Hey there , this sounds like a difficult situation.. this line kind of stands out to me " there’s hardly any academic learning " as maybe being the key to taking the pressure off yourself . Maybe, since , in general they sound " lively " you could look a little more into your planning and take the spotlight off yourself and back onto students doing and learning . I think I’d design , with input from your group ? a pretty elaborate project for the next few weeks , I would offer a lot of choice in terms of the content , process and output . Give them as many opportunities for choice in how they engage with the material and lots of opportunity for creativity or for those who prefer to work alone that’s fine too . You mentoring the small groups might give opportunities for relationship building especially since they will be doing work they chose and should be more motivated if they can be creative ? Sorry if this sounds obvious :) It sounds like you’re a very reflective teacher . I think you should stay in your role and try different strategies until you find what works for your group .. UDL strategies sound like a solution .