Since the students like sports try to incorporate sports into your lessons. If you are teaching language arts have the students read and write about their favorite sport. Incorporate sports into each subject and make is interesting for them so they want to listen to you. Use sports memorabilia such as equipment, photographs, or a jersey to enhance your lesson and intrigue your students. You do not need to yell, use the students' interests to capture their attention.

Best option would be to find ways to get one on one with the student and build a relationship with them. Show them that you are someone who they can trust. Find something you know they like, such as video games or sports. Then request their help with the other students in class that they need someone to look up to and they could be just that student. These students often come from broken families and just need someone who shows that they care.

I've taught middle school for several years, and I really enjoy teaching this age group. This age group can be challenging, and you're doing good trying positive reinforcement. I would recommend that with positive reinforcement, you let your students earn the reward over a long period of time. Give them something to look forward to, not just give them a reward right away because they will expect a reward all them time and that can back fire. For example, with candy, don't give them candy for the correct answer on a warm-up exercise, give them stamps or stickers to collect for two weeks, maybe 20 stamps to cash in for extra credit, maybe playing a game a the end of class, or a piece of candy from the treasure box. Make the reward a very special prize. Also with middle school, always have clear rules and expectations clearly posted in your classroom and refer to them at all times. Don't hesitate to stop teaching, and referring to a rule by having the student who's not following read it aloud to remind him or his peers that these are the rules in the classroom. Once you have rules, routines, procedures well established, I recommend group activities where your students get to be social in a educational and collaborative group where they can investigate and learn together.

Unfortunately these boys do not yet respect you as an authority figure. The best way to gain their respect is to be consistent and firm with them when you are in an instructional setting but friendly and supportive in other settings. Make connections with them so that they will begin to see you as an individual. Find out who their favorite sports teams are and do some simple research about what is going on with the teams. Most of all be genuine with them because middle schoolers are great detectors of fake behavior.

The boys are going through the stages of puberty, regardless of their special needs. They need to follow rules and be respectful just like all the other students. I agree with the last poster about incorporating their interests in the lessons. You can try to get to know them better. Try talking to them about the latest scores of their favorite team or ask them how their team did in the last game. You must maintain professionalism at all times, but if they see that you have an interest in them that it not as a teacher they may behave better.

I also work with middle school aged students now and found this to be an issue as well. What I did was found the ringleader of their little disruptive group. The one everyone kind of followed. I started to change the way he thought about himself and using him as examples for positive things and asked him for help at times. Once I got him on my side because he thought I needed him and trusted him he thought higher of himself and changed his behavior and the rest of the group soon followed. There is still maybe 1 or 2 that I have issues with but for the main part I won over the entire by engaging them in "cool" activities and things they could relate too.

As an interning teacher, it is important that the educator give you that platform to bear the same weight as he or she. If this is the case, follow through with the discipline procedures of the class. Students must learn that they have to respect you, disability or not. After you've warned them address the positive changes with praise and lack of changes with a consequence. Many times, when this happens with one student others will follow.

Look at when they start being defiant during class, and identify the trigger. That will show what starts the behavior. I would also just sit and talk with the students, have a meeting.

This is definitely a tough situation. I dealt with a similar problem last year. I had about 15 boys in fourth grade that were very defiant and disrespectful. The fed off of each other. We tried moving students out of different homerooms, we tried reward systems, we tried everything. This particular group made such an issue that a member at our board office created a program that helps troubled students become more behaved in school and at home. This program has been heaven sent. When I see these students across the hall in fifth grade, I notice a huge difference in some of them. The biggest thing I would suggest is not showing any leniency, stick to what you say and make a consequence for every action. The have to know that you mean what you say and you will follow through.