Shoot a pistol in the air perhaps?!

Candy. =]

If u listen i will give u all candy

by designing your lessons around pokemon

Bring a puppy and tell them they can play with the pets after everything is done

Tell them some insider stock information is in it for them

All of these answers were fun but not helpful. My girlfriend is a 4th grade teacher and a class that doesn't respect the authority of their teacher can cause serious stress. You have to, at least, establish yourself as an adult who will not tolerate misbehavior. Once you do that you'll have to make an assessment of your class, assuming it's not your fault, and find the one's who instigate or perpetuate this trend and have a talk with them and, if necessary, their parents. Also, try installing a point system (individual, group, or teams, depending on the kind of kids they are). Give them some incentive to behave. Her example: Use marbles for the whole class... 50 to 100 in a "bad" jar... their goal is to get all the marbles transfered over to the "good" jar. When they do, they get rewarded with a small party on a Friday after. They get the marbles in chunks... e.g. if they're quiet and have done their job (like, silently reading for the allotted time, worked well in groups, all finished the assignment to the best of their ability, etc.), the class gets 10 marbles in or whatever number you feel is appropriate. If you need it to be individualized, a student who interrupts once gets their name on the board with a check. All you have to say is, "so-and-so: reminder". The first two checks are warnings. The third check means they stay in for three minutes. Each additional check means an additional minute. The most important thing is to get them involved in your lessons so they don't get bored.

Long ago, when I was in 5th grade, toward year end when students are apt to get rowdy anyway, we had a cool teacher. One day when we were rowdier than normal she asked Eddy (the class clown) to stand up. When he did, she continued her lesson. He started to sit down and she said Mr. Worrel, did I tell you you could sit down? He stood for the rest of the class. Somehow this had a cold shower effect on us for the rest of the year. 4th graders aren't that much different from 5th graders. Hope this helps

The best advice I have received is to turn everything you can into a game. Also, let them work in pairs or cooperative groups whenever possible. Assign jobs to each member of the group. Develop procedures for everything you do - routine is very important. Henry Wong's book The First Days of School is a good read.

use interesting teaching materials.Really really interesting ones.