[GA] [8th/SS] - SOS: TC in Need of Help with Difficult Students!

Hi! As the title says, I'm a Teacher Candidate and I need help on how to deal with difficult classes--specifically within 8th grade.

So, here's some backstory: I'm a full-time intern at a middle school in Georgia, teaching Georgia State History. The classes in question are general ed., though fall on the lower side, and have a hard time focusing on the content (which is currently state/local government, which, I know, snore). My first two classes are Gifted/Advanced and are, for the most part, well-behaved, and they know me from the beginning of the school year, when I was only interning part-time. Now that I'm full-time, and I'm in the middle of my two-week takeover, I've been trying to get the authority and respect that my site teacher has, and it's just not happening.

I've tried a little bit of everything, but nothing is working. I've been giving letters in their planners (which is a school PBIS intervention), I've tried having the class work in silence, I've tried getting Assistant Principals involved, but nothing seems to be working.

PLEASE! Help a soon-to-be teacher out! I graduate in May and I need all the assistance I can get!😭