5 effective classroom management tips for high school

5 effective classroom management tips for high school teachers

This blog post will provide you with 5 effective classroom management tips for high school!

It’s no secret that teaching children once they are in their teens can be tough. They like testing the edges of your patience, and pushing back against authority, all while discovering themselves through creativity and self-expression. The challenge as a high school teacher is to bring their levels of energy and unique bunch of personalities together to run an effective classroom. Here are 5 effective classroom management tips for high school teachers.

Disclaimer: This blog post ‘5 essential classroom management tips for high school teachers’ may contain affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission on qualifying purchases. This is of no extra cost to you and it helps me to continue writing awesome content for you! Read full disclaimer here. 

5 classroom management tips for high school

Classroom management tips for high school #1:

1. Be clear in your rules and expectations

This is something best done during the very first class. Establishing authority and making a minimal number of exceptions will set the standard from day one. It’s highly recommended to be clear in both the rules (e.g. no mobile phones) and outline the consequences for not adhering to them at the same time. By being incredibly clear you remove any possibility for arguments down the line.

Bonus tip: Ask each student to sign a class guidelines agreement on the first day.

Classroom management tips for high school #2:

2. Build rapport with your students

As I mentioned earlier, each of your students has a unique personality and knowledge, and will express themselves in different ways. By taking the time to get to know them, you’ll have a better understanding of what they need to learn at their best, but also provide yourself with the insight to relate to them as the year goes on. It’s a great start to building the necessary trust to run an effective classroom.

Bonus tip: Have the class take a fun personality test and explore the results.

5 effective classroom management tips for high school teachers

3. Give them input into the lesson plan

Freedom of choice isn’t something that only adults need, as a teen they are teetering on the edge of childhood, with one foot into adulthood. They’d love a bigger input on how they go about things, and this is a great chance to respect that by letting them help you structure the lesson. The final say will always be yours, but you can get their suggestions on how to make your lessons more engaging for them. If you need some practical ideas, here are 53 EASY differentiation strategies that will promote student choice and ownership over their learning.

Bonus tip: Ask them what styles of learning they prefer, the types of homework they like doing and what their areas of interest are.

4. Build mutual respect

I do not doubt that your students want to be taken seriously and show the respect they deserve. If you are insincere, they will be aware of it and you’ll lose their trust and respect.  On another hand, if you host your class as a discussion rather than a lecture, and show a genuine interest in their development, that respect will be returned.

Bonus tip: Take the time to get all students involved in the discussion, not just the extroverts.

5. Create a competition

Students can be incredibly competitive. Since engagement is a key ingredient in successful classroom management, a sure-fire way to ensure they stay engaged for a lesson is to create a competition. This can be done individually or in teams depending on the size of the class. Prizes can range from a chocolate bar to a small trophy or certificate. But whatever it is, they’re going to want to win it.

Bonus Tip: Website like Kahoot and Quizlet are great free resources to create quizzes for retention testing and competition

Have any of your own awesome classroom management tips for high school teachers?

Let us know in the comments below!

Are you a beginning teacher? Check out this post, 33 top tips for beginning teachers, to help you survive and thrive in your first years!

This post, ‘5 essential classroom management tips for teachers’, was guest-written by Jonathon Denholm from Your Teacher’s Pet Creature. His speciality is classroom management and SEL in early childhood, but his real passion is creating great content to help teachers all over the world. You can check out his blog, and teaching resources over at his blog.