How To Make the Transition to Middle School Easier

Making the transition to middle school is a real challenge for many students. After all, they are accustomed to one or two teachers per year and staying in a single classroom all day. Being the oldest kids in the school, they’re used to being on the top rung. Students feel comfortable and at-home because they know many of the other students, teachers, and administrators. Now, they’re entering a world that’s much more complex with many more opportunities for success or failure.

Naturally, they’re scared. Kids worry about having more homework, making good grades, getting lost on a new campus, or encountering bullies. The knowledge that they are entering a whole new social world, the fear of rejection, and wondering how to make new friends can cause anxiety. This is a transitional time in their physical and mental development as well. Know ahead of time that these kids will need support, encouragement, and information about what they are going to experience.

How Schools Can Help in the Transition

Most schools provide a transition program for kids in their final year of elementary school. Usually this involves a parent/student night and a tour of the middle school sometime in the spring. Some educators are suggesting that a more comprehensive program could better assist students and parents in navigating the change and help insure a successful middle school experience.

What would such a program look like? Here are some alternatives to consider:

• Incoming students could be given the opportunity to visit the middle school in the spring to familiarize themselves with the school and meet staff and students, including their homeroom teacher and classmates.

• Orientation could involve kids who are current middle school, through presentations, a buddy system, or other planned ways.

• Orientations should focus on a positive message, that middle school will be safe and fun. Part of the message should be that middle school offers opportunities to get involved in new things. Discuss how to choose elective classes, and what extracurricular activities are available. Suggest that an afterschool activity will help in making new friends, thus making the transition easier.

• An important part of an expanded program could be an event, or a series of events, specifically for parents. Parents are closest and best able to support the student, but they often have little idea of the magnitude of the transition. It is important that parents hear about the whole range of fears and concerns their children are likely to have. They should learn about the developmental processes their kids are going through, and they should understand how much support he/she is likely to need, particularly emotional support.

Suggestions for Parents

Parent education should include concrete suggestions for how to support the transitioning student. Busy and/or overwhelmed parents can use a cheat sheet to help them understand their child’s needs and provide some ideas for providing support.

Here are some suggestions for parents that can work well as part of an orientation, or as the basis for a handout:

• Parents, listen to your child, drawing him out about his experiences, his successes, and his fears. Share information about your own transition to middle school, and reassure him that the changes won’t seem so overwhelming forever. Praise him for his successes; support him when he feels that he’s failed.

• Help your child become oriented in the much larger world of middle school. Take a walk to look around, so he/she will know how the rooms are numbered, where the cafeteria and the gym are, where the bus stop is, etc. Your company on that first exploration will be very reassuring.

• Middle school means more classes, more subjects, and more homework. Look at how your student is organizing his books and binders, and offer tips for more effective organization. Show him how to organize his binder by subject. Talk about how to schedule his free time to have fun and get homework done too. Let him know that help is available if he needs it.

• Give lots of emotional support. Making friends, keeping old friends, navigating the social environment, coping with competition—your support can really help while your child makes her way in this new world. Give specific praise. For example, “You are really doing a good job on your homework.” Point out his/her strengths and accomplishments. If he seems discouraged or scared, use open-ended questions to help him find solutions to the problems he’s encountered.

• Be prepared to support your child for an extended time period. The challenges and fears that result from this transition don’t vanish immediately.

Making the transition to middle school is, for many kids, the first significant challenge in entering the larger world beyond childhood. Children and adults alike often underestimate the scope of the transition. Teachers, administrators, and counselors can help new students and their parents by carefully designing activities and programs to make the change easier.

Additional Lesson Planet Resources:

Transition to Middle School

This article from the National Education Administration is an excellent resource. Written by a former middle school principal, it paints a comprehensive picture of what an effective transition program should look like.

Middle School Transition

This article is meant for mentor programs, and it focuses on one-on-one interactions with pupils. The information is complete and can easily be repurposed for parent orientation.

How to Transition to Middle School

It’s useful to have some simple and easily implemented ideas to offer. This article has tips for those who are making the transition.