My daughter will enter middle school next school year, and I don’t know if I’m completely prepared for this transition. She is changing physically, mentally, and emotionally, and I want to support her as much as possible during this time. If your child will enter middle school soon, it’s important to prepare him for the challenges and successes he’ll face. Generally, middle school begins in 6th grade, but some schools include 5th grade in the middle school grades. In this post, we’ll explore ways you can prepare your child for middle school without the stress and chaos.
What Should My Child Expect During Middle School?
Expect your child to take on more challenging assignments, exams, and school projects. He’ll be expected to complete his work independently and on time so he should learn time management and organizational skills before the new school year. Unlike elementary school, your child will not stay in one or two classes during the day. Instead, he’ll have multiple class periods with different teachers every day. In addition to this, he’ll have some fun electives to take that might inspire him to learn a new hobby or consider a certain career.
His teachers will expect him to already have the foundational skills needed to succeed in the upper grades. This is why if you feel your child still struggles with certain foundational concepts, review them with him and have him practice over the summer. You can also hire a tutor to work with him during the summer months to refresh his skills. In middle school, teachers introduce more challenging concepts that build on the foundational skills.
Your child’s teachers may have larger class sizes, and this means they won’t have much time for one-on-one instruction for struggling students. Your child will need to learn how to study independently and find creative ways to solve academic problems on his own. This doesn’t mean that the teachers will never be available to assist students. It just means that your child will not be able to rely on teachers as much for help. Teach your child how to ask classmates for help with classes when he struggles. He can also get books from the library or watch online videos if necessary.
Depending on the school, there will be more variety in the extracurricular activities your child can join. These include:
- Basketball
- Art club
- Foreign language clubs
- Football
- Marching band
- Dance team
- Theater club
- Soccer team
- Track and field
- Volleyball team
These extracurricular activities provide new opportunities for your child to build his social skills and meet new friends. Don’t pressure him into a certain activity just because it was something you did when you were in school. Everyone is different, and your child has his interests. However, you can guide him towards a club that would best utilize his talents and future aspirations.
Peer pressure is real during the middle school years, and you’ll notice that your child starts to care about his friends’ opinions more than yours. It’s a normal part of growing up, and he’s finding his own identity in the world. Continue to be there for him and guide him in the right direction with strong boundaries and discipline (even if he thinks you’re uncool for doing so). Talk to him about some of the dangers of peer pressure and the importance of leading by example by doing what is right, even when the crowd does the opposite. Show him the difference between real and fake friends, and discuss how he can be a real friend to others.
Puberty strikes during the middle school years, and now is the time to discuss body changes with your child. He may become insecure about his looks or wonder about the changes in his voice. If you have a daughter, she’ll have questions about her period, growing breasts, and other body image issues, such as her weight or growing taller. Instill confidence in your child by telling him that he looks great just the way he is and that body changes are a part of going from a child to a young man. This is also a good time to discuss proper hygiene habits.
Best Study Habits for Middle School
Solid study habits will also be crucial during the middle school years. As the new school year begins, designate a room in the home for homework and studying. The room should have adequate lighting and a desk big enough to hold a laptop and other school supplies. Encourage your child not to wait until the last minute to study for tests or complete school projects. Purchase a desk tray set where he will place completed homework assignments, papers from school about upcoming events, graded papers, and any progress reports and report cards he receives. Buy him folders for every subject and have him label the folders. This keeps him organized during the week.
In middle school, your child will need solid note-taking skills since his teachers may not give out as many worksheets and workbooks as in elementary school. He can start by writing key facts from his teachers, and then he’ll organize them according to importance. He can also take these key facts and make flashcards with them to help him study better. Teach your child how to paraphrase the teacher’s lectures so it will be easier for him to understand when he studies his material later on. Another idea is to draw boxes with colored markers and write the most important facts inside them.
Purchase an organizer for your child to keep track of his assignments, test dates, extracurricular practice dates, and other crucial dates throughout the school year. Buy some fun stickers, ink pens, and markers to make using the planner fun. Have him refer to his planner if he forgets when certain assignments are due. Ask him to keep his planner on his study desk at all times.
Have your child teach what he learned to you. This is an example of active studying, and as he teaches you, he’s reviewing the material he learned in class. Ask deeper questions and see how he answers them. This gives you insight into how well he understands the concepts.
My Middle Schooler Hates to Read! What Can I Do?
Some kids find reading tedious, but they still need to study for tests and a deeper understanding of certain concepts. One thing you can do is have your child watch online videos on the subject he’s studying, and then he can write notes during the videos. He’ll take these notes and write summaries of key facts from the videos. You can create Infographics and other visual aids to help him remember his lessons. Look for picture books related to what he’s studying.
What Math Skills Will He Need?
Here is some insight into the math skills your child will need in the upper grades. He should be able to multiply and divide multi-digit numbers without much trouble. He should be able to multiply, divide, add, and subtract fractions. He’ll need an understanding of percentages and ratios as well as long division problems. Once he arrives at middle school, he’ll learn math concepts such as:
- Graphing on coordinate planes and learning about slopes and linear equations
- Data interpretation
- Pre-algebra concepts such as solving for variables, the order of operations, and the introduction of negative numbers
- Exponents and square roots
- Comparing and ordering integers
- Introduction to rational numbers
- Equations with variables
- Functions
There are numerous resources you can use to refresh your child’s math skills this summer. One website I like is Zearn. This website has neat videos and self-paced exercises that make lessons easy for him to grasp. IXL is another great site for math. It costs $19.99 a month, but it offers plenty of practice questions and step-by-step guides for all kinds of math concepts. I also recommend the YouTube channel Math with Mr. J. This channel focuses on elementary school math concepts such as fractions, decimals, long division, and multi-digit multiplication and lays a good foundation for the more challenging math concepts.
Language Arts Skills
Here are some language arts skills your child will learn in middle school. Every state has its own language arts standards so check with your state’s department of education’s website to learn what your child is expected to know. For example, in Louisiana, my state, they expect students in 7th grade to:
- Explain the function of phrases and clauses and their functions in sentences
- How to identify simple, compound, and complex sentences
- Determine meanings of words with multiple definitions
- Know how to use affixes and Greek roots of words as clues to what certain words mean
- Cite textual evidence to support analysis of inferences from texts
- Analyze authors’ structures to answer questions about texts
- Write arguments with claims and proper evidence
- Basic and advanced grammar concepts
Visit the library with your child and check out books that are appropriate for his grade level. Have him read the books and then he can write book reports for each of them. Another idea is to discuss a current event with him and have him write an argumentative essay that either supports or rejects a certain claim. He’ll need to present credible points as evidence for his claims. Review how to use a dictionary to look up words he’s unfamiliar with.
Boost His Social Skills
Social skills are also important for middle schoolers. The first step is to discuss manners and other social norms that kids should follow in their interactions with others. Teach your child that it’s okay if others disagree with him, and that he should consider others’ opinions. He should also learn effective conflict resolution techniques such as active listening, cooling off during heated conversations, acknowledging when he’s wrong, and extending forgiveness at times. If your friend has kids who you believe would make good friends for your child, arrange for an outing where all the kids can get to know each other.
Assertiveness is another crucial skill your child must develop. Tell him that you should set boundaries with others because it protects you and keeps you from being disrespected or pressured into doing things that go against your values. For example, if his classmate asks him to say inappropriate things to a girl in the class, your child can tell him he’s not going to do it because it isn’t right to disrespect a fellow classmate.
Middle school is both exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. With these strategies, your child will endure this time in his life with confidence.