Setting up classroom expectations is an effective way to outline for students how you want them to behave when they're in class. In primary and middle school, teachers establish rules for the classroom. In the ninth grade, however, students are treated more as adults. As such, you can establish classroom expectations to guide students toward more positive, less disruptive behaviors. Classroom expectations can be discussed orally, but should also be written down and posted in a place where all of the students can see them. As disruptive behaviors occur in the classroom, refer back to the classroom expectations so that the ninth graders understand which rule they're breaking.
As you teach your classroom of ninth graders, some of the disruptive students will curve their behaviors and adapt to the expectations so that they're less disruptive. Reward this type of behavior to help disruptive students realize that positive behaviors have positive outcomes. This is part of the consequence and reward system. The other part has to do with making students who continue to be disruptive face certain consequences. Give the class a rundown of how the consequences work. For instance, students who disrupt the classroom by texting on their cell phones may have the consequence of being written up or losing a participation point.
One strategy for teaching disruptive ninth graders is to separate the students in the classroom so that those who are notorious for being disruptive or chatty are next to students who aren't. This seating arrangement breaks up the rowdy ones in the class, limiting the availability of people to talk to around them. Depending on how much babysitting a disruptive student requires, you might sit the ninth grader in the front row to keep a close watch on him. However, to avoid the disruptive student distracting all of the students behind him, sit the student in the front and to the side, so that he isn't front and center.
If you spend too much time managing the behaviors of disruptive students in the classroom, the well-behaved students miss out on their academic experience. Time management becomes part of the technique for dealing with disruptive ninth graders. You should have a balance between behavioral management and active teaching. Avoid giving the negative disruptions attention over and over again. It's important to confront the behavior as it occurs, but if the disruptive students refuse to settle down you can either ignore them and continue with your lesson or tell the student(s) to leave.