New middle school teachers need practical classroom management strategies that will help you survive your first year of teaching middle school. After your first year you can start to settle in and pick the strategies (17 of them listed below) that work the best for you and your students.
Classroom management strategies (there are 10 of them below) for middle school teachers is something that new teachers as well as experienced teachers could use some help with.
Experienced teachers (I have been teaching middle school since 2004-2005) can also benefit from some new classroom management strategies.
I have found that schools have changed a lot since I started teaching.
Something that worked for me when I started teaching isn’t necessarily going to work with students right now.
To commit to one strategy is not good practice.
Your students are going to change every school year and you have to be able, and willing, to adjust your management strategies.
Enough talk, let’s get down to business!
Here are 17 classroom management strategies for your middle school classroom
1. Clapping Technique (the best!)
This one I use ALL THE TIME.
When trying to get their attention for any reason during class do this:
Step 1: Say, “If you can hear me clap once”, (some students clap once).
Step 2: Say, “If you can hear me clap twice,” (some more students clap twice).
Step 3: Finally, say, “If you can hear me clap three times,” (students clap three times).
Every single time I do this with my classes I have their attention after the third clap!
Try it, it works!
2. Don’t Yell, Do This Instead
If the classroom will not quit down just walk around the room while asking them to quit down using your normal voice. Don’t yell, use your normal talking voice.
Walk near students that are still being disruptive.
What happens is the good kids get quiet quickly and then slowly the rest of the class quiets down as well.
It may take some time the first time you try it but after a few times they will quiet down without you needing to walk the room.
It really is amazing to see this work, go try it for yourself!
3. Build Relationships With Students
Some students need to have a relationship of trust and understanding with the teacher before you are able to manage them.
For the ones that do you should try relating to them, complimenting them, asking them about what they did during the weekend, etc…
Find out what the student likes or enjoys doing in their free time and ask them about that.
By doing this these kids are often more likely to respond to you better during class when you ask them to do something or hold them accountable.
4. Manage Activity Transitions
As you are transitioning the class from one activity to another let students know what the expectations are.
I sometimes tell students that I have to connect the projector and get the Kahoot! (great online tool) review activity ready and that they have 2 minutes to themselves until I finish.
I tell them that they need to be seated but are allowed to talk to one another.
To get their attention again I use the clapping technique that I described earlier in my first tip.
Think about your transitions and make sure you let students know what you expect during transition times.
If they don’t know what you expect then middle school students are going to do things you don’t want them to.
5. Agenda On The Board
Make sure you have your agenda for the day on the board every single day so that students know what to expect and how many transitions there is going to be.
Be specific with your agenda.
This is a typical agenda that I put on the board in my 8th grade science class:
- Attendance
- Thermal energy review activity
- Introduce thermal energy investigation (copy CER into journals)
- Begin thermal energy investigation
- Cleanup and reorganize
Along with the agenda you should have the learning target (see example below) as well as homework on the board.
This is a typical learning target in my classroom.
Learning Target: I am able to identify how thermal energy is transferred and can begin my CER for the thermal energy investigation.
Make your learning target be for your students, it should be a skill or knowledge that they are going to obtain.
6. Give Them Some Time To Socialize
Make sure you are expecting students to be quiet too long, give them some chances to talk to one another.
I often do this during a lesson (a quick break) or during a transition time.
Tell them that they have 2 minutes to talk to one another before the next activity starts.
Use those 2 minutes to get your stuff together for the next activity.
I use this everyday with my 8th graders and it works.
They understand that when I need them to listen to me they need to be quiet.
They also understand that if they are quiet now there will be some time to talk later.
7. Use Proximity To Your Advantage
When a student is talking or doing something you don’t want them to do then try moving close to them as you are talking and moving around the room.
Stand inside their personal space and don’t say anything to them. Just stand there.
Eventually they will figure out that every single time they are disruptive you are going to stand in their personal space and they don’t want that.
Warning: works for some kids but not for all, sometimes they feed off the extra attention which makes things worse.
8. Don’t Argue With Them
Don’t allow the student to argue with you in front of the class.
If you do this you are going to dig yourself a hole that is hard to get out of.
This is what I do instead:
If a student is doing something that they shouldn’t be simply tell them what they are doing is disruptive to the learning environment. Keep it professional, don’t make it personal.
If they continue disrupting then I repeat the same thing except on the 3rd one I tell them there is a consequence.
I usually will call home next or send an email. If necessary you should consider contacting a counselor or and administrator too.
9. Set Up Behavior Expectations Early
When I say early I mean Day 1, the first day of school.
For example, tell students they are going to get two warnings for being disruptive and on the third one you are going to contact parents/guardians.
Stick to it. Don’t change the rule during the school year.
It’s really important to enforce it the first month of school so they know you mean business.
10. Use Positive Reinforcement
Middle school students still like some simple positive reinforcement.
Just tell them they are doing well on something or that you appreciate how focused they are can make a HUGE difference.
Find something substantial to reward them with.
In my school Taco Bell donates a lot of free taco coupons to us to give to our students.
When students are doing well on something or help clean up the classroom after a science activity I give them a free taco coupon.
They love it!
11. Give Them Jobs To Do
Middle school students often misbehave because they have nothing to do.
Since I have a tiled room I keep a broom in there so students can sweep up at the end of the classroom.
I usually have 2 students do it and give them a Taco Bell (see #10) coupon when they finish.
Some other ideas you can have them do: clear a bulletin board, fill a bulletin board, organize papers, wipe down counters, or collect materials.
12. Let Parents Know Your Policies And Procedures
During the first week of school you should send home your policies and procedures so parents are on board.
The parents need to know your expectations so when you do have to discipline their child they are not surprised.
Open a line of communication with parents right away and it will benefit you in the long run.
Read “The First Days OF School” By Harry Wong
If you haven’t already read this book then it’s worth getting.
Pickup a copy of it right here on Amazon.
A lot of teachers (especially new ones) will tell you it’s a must read for teachers.
13. Firm, Fair, and Friendly
A retired teacher gave me this advice several years ago but it is the one thing that still works to this day.
Be firm with all students, fair with them, and friendly to them. If you can do this consistently then you are going to be okay.
14. Don’t Be Their Friend
Students don’t want teachers that are their friend.
They will treat you like a doormat and by mid-year, they won’t respect you.
They want a teacher that is firm, confident, and takes control of a classroom.
This is where learning thrives.
Thinking back to when I was a student the “cool” teacher wasn’t usually the best teacher. I didn’t see this then but I understand it now.
Good teachers are teachers that teach students the most and challenge their understanding and interpretation of the curriculum.
15. Sometimes, It’s Just A Bad Group
This will happen because of different circumstances beyond your control.
I remember having a class right after lunch that was all about the drama.
They would build up the drama during lunch and then it would find it’s way into my classroom.
I would try stopping it but I ended up realizing I had no chance.
I did the best I could with this class period but in the end my options were limited because of dynamics out of my control.
This will happen to you too at some point in your career.
Get past it and move on.
16. Bellwork Questions
Give them something to do as soon as they walk into your class.
You can post in on the board or leave it at their desks.
Do this as many days a week as possible.
I try to do it everyday because it helps calm them down and get refocused.
It should be silent, independent work.
In my science class I usually have them research a misconception or something that is a part of the learning target and have them put their responses in their journals. Other times I pick something that is relative to what they are studying.
This is great because it gets them settled and ready to learn.
17. Make Class Challenging, Not Fun
Students should be challenged and engaged in meaningful work.
Don’t worry about whether or not it is fun.
If you challenge them then you will see how much more focused and serious they can be.
I try to challenge my 8th grade students all the time and always notice how it makes a difference in their behavior. The more they are challenged the better they are behaved, it’s great!
Never say, “We are going to do something fun!”
Instead say, “We are going to do something challenging!”
