u/mbullertx

I need some end-of-year classroom management advice.

I’m currently subbing for a 7th grade science teacher who had surgery and will be out for the remainder of the school year. There are only about 3 weeks left, and the students are extremely challenging right now. They argue, bicker, and yell/cuss at each other across the room regardless of seating changes or loss of privileges. I’ve tried multiple strategies, but at times it feels like I’m invisible.

I think part of the issue is that the lesson plans left for me are not filling the entire class period. When students have meaningful work to do, behaviors are noticeably better, but not 100% gone. On Friday, I added a Kahoot and a Blooket, which definitely helped.

I recently saw a post where a teacher had table groups compete for points throughout the class period, with the lowest-scoring team missing out on a small reward or fun activity while the other teams got to participate. I’m considering trying something similar.

For those of you who have experience with middle or high school, what advice would you give someone stepping into a challenging classroom with only 3 weeks left in the school year? Also, if you have any engaging science activities or games that can help fill class time productively, I’d love your ideas.

My PD hours will be finished May 15th. Can I go ahead and renew my license now a couple weeks ahead of time?

I'm nervous about it since my license has been inactive since 2018.

I’m in Virginia and was told I will receive full reciprocity if I renew my Texas license. It’s been inactive since 2018, so I completed college coursework to meet the PD requirements. I just submitted the final assignment for my last class, but grades won’t be finalized until May 15, and transcripts will likely be available about a week after that.

I’d like to go ahead and renew now (today is May 2) to get the process for Virginia licensure started. I know Texas doesn’t require documentation to prove PD at the time of renewal. I’m concerned it could trigger an audit since I’m out of state with a license that's been inactive for 8 years.

Will renewing a couple weeks before my transcript is available put me at risk? Since it’s a traditional university, the transcript will likely just list “Spring 2026” rather than a specific completion date. Should I wait? Or can I go ahead and do it now? Thoughts?