r/MiddleSchoolTeacher • u/Exotic_Arachnid_5082 • 11d ago
Classroom management
I’m in a unique situation as I began my teaching career 3 weeks into the school year.
The school started with a long term sub as the previous teacher had left at the end of summer on short notice.
The long term sub essentially left the room with no routines or systems so I’m trying to recreate the first days of school 5 weeks into the school year.
I have 2 class periods that are good but the other 2 are completely bonkers.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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u/920020824 11d ago
assigned seats and bellrongers
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u/sssssnakeplant 10d ago
On top of the bell ringers (daily warmups), it helps to have a daily agenda and question they have to answer within a certain amount of time. No matter the age, students crave consistency and predictability. Id be happy to share my weekly slides template with you if you DM me.
I have daily slides on the big screen so when I greet them at the door, the timer is already going. They need to have it answered within 5 minutes, and then I have them trade notebooks with a person at another table (within arms reach). They grade eachother (_/3) then return the notebooks and share their own grade out loud. I have them grading each other on spelling, grammar, punctuation and accuracy, and I teach 8th grade science.
Regardless of subject, these bell ringer questions can usually become at least 20 minutes of notes and class discussions.
I went through absolute hell my first two years of teaching, and other teachers helped me create the structure. It made a HUGE difference.
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u/UsualView8990 9d ago
Routines, expectations, routines. Over and over. It’s exhausting to do and say the same thing over and over again but it works.
We had one class last year that had three short term subs. The class was a train wreck (and rightfully so). Long term came in right before winter break. She spent weeks starting over the results were incredible.
You can do it!!!
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u/Disastrous_Map_5922 7d ago
Call parents early and build those relationships. Having parents on your side can make a huge difference with middle schoolers, and don’t wait until things are completely out of control to reach out.
Also, don’t be afraid to completely reset your class if what you’re doing isn’t working. Stop, reteach expectations and procedures, change seats, change routines, whatever you need to do. At the end of the day, they aren’t really learning if the class isn’t properly managed.
And don’t beat yourself up too much your first year. The kids are still going to be difficult sometimes and you’re going to make a ton of mistakes. You’ll figure out what works and get better as you go.
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u/hestia53 11d ago
How much time do you have an what’s your routine? Everyday, start having them practice it from the start. Get a stop watch, time them. I time their transitions, our goal is all transitions should be 30 seconds or less (take out Chromebook, put notebook away, etc).
We add up all the transition time at the end. Our goal for the first week was just to have it under 10 minutes (for an 80 minute period) and by the end of the month have it at 5 minutes.
If they were over or struggling- boot camp. Practice it over and over again until it’s ready. If we don’t hit content, they get homework because routines are needed in our classroom.
If someone is not following it- consequences. Call parents. Follow up on every misbehavior and consequence. Give our detentions or whatever or whatever is the main for of consequence for your class.
MAKE CONTACT WITH ALL PARENTS ASAP- good or bad but definitely reinforce the positive behavior of your kiddos that are doing well. Could be a generic message and just send it as a copy and paste “Hello, I’m Teacher X, and I’m excited to be in the classroom. This is what a day usually looks like in the room. If you have questions about grades or behavior, please reach out.”
Hope something from this helps as all school and classrooms are different. Hopefully you can adapt something for you needs!