A Note About 6th Grade and Middle School
Sixth Graders are still 99.99% Kid. This is the conclusion I have come to after two months with them, and a month and a half with them before that in summer school.
Sixth grade is a very special time. The students are passing from Key Stage II of their learning to Key Stage III. Additionally, they are entering Middle School and facing a number of new challenges. In addition to the lockers, new friends and unfamiliar faces, and the complicated schedules that vary from day to day, they are facing an increase in the difficulty of work.
The most frequently asked question in the first week of school was this: "Will you teach us how to study? We don't know how to study."
How is that for ownership of one's education? And yes, we will teach them how to study. Sixth grade is the time to teach study skills and scaffold studying and learning activities until they become good habits of learning.
Sixth grade is also a sensitive time emotionally. Hormones haven't quite kicked in, so in that regard, the students are fun and carefree. However, with all the changes from elementary school to middle, many are experiencing real stresses for the first time. For this reason, I believe it is essential to get to know each and every student, and in doing so make it known to them that you are an adult they can trust. Provide yourself as a resource so that when they struggle - and they will - they can quickly think to come to you.
Let them know you care and notice their best characteristics by providing positive, specific feedback to each and every student.
I am learning so much about them every day. I have also provided some links to sites about their learning, development, and issues they may be facing.
Sixth grade is a very special time. The students are passing from Key Stage II of their learning to Key Stage III. Additionally, they are entering Middle School and facing a number of new challenges. In addition to the lockers, new friends and unfamiliar faces, and the complicated schedules that vary from day to day, they are facing an increase in the difficulty of work.
The most frequently asked question in the first week of school was this: "Will you teach us how to study? We don't know how to study."
How is that for ownership of one's education? And yes, we will teach them how to study. Sixth grade is the time to teach study skills and scaffold studying and learning activities until they become good habits of learning.
Sixth grade is also a sensitive time emotionally. Hormones haven't quite kicked in, so in that regard, the students are fun and carefree. However, with all the changes from elementary school to middle, many are experiencing real stresses for the first time. For this reason, I believe it is essential to get to know each and every student, and in doing so make it known to them that you are an adult they can trust. Provide yourself as a resource so that when they struggle - and they will - they can quickly think to come to you.
Let them know you care and notice their best characteristics by providing positive, specific feedback to each and every student.
I am learning so much about them every day. I have also provided some links to sites about their learning, development, and issues they may be facing.