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As a new teacher, you’re well-versed in pedagogy, know the difference between formative and summative assessments, and can lesson plan your way out of a paper bag. But the question still remains: How do you make a class full of students listen to you?

If you’ve ever observed a veteran teacher in action, you know how they make classroom management look effortless. But you don’t need to be teaching for a decade to master the intricacies of student behavior and expectations! We’ve made a list of effective classroom management strategies for new teachers to implement at the beginning of the school year, along with helpful resources to get your classroom management skills started.

1. Set the tone on day one

Classroom management is one of the five core propositions from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and can be the difference between a successful year of teaching and a frustrating one. Start practicing your classroom management strategies on the first day of school to make a strong first impression and to reduce any chance of students taking advantage of your status as a new teacher.

• Greet students at the door with a handshake, fist bump, or smile. Everyone from preschoolers to high schoolers love this, and it lets your students know that you’re paying attention from the first moment of class.
• Establish classroom expectations and procedures on the first day of school, and start practicing them right away.
• Lean toward being more strict than you plan to be, then loosen up as the year progresses.
• Use icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities to get kids talking and working together (and to avoid standing in front of them all day!).

Classroom management for new teachers is hard enough, so don’t make it harder for yourself by telling kids that you’re a new teacher. When you act like you’ve done this a hundred times, they’ll believe you!

Start the school year with high expectations

Students excel when they know the rules right away. Keep your class management process top of mind with classroom management supplies and materials that remind learners of your expectations, and keep your procedures handy and accessible.

New Teacher Kit: Classroom Management Strategies and Guide
By The Core Coaches
Grades: K-6th

Does your classroom look like a blank slate? Use a comprehensive kit full of innovative classroom management resources, such as class responsibility posters, time management reminders, and routine and procedures lists, to set your expectations from day one.

Back to School Student Routines Procedures Editable Classroom Management Slides
By Algebra Made Simple
Grades: 6th-9th

This editable classroom management toolkit includes everything you need to establish procedures and set expectations with secondary students, from a customizable Canva presentation to review routines to a classroom management plan template.

2. Assign seats to avoid behavior disruptions

Any seasoned teacher will tell you that the majority of your classroom management happens long before there’s a problem. Your seating chart is the perfect way to set yourself — and your students! — up for success and to stop behavior issues before they have a chance to begin.

• Find the best seating arrangements for your specific classroom space, including table groups, desk rows, or another pattern. Bonus points if it makes it difficult for them to socialize between activities!
• Avoid seating arrangements where students need to turn to see you (at least at the beginning of the year). Once you’re confident in holding your class’s attention, you can be more ambitious with your seating chart.
• Change student seating as soon as you see a problem or at regular intervals throughout the year to prevent behavior issues from escalating.
• Include a space in your seating chart for one student to work independently, such as a single desk or a calm-down corner, and be ready to quickly assign an unfocused student to that spot when needed.

When you’ve been teaching for a few years, you may feel comfortable enough to let your students pick their own seats. But focusing on the seating chart is one of the most effective classroom management strategies for new teachers, so don’t let the kids use it against you! ( P.S. Most veteran teachers still use this strategy throughout the school year.)

Use your classroom as a behavior management tool

Put the “classroom” in classroom management with seating chart templates and resources. From desk arrangements to strategic peer seating, much of your classroom management is already done by the time students walk into the room.

New Teacher Classroom Management | BUNDLE
By Little Learning Ladybugs
Grades: PreK-5th

Look no further for the complete package you’ll need to start this school year. With editable seating charts, behavior calendars, supply organizational labels, class jobs, name tags, and so much more, you’ll be fully equipped for the most organized school year yet.

3. Include classroom management in your lesson plans

Have you ever heard the phrase “When in doubt, plan it out”? It’s the perfect mantra for new teachers to include classroom management in their lesson planning process, as it’s just as important as the academic skills they’re teaching.

• Add classroom management objectives and strategies to your lesson plans, along with instructional objectives and strategies. How will you ensure your students are paying attention? What will you do if they’re not?
• Stay at least one month ahead on your lesson plans, and have all your copies and materials ready at least one week in advance.
• Conduct a lesson “pre-mortem” to determine what could go wrong with your classroom management before class begins (such as students not having the right supplies, or finishing quickly and being bored) and then address those problems.
• Prepare organized sub plans to avoid having to reestablish expectations and procedures once you return to class.

By the time you’ve graduated from a teacher ed program, your lesson plan skills are probably pretty advanced. But many teachers stop making detailed lesson plans or planning far in advance, which can lead to a less structured class setup (and less structured classroom management).

Manage lesson planning and your classroom together

Run both your curriculum and your classroom management with a strong, well-organized lesson planning process. With easy-to-use planning templates that take you from bell to assessment, you’ll find it easier than ever to manage your classroom from behind the scenes.

Teacher Survival Kit {Planning, Reflecting, and Managing Your Classroom}
By Teaching with Haley O’Connor

Go from treading water to confidently swimming this school with a thorough teacher survival kit resource! Lesson plan templates, conference logs, behavior charts, lesson to-do lists, and small group organizers make the planning process straightforward for a successful class management plan.

4. Learn student names quickly

When you learn your students’ names in the first few days of school, they’ll know two things. First, they’ll learn you are paying attention to them (and that their behavior is no longer anonymous). Second, and more importantly, they’ll learn that you care enough to start getting to know them ASAP, helping you to build classroom community in the process. But how can you learn so many names so fast?

• Place students in an alphabetical seating chart and mentally take roll with it every day. 
• Make student name flashcards with their school photos and quiz yourself after school. Bonus points if you can learn a few before school even begins!
• Use student names as much as possible, so even if you don’t know all of them right away, you’ll show that you know many of them.
• Mentally note which students may need extra attention (kids who are socializing or not listening) and learn their names first.

While you’re learning student names, ensure that you’re learning to say them correctly. Avoid calling roll out loud and privately ask students how to pronounce names you’re not sure about. And if you’ve assigned a getting-to-know-you survey or letter, ask them whether they’d prefer being called by a nickname.

5. Keep the room neat and organized

There’s a fine line between making your classroom a stimulating place to learn and overdecorating to the point of distraction and chaos. Find a balance by prioritizing classroom organization and cleanliness, allowing students to focus on what they’re learning instead of items in the classroom.

• Avoid using toys or other desirable objects as decoration in the classroom (at least until you’ve been teaching for a few years).
• Have students help in the daily clean-up process with class jobs or quick neatening sessions at the end of the period.
• Consider what educational posters you really need on the walls versus what you’re adding to fill up space.
• Label supplies and important areas of the classroom, such as areas to turn in work or student libraries.

Everyone learns better in a clean environment, and that includes your students! Taking the time to organize your room and keep it neat goes a long way in your classroom management.

Stay on track with back-to-school checklists

Preparing a classroom for a new group of students is a lot of work, especially when you’re new to teaching yourself! Keep yourself organized and accountable with teacher tools like checklists, procedure suggestions, and back-to-school supply necessities.

Back to School: First Year Teacher Checklists for Classroom Procedures, Set Up
By Michelle McDonald

Whether you’re a first-year kindergarten teacher or starting your school year teaching seniors, you’ll find a use for these classroom management materials. From set-up checklists to reminders for expectations and procedures, the resource includes ways for elementary, middle, and high school teachers to stay organized and prepare for a great school year.

6. Make sure students are always busy

When students are bored, they’re more likely to get off task and cause disruptions. Prevent this classroom management issue by keeping them busy from bell to bell, even if they finish their work earlier than everyone else.

• Ensure that students know how today’s class will run with both verbal and written instructions on the board.
• Follow the 10-minute rule and redirect student attention at least every 10 minutes.
• Have engaging activities ready for early finishers, including coloring pages, books to read, or extra credit assignments.
• Assess why students are off task (they’re already done, they don’t understand the assignment, they don’t feel like doing it) and address that specific issue, rather than nagging them to finish.

You may notice that a veteran teacher’s classroom often runs like clockwork, and that they need to say very little to get students on task. You can achieve this classroom management milestone if students always know what they should be doing, and don’t have an opportunity to do something else.

7. Reach out to mentors

Even in the best circumstances, classroom management for new teachers can be a challenge. But you’re not alone in your teaching journey! Reach out to colleagues with more experience or members of the administration to sharpen your classroom management skills when things get tough, or to get pointers before the school year even begins.

• Borrow tools and materials that your colleagues use to run their classrooms, and adapt them to fit your own needs.
• Observe experienced teachers in action during your prep period, or take a sub day to watch how several teachers run their classrooms.
• Know how administration can help you with behavior problems, whether it’s accepting a student you send to the office or observing your instruction and offering feedback on classroom management.
• If you’re struggling with one student in particular, talk to their previous teachers or other teachers in their schedule for classroom management techniques that worked in the past.

You can also contact influential professors or mentor teachers from your teacher education program for advice. And don’t be afraid to refer back to those reliable ed textbooks if you’re in a situation!

8. Communicate with parents often

One of the most effective classroom management strategies for new teachers is communicating with parents. When done well and regularly, parent-teacher communication creates a learning team that addresses educational concerns both at home and school. That’s a positive for everyone involved!

• Make your classroom management procedures and expectations clear to parents in your welcome letters and during open house.
• Communicate clearly and concisely when you need to discuss a behavior concern with parents.
• Keep behavior logs and send home reports of positive behavior when students have good days.
• Avoid complaining about a child to their parents. Frame your report as a concern, and tell parents what classroom management steps you’ve already taken.

Above all, don’t let parents be surprised when they hear from you. Address concerns as they come up, not when they’re already out of control, so parents can be part of the ongoing conversation.

9. Stay confident and in control

Have you ever had a teacher who could get control of a classroom with one soft comment, or even just a look? It’s not magic (even though it seems that way!), it’s confidence, and confident teachers can lead a classroom without ever raising their voice.

• Keep your voice low and avoid shouting, even when students are talking over you. Find silent ways to get their attention if possible.
• Give students limited choices to establish that you’re in charge of the classroom.
• Identify any problem behaviors before they escalate, and handle them as quickly and quietly as possible.
• If you feel overwhelmed in the classroom, try to keep your composure until students have left for their next break.

It sounds simple, but it’s true: If you believe your students will listen, they will. Confidence is an underrated but vital classroom management strategy for a teacher with any level of experience, and if you don’t have it, your behavior management falls apart.

More Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers

Need a few more pieces of advice before getting started? Follow these classroom management tips to maintain class leadership and avoid behavior problems.

• Keep it Nonverbal. Board instructions, silent hand symbols, and follow-up songs are great ways to get students’ attention without raising your voice.
• Avoid Group Punishments. Group punishments only show students that you can’t identify the cause of the problem, so focus on finding that instead.
• Follow the Data. How well is your current classroom management plan working? Reflect on its success and where it could improve.
• Be Flexible (but consistent). Disruptions like weather, holidays, or school emergencies may require some wiggle room in your classroom management plan for the day, but keep your behavior expectations intact regardless.
• Focus on Transitions. Many classroom management problems happen between activities, so practice effective transitions with your students (and keep them quick!).
• Practice Self-Care. Teacher burnout is a real thing, and exhausted teachers find it harder to run a classroom well. Take time for yourself and the things you like to do outside the classroom (and no, that doesn’t include grading).

Manage students and your school year with TPT

When it comes to effective classroom management strategies for new teachers, it’s all about consistency and confidence. While some classroom management instincts come with experience, it’s never too early to start practicing them — and to build relationships with your students that prevent issues before they have a chance to start. Use more resources for classroom management to spend less time handling issues and more time enjoying your rewarding new career!