Sophomores vs. Juniors

The other day I was thinking about how my student teaching experience would be different if the order of my classes was reversed. Right now, I teach a 10th grade class during 4th period and an 11th grade class during 5th. I seem to have far less management issues with my juniors compared to my sophomores. Usually ending my day with the juniors leaves me feeling more hopeful and confident about my future as a teacher. I have a feeling that if I ended the day with my 10th graders, though, I'd be banging my head against a wall.

There are a bunch of factors that could be playing a role in this all. I've spoken to one of my master teachers about this a number of times. (She also teachers 10th and 11th graders.) Some of the factors I feel like I've had little control over such as the control each master teacher had over the classes during the first semester, the seating arrangement in the 10th grade class promotes talking, the fact that juniors are just more mature than sophomores. Perhaps even taking over a text that my master teacher had begun in the first semester played a role in the difference. I was able to get a fresh, clean start with my juniors.

I still keep learning the different things that work and that don't work with my sophomores. It seems like my sophomores control themselves best at the opening of class if I begin the class with "important announcements," usually information about upcoming tests or assignments. So many students in that class do not take the in class writing/journal writing prompts as seriously when I begin class with them. I've also realized that beginning class with a short pop quiz will also corrale the students.

One thing I've noticed that doesn't really work with my sophomores is group work. I've tried "counting off" to make more random groups. Many students completely ignored what numbers they had and formed their own groups. Although doing things like handing out group instructions to each student improved the way the group work went, a number of students make it difficult to let the class separate into various groups.

I guess the good thing is that I'm actually getting a feel for what works and what doesn't work. The disruptions that occur during class just seem to get me down a little bit though, especially when they occur while other students are trying to read. I guess I just need to keep building my arsenal of strategies to deal with disruptive behavior, but thank goodness I end the day with my juniors!