Transitioning to the middle school from the elementary school can be scary. To help make the move a success, a middle school student and a teacher each give five tips to not only survive the first year of junior high but to help students have a great school year as well.
Middle School Tips and Advice
Stephanie has moved on from her sixth grade year with some advice for incoming sixth graders. She successfully maneuvered through the typical middle school issues and problems and is here to offer you help. The focus of her five tips are about making new friends and keeping stress low. [caption id=“attachment_130388” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”]
Top Five Tips from a Middle School Teacher to the Parents and Students
The following middle school tips are from Stephanie’s mother, who is a middle school teacher. She teaches sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. These tips come from years of watching students struggle and being a mother of three middle school students. Tip Number 5 – Get the supply list early. Students feel secure when they have all of the items needed for their different classes. Teachers can jump right into the curriculum when students have requested supplies. Tip Number 4 – Attend orientation or open house before the first school day. Many students feel less stress and anxiety when they have been able to tour the building. Knowing where the bathrooms, cafeteria, gym and classrooms are in a building make students feel better about the first day of school. Tip Number 3 – Make a couple copies of the student schedule. Middle school students can have up to nine teachers in a day. This is very different from elementary school. Students can break down in tears when they lose their schedule and don’t know where to go after a class. Tip Number 2 – The student should know the parent’s email address. One easy way for teachers to communicate with parents is through email. Teachers generally ask for the email address on the first day so that they can put it in their grade book computer program. Teachers can send grade reports, missing homework assignments and quick notes through email to parents. Tip Number 1 – Stay organized and keep up with assignments. Use an agenda book to write down all assignments and test dates. Keep papers organized in folders or in a large binder. A locker stuffed full of random papers is usually an indicator of a student who is struggling academically. For more tips on making back to school successful, check out these articles on BrighthubEducation!
Stephanie and I agree that staying organized is key to a successful year at the middle school. Parents need to help their children become acclimated to the new school. However, students need to learn that with age also comes more responsibility. We hope you enjoyed these middle school tips and wish you the best of luck in your new adventure! Image by tlparadis from Pixabay
