3 Tips for New Middle School Teachers

I began teaching 17 years ago. I was fortunate to co-teach with an amazing mentor teacher: Ms. Moore. I’ll never forget the first day I was left alone to solo teach. When Ms. Moore told me that she was going to be out and I was in charge of the class, I confidently told her that it wouldn’t be a problem and I had everything under control, and I was naive enough to believe I did.

The next day, all the kids asked where Ms. Moore was… and then the chaos began. I hadn’t realized how Ms. Moore knew how to move the class from the carpet to their desks, from activity to activity, with purpose and intention. On my first day on my own, I had kids fighting over pencils, standing on desks, and at one point I even had a kid threaten to throw a computer monitor. It took all my self-control not to leave the room and never go back. 

The next day, Ms. Moore asked me with a knowing smile how things had gone. I told her, “You make teaching look so easy, but it’s not.” Seventeen years later, I’m still learning. Here are some lessons for new teachers that I learned from Ms. Moore—and my own experience. 

Advice for New Middle School Teachers

1. Get to know your students. One of the things I love about teaching is working with kids, who have so much to offer and so many stories. To know what each kid is bringing to the table, you must get to know them. Great teachers build great relationships. Ms. Moore knew her students and which ones needed a firm line and which ones needed a little wiggle room. She knew each child’s story and was able to meet kids where they were. Sometimes, as kids enter middle school, the temptation to jump into the syllabus and curriculum is strong, but taking time to get to know who you are teaching is always worth the effort. 

One activity I love to do at the start of the year is called Me in Numbers, where kids come up with numbers that represent something in their life. For instance, my grandmother is 104 years old, so I include that in my poster. Back in my glory days on the basketball court, I wore 23 because I thought I was the next Michelle Jordan, so I include that number as well. Students share how many siblings they have, how many places they have lived, how many schools they’ve attended, and how many people live in their home. 

Another activity that is great once you’ve established trust with your students is giving kids the sentence starter, “I wish my teacher knew ______.” This year, I had a student tell me they wished I knew that they missed their dad, who had been deported; another told me they wished I knew that their mom had lost her job and the family always worried about money; and another told me they wished I knew they were really smart but needed to learn more English. 

All these things give you a glimpse into what kids are carrying with them, and knowing that is essential to building connections with them. I had one student who had so much trouble focusing, and he wrote, “I wish my teacher knew that sometimes I space out and think about bad things I’ve seen and experienced in the past, and I can’t snap out of it.” Once I knew that, I was able to help bring him back in a supportive way when I saw him start to drift, and I was able to learn more about the experiences he was holding on to.

2. Establish routines. Unless you are a teacher, you will never know the amount of trouble a pencil can cause. When I was a new teacher, I didn’t know this either. Ms. Moore knew it, and she knew how to establish a routine—and some intrigue—around pencils. I remember two students arguing over a pencil when Ms. Moore stepped in. She looked at the sprinkler on the ceiling and said, “You have three seconds to tell me who the rightful owner of the pencil is before I check my cameras.” The pencil stealer glanced up and then quickly returned the pencil to its rightful owner, problem solved. The first time Ms. Moore did this, I found myself looking at the sprinklers and thinking, who knew we had cameras in this room?

Students do well when they know what to expect and how to do things. Routines help kids develop independence and confidence because they know what to do as soon as they enter the classroom. Everything from how to handle technology to bathroom passes to what materials are put where needs to be thought about. When you have good routines in place, it allows you to hold students accountable because they know the expectations and what they should be doing. 

3. The lay of the land matters. When teaching, it’s important to know how to capture your students’ attention. Having a good classroom setup can help with this. For me as a middle school teacher, one of my favorite things to do is to sit with my students at a regular old student desk. I can see if they are able to see the board or what distractions are nearby, and I can also experience how easy it is to move around the room and get the things they need. In middle school, the kids are a lot bigger than in elementary school, and sometimes it can be challenging to find a flow that works. 

It’s important to be intentional in how you set up your room so that your students can do the things they need to do. By taking a minute to get the perspective of your students, you can identify issues with your classroom setup. Also, it’s fun when administrators walk into your room and can’t find you because you’ve blended in with the kids.

There’s not one specific way to be a great teacher, but there are things that great teachers have in common. Building relationships, having routines and structures in place, and making sure the lay of the land is functional are great starting points. Also, if you are lucky enough to have a master teacher like Ms. Moore nearby, be open to learning from them. You don’t last in education without learning a few things along the way, so learn from those who make teaching look easy.