Classroom Management

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 With being in practicum last semester and then this semester, I haven't had a whole lot of experience with classroom management. Last semester I was with 6th graders at a local middle school so that's where I ran into most of my issues with classroom management. For instance, the class and I were reading the graphic novel New Kid, and I stopped to ask the students a question and once one person answered it seemed as if everyone thought it was their turn to talk. At that point, I just had to remind the students of being respectful and not talk while someone else is talking, especially if it isn't their turn. Now, I'm placed with 10th graders and I haven't really had any issues. Since I have another classmate in the same practicum as me, we decided which class period we were going to teach. I chose 5th period(regular English 10) and she chose 6th period(English 10 honors). 5th period is made up of only 9 students, all of which are relatively quiet. The students know that I'm considered to be a "student teacher"(not yet but soon) so they've been sure to give me extra respect and attention. 

Now, when my mentor teacher is teaching, they give her just a little bit of trouble. For instance, there is a group of 3 boys who sit at the back of the classroom, all of which are friends. Usually, you can count on these boys to participate and answer in class, but they're also teenage boys who like to just mess around. They don't necessarily do anything to disrupt the whole class, but they tend to get off task. All my mentor teacher has to do is look at them and say, "hey guys, what's going on over there?", and they usually respond and return back to getting their work done. Since I'm only here for 2 class periods a day, I, unfortunately, don't get to see how my mentor teacher conducts her classroom management with other classes. 

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