. Furthermore, alert them to any sorts of signals that you will use to communicate. You might tell them, for instance, that when you put your hand up, that means that they are speaking too loudly or out of line.
Though you want to establish rules, you should let the children know that you want them to have fun while learning. Break them up into groups and have them complete tasks. Ask them to calculate their total earnings if someone offered to pay them one penny on the first day of the month and then double their earnings for the next 29 days. Offer an incentive to the first team to get the correct answer.
Helping children to stay on target while the teacher is away is crucial. Many of them might become uncomfortable with the idea of a substitute. Therefore, you can tell students that you are writing notes to the teacher about their good behavior. Bring a notepad with you so that you can follow through. The students will be excited that you are doing that, and some students, particularly younger ones, will be able to feel a connection with the regular teacher.
Even if you are only going to be there for a day, students will feel more comfortable if you know who they are. Have each student create an index card with his name on it and keep it on the desk. If you are going to be there for more than one day, make a concentrated effort to call on different students throughout the day in order to learn who is who.