General academic expectations for Middle School (5th-8th) -- What do you expect?

[Sahamamama]

We are about to enter the middle school years here (5th-8th), and I have been thinking about our overall expectations for academics. Up to this point, I think our work has been solid, reasonably consistent, and relaxed in many ways. My oldest has had plenty of time for play, exploration, rest, exercise, and her own pursuits. She has good basic school skills, some decent work habits (could use a bit of work), some emerging areas of interest (could use some discussion & observation), and a mostly pleasant personality (can be a bit stubborn at times).

 

When I look back at my PS middle school experience, those many years ago, I have a sense of the middle school years as being mostly wasted time. We were in one school for 6th & 7th, another for 8th & 9th, and then moved up to the high school (10th-12th). There was no sense of school culture or community in either of the "middle" schools, no development of our skills as scholars (e.g., study skills, motivation, a sense of the big picture), no enthusiasm for the world of learning, no real movement forward. We were just there, putting in time.

 

I don't feel as though the focus of those years was to actually master anything -- not basic math (or beyond), not a timeline of history, not grammar or vocabulary, not a cumulative knowledge of anything at all, not a foreign language, not really much of anything. It was more like a holding tank.

 

I think the primary goals of those years were to (1) learn to open a hall locker using a numerical combination, and (2) learn to follow a class schedule to move from room to room more than eight times a day, and (3) learn to periodically take our gym clothes home for laundering, and bring clean ones back to school. Oh, and to become comfortable with our new hormones, pimples, and periods. And that was it.

 

I would like our middle school experience to go beyond these goals. What are your overall academic expectations for the middle school years? How have you shaped those years to be the transition between the younger years and the high school years? If you are from overseas, or from a school tradition that didn't squander the middle years, what have you observed and implemented that is more effective than the typical US middle school model?

[Minerva]

:bigear:

[regentrude]

 If you are from overseas, or from a school tradition that didn't squander the middle years, what have you observed and implemented that is more effective than the typical US middle school model?

 

What baffled me about the ps model in the US was that, while there was a push for academics in the elementary grades - even too much for some young kids - all aspirations stopped when the students hit middle school and they did essentially nothing but busy work. My kids attended 5th and, DD part of 6th, grade, and there was no progress, as you describe.

 

I find it actually very easy to counteract this: simply keep working and learning new things, build on what the student has mastered and continue to expect good work according to their abilities. I did not have any specific goals or expectations - we started where they had left off when I pulled them out of school, and learned NEW stuff instead of repeating the old and progressed in math instead of reviewing fractions for three solid years.  Read longer and more difficult books, go deeper in science and history, write longer assignments - always with an eye on the child's ability. Just keep going forward instead of treading water. In a homeschool, that is very easy because you can observe your children and see whether they are bored, overwhelmed, or challenged just right.

 

What worked great for my kids in the middle grades was a lot of freedom to select what to study. They picked their science topics and history periods where they wanted to delve deeper. The beautiful thing about the middle grades is that there is no mandatory curriculum to cover, no "credits", no transcript, no eye on college admissions - you can simply enjoy learning and have fun with it. (To some degree, we lost this a bit in high school, because there are certain outside expectations what needs to be covered, so allowing the freedom is harder to do.)

[Love_to_Read]

These are very, very broad, but my goals for middle school:

 

1. Study Skills...learning how to outline, take notes from written and spoken material, becoming self-aware of learning styles, finding effective ways to review material, learning to manage one's own time with increasing independence, learning to manage test anxiety if it exists in regard to standardized testing, knowing how to calculate an average grade, knowing how to use graphic organizers, being able to break down larger projects into smaller steps...I don't mean for a 5th grader to have mastered all this at once, but I'd like an incoming 9th grader to be fairly solid on these skills rather than spend the high school transcript years learning them as a trial by fire.

 

2. English...solid outlining skills as mentioned in WTM, ability to type, ability to express oneself comfortably in writing, being able to write multiple paragraphs...Again, I don't expect a 5th grader to write a term paper, but I'd like an incoming 9th grader to have written something long enough to require transitioning from one paragraph to the next in an organized manner, such as comparison-contrast essays.  Most of high school will be spent learning to craft good academic writing, so not asking for perfection here...just wanting to spend middle school transitioning from the simple paragraphs of elementary to being comfortable expanding to greater lengths.  If that means using speech-to-text software and an advanced spellchecker to compensate for dysgraphia, for example, I want that practiced in middle school, so that it's ready to go in high school.  Reading--making sure the child is comfortable reading for information, comfortable reading novels, and starting to talk about plot, characters, conflict, etc. Again, that might happen in elementary for a strong reader, and analysis will be refined in high school, so not a huge goal...but if it still needs work, middle school is the time to make sure reading skills, grammar, spelling, etc., are strong enough to handle high school or else that appropriate accommodations have been decided upon and practiced.

 

3. Math--solidify advanced arithmetic such as fractions, decimals, percents, exponents, etc., in addition to the basic four operations.  Start on pre-Algebraic reasoning.  Start on Algebra I for advanced 8th graders, but most of middle school is polishing off arithmetic.  I can't tell you how many struggling Algebra students I've met who primarily flounder on fractions.  The bridge to understanding fractional equations and coefficients is having a very solid understanding of the hows and whys of fractions in arithmetic.

 

4. Science--Knowing the scientific method and how to write up a lab report/design an experiment...an actual experiment with a control group, a variable, a hypothesis, etc., as opposed to a demonstration.  Having been introduced to all major branches of science at least once.

 

5.  History--having been through history, both world and American, at least once.

 

6. Foreign Language--having been introduced to the sounds and vocabulary of at least one foreign language, having fun with it before buckling down to study grammar more formally in high school.

 

7. Art--knowing the color wheel, having used most mediums at least once, having been introduced to perspective, exploring digital art

 

8. Emotional and Physical Health--learning to problem-solve social situations with greater understanding and independence, maintaining self-esteem, knowing all the basics of the types of choices that teens may face in terms of drugs, alcohol, smoking, romantic relationships, peer pressure, etc.  I think middle school is the time to fill in any gaps that might have been missed in discussing mature topics with younger kids, or might have gone over their heads as too far in the future.  I mean, it's an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time lecture, but now is the time to recognize that kids grow up and need to make the right decisions for themselves.

[Love_to_Read]

I should add...my list of goals is what I'm thinking as a baseline minimum of the competencies that I think middle schoolers should have before entering high school. Some children will hit those goals earlier than others.  I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with regentrude that there is no point in spending three years reviewing fractions for a child who mastered them in 5th grade.  I think there's a lot of freedom in how to explore all of those subjects in greater depth rather than sitting around, and it doesn't have to be just advancing to high school work.  Middle schoolers still like projects...they can have fun creating displays and experiments and exploring niche topics.  There are always more books to read, more creative writing to explore.  Things like the middle school newspaper/magazine curriculum Cover Story would be a great project for writers.  I wrote my goals in the sense of "Here are the competencies that would benefit an incoming 9th grader to have."  Beyond that, keep exploring rather than regurgitate elementary school.

[FO4UR]

My goals for my middle-schoolers (5th and 7th this fall) are:  

 

 

Read widely and independently.  Take a written assignment like "King Arthur, Chapter 5" and read it, understand it, discuss it.

 

Write fluidly.  We are writing narrations and journaling in various other ways like Nature Journal, Book of Centuries, Book of Commonplace.  Get the pen to the paper without angst, and we will not worry so much about mechanics until dictation lessons.

 

Make certain to keep math in balance.  It cannot overtake our entire school day.  Within math itself, I want to see a balance of arithmetic, applied math & geometry, and challenging word problems. 

 

 

Follow an assignment checklist with integrity.  Create a daily checklist from the Teacher's master weekly plans.  Learn to manage time well. 

 

Try hard things.  Art, music, sports, academics, etc...be willing to fail a few times in order to succeed at last.

 

Treat people kindly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ScoutTN]

I have been thinking about this too!

 

Some ideas which stand out to me include:

 

1. Logic stage is a time to solidify and teach academic skills that will be needed to master content in high school. SWB's webinar includes many of these and so do several of Ruth's threads. Taking notes from lecture and from a text, outlining, learning to really use the library, keeping track of assignments, taking outsourced classes for a grade - both live and online, learning the basics of writing a research paper, taking standardized tests, working with other students on a group project for a grade, typing. I am sure there are lots of others.

 

2. I was not prepared for high school math, so that is always on my radar. I will not rush my student through a course and I will listen to her with regard to her confidence in her mastery of the material. I will make sure she has expert teaching and whatever scaffolding or support she needs. She will be really solid on all arithmetic before moving on up.

 

3. Middle school is time for following rabbit trails and pursuing interests before the structure of high school course requirements limits those things somewhat. (Though certainly 8, Nan and others give us fabulous examples of creating courses which do both!) So let them study what they love as they work on those important skills.

 

4. Following rabbit trails requires time. Hormone craziness will perhpas be less stressful with a schedule that protects time to just be, to sleep, to play. I had lots of unstructured time as a middle school student and that was good. It is harder to accomplish in today's world than it was where and when I grew up.

 

5. Community. I would like Dd to have some real friends to learn with, academic community. She will have a group of friends for the long haul at church and in AHG and I hope some of these will overlap with friends in academic community. While we will certainly make good use of online education, imo it cannot replace learning with irl friends. So I will be thinking and planning and making choices with regard to local high school tutorials. Middle school will be a time to test those out and see what is a good fit for our family, keeping in mind that Ds will be three years behind Dd.

 

 

6. We are a Christian family, and we put a high priority on a solid knowledge of the Bible and theology as well as the practical application of our faith. I am saddened and discouraged by the lack of basic Biblical knowledge in the Church today and my kids will be atypical in that area. They have a good foundation and we will build on that. During the middle school years, we would like Dd to deveolp a habit of daily personal devotional time, begin to learn the basics of Bible study, begin to learn some apologetics and struggle with difficult theological questions and to continue to understand how Biblical events and Church history fit into the context of world history. Our church youth ministry is light on content and heavy on activitiy in the middle school years, so we will balance this out at home. I expect that Dd will go on a short term mission trip, continue to meet missionaries and Christians from other cultures, to serve in the church and community, to be a cheerful giver of her financial resources, to continue to memorize Scripture and to share the gospel in word and deed.

[Critterfixer]

Fifth grade for us really felt like another year of elementary. The difference might have been that I began to teach self-teaching stuff: how to review previous material, how to pick out parts of a lesson that needed to be studied, how to take a Latin sentence apart for translation, how to take apart a word problem for translation. But in many ways, it was a year of sending out feelers into new territory.

 

We are easing into sixth grade now, and what I am noticing most is a willingness by one child to tackle things that bother him, particularly in the world of stories and story building. Accordingly, I'm upping our read aloud content to reflect a difficulty in language and/or theme. 

In expository reading, I'm working to have them consider questions before they read. I'm selecting and coming up with fewer questions, but selecting those that involve reflection on the material, or involve constructing an answer involving multiple parts. 

In literature this summer, we have been tackling poetry. I'm terribly uncomfortable with poetry. It's been a lesson for all of us in how to overcome our discomfort and tackle something new and difficult. 

 

For me, I have found that in order to really get the most out of our curriculum, I have to be involved. Any time I've done my homework, thought about what I want them to dig out of a book or a lesson, not only do they scratch it out readily, but they find gems I overlooked. We all are rewarded when I spend the time needed to develop enthusiasm for a subject or subject material. Not that they can't do it without me! They do plenty of work on their own, but suffice to say, that it's a better learning environment for us when I've done my due diligence. Thus, part of sixth grade will be spent in making sure that I have the time I need to read, learn and become an enthusiastic, interested teacher.

[Mystie]

My oldest just started 7th grade. Here are my thoughts when I was planning it (6th grade was mostly more of what we'd been doing):

 

* Be able to write 1-3 coherent paragraphs about a reading assignment (factual or descriptive, without first or second person pronouns)

* Keep track of assignments, papers, books, and supplies

* Be given a bigger assignment to work on over the course of the week, break it into manageable chunks, and finish it by Friday

* Finish LFC Primer C

* Practice math facts to keep them speedy and accurate while progressing in math (he's in pre-algebra right now)

* Learn to have a conversation about an interesting book

* Read through the Bible and also know & be able to articulate basic doctrine

* Be able to diagram sentences he's written or from books (not canned sentences from a grammar workbook, but ones met out in the "wild").

* Get enough sleep, social time, physical activity, and mental challenge to work through hormone & growth changes healthily

 

He already has been through a history cycle, reads widely, has touched on all branches of science in his reading, and can write a 5 paragraph paper.

[AnnaM]

I recently watched a webinar which prompted me to research. I came to the same conclusion as you did. My British husband also agreed with me that the US middle school model is a waste of time. I basically scrapped all of my plans to trudge through the "next book" and now my goals are:

My girls are 5th grade respectively.

Math: have a very solid foundation in long division, fractions and decimals. Start pre-algebra. My goal is to have both of my girls ready for 9th grade algebra by what would have been their 7th grade year. We are flexible and if it takes longer or they get done faster we will go with it. We are using Math U See to reach these goals. I have tried other things but this works best for my oldest who thrives on mastery based math.

English: Strong foundation in writing and a good spelling and vocabulary base. We will just continue doing what we are doing now for that. We are using Cover Story for writing, Wordly Wise for vocab and and a Reason for Spelling.

Reading: Strong reading skills with good comprehension. We will continue reading classic literature with the random comprehension workbook thrown in. Sonlight covers what we need for most of our reading.The comp books are Memoria Press.

Science: General science with lots of practice forming hypothesis, conducting experiments and writing lab reports. Apologia.

History: Strong American History. We will cycle through world history again after American, but I would like them to be able to take a dual credit history course without too much trouble.

I would like them both to be enrolled in dual credit courses for anything they can after 10th grade. I just dont see the point in not doing it since they have to have the high school credits anyways.These are of course, just my academic goals. I don't really plot out my social goals for them.

 

[Junie]

Up until last summer, I was kind of a do-the-next-thing kind of homeschooler.  We school all year, so when one book is finished, the next one begins.  Sometimes my dc are in 3 different levels at the same time.  (i.e.  1st grade spelling, 3rd grade language, 2nd grade math)  We just progress.

 

However, last summer I realized that ds14 was finishing 9th grade and I was supposed to have started keeping records for him at the beginning of 9th grade.  Sigh.  We got through that hurdle and 10th grade has been much better.

 

So, for dd12 I am a little more prepared.  After I got her brother's records in order, I planned out what I wanted her to do for high school.  It's not completely mapped out, but I have a general idea of where she will be starting.  This is especially important for subjects that "build" -- math, science, foreign language.

 

She said that she wanted to try to do 7th and 8th grade in one year.  I'm not sure why, but I was completely ok with it because I remember my 7th and 8th grade years being virtually the same and (truthfully) a lot of it was a waste of time, imo.

 

So I planned out what I wanted her to accomplish by the end of "middle school".  I told her that if she accomplished this, she would be able to begin 9th grade a year early.

 

And, she is on track to do so.   :)

 

For us, 5th and 6th are still elementary school.  

 

7th and 8th are the bridge to high school.  I think that a lot of kids would be able to cross this bridge in one year as my dd did.

[Sahamamama]

I recently watched a webinar which prompted me to research. I came to the same conclusion as you did. My British husband also agreed with me that the US middle school model is a waste of time. I basically scrapped all of my plans to trudge through the "next book" and now my goals are:

 

My girls are 5th grade respectively.

 

Math: have a very solid foundation in long division, fractions and decimals. Start pre-algebra. My goal is to have both of my girls ready for 9th grade algebra by what would have been their 7th grade year. We are flexible and if it takes longer or they get done faster we will go with it. We are using Math U See to reach these goals. I have tried other things but this works best for my oldest who thrives on mastery based math.

 

English: Strong foundation in writing and a good spelling and vocabulary base. We will just continue doing what we are doing now for that. We are using Cover Story for writing, Wordly Wise for vocab and and a Reason for Spelling.

 

Reading: Strong reading skills with good comprehension. We will continue reading classic literature with the random comprehension workbook thrown in. Sonlight covers what we need for most of our reading.The comp books are Memoria Press.

 

Science: General science with lots of practice forming hypothesis, conducting experiments and writing lab reports. Apologia.

 

History: Strong American History. We will cycle through world history again after American, but I would like them to be able to take a dual credit history course without too much trouble.

 

I would like them both to be enrolled in dual credit courses for anything they can after 10th grade. I just dont see the point in not doing it since they have to have the high school credits anyways.These are of course, just my academic goals. I don't really plot out my social goals for them.

 

 

 

Is the webinar still available? Any information on this would be appreciated.

 

[MotherGoose]

,"I think the primary goals of those years were to (1) learn to open a hall locker using a numerical combination, and (2) learn to follow a class schedule to move from room to room more than eight times a day, and (3) learn to periodically take our gym clothes home for laundering, and bring clean ones back to school. Oh, and to become comfortable with our new hormones, pimples, and periods. And that was it."

 

I have no advice but listening in. The above made me laugh :) Dint discount the importan of learning to work a locker combination: we have one on our shed and I have had to channel my inner 7th grader to open it :).

[AnnaM]

This is the link: http://hecoa.com/skipmiddleschool

Supposedly it was only available for a short time, but it still looks active to me. It wasn't earth shattering or anything, but it was interesting and made me look at what we were using which confirmed for us that middle school was this weird limbo in which nothing new was actually learned.

[AnnaM]

I should have said my girls were entering 6th. Depending on what ISD you are in here, middle school starts anywhere from 5th to 7th grade. We don't keep track of grades officially so my girls can be in as many as 4 different levels depending on the subject. I have changed my focus from learning "grade level" material to a list of things that I just want to be sure they have down pat before moving on to high school. Regardless of how long it takes we won't move on until it's down, but I also won't make them do redundant work in an effort to recreate middle school. And after looking at the work in middle school, we will pretty much end up leaving all of the "grade level" work for those years out.

[8filltheheart]

Middle school is when I want my kids to have mastered the basic elements of writing so that in high school the focus shifts to the art of argument.

 

We try to start a foreign language.  

 

Mostly, I want them to start learning that they are going to be charge of their lives in just a few years and that where they end up in life depends a whole lot on their own steam.  I don't pick up their slack for them as much as when they were younger, and their decisions start to have a lot more real world natural consequences.  Initiative leads to rewarding outcomes.  Less personal effort leads to reduced options.  (Life in our household is not fair.  Just b/c someone else gets to do something does not mean all earn the equivalent right.  Privileges are exactly that and they are earned. That means spontaneous family outings, special daddy dates, etc might be sprung spur of the moment and those carrying their own weight are the ones included in the reward.  No fair warnings.  Life's activity is the daily tread mill that is the only "fair warning" required.  Appropriate levels of responsibility are expected. :) )

 

It is also the time when I really encourage my kids to start really exploring things they are interested in.  We offer them all the support we can to figure out how to explore those ideas.   I try to incorporate what I can into our academic year.

[Sahamamama]

:lurk5:

[MysteryJen]

I try to get writing ready for high school, reading and taking notes ready for high school, and keep along with math with the goal of algebra 1 in 8th. More is fine, but everything needs to be solid before flying in to algebra. Math is the only non-negotiable in the middle school years.

 

Everything is interest-led. I have found I get more cooperation on learning study skills when it is their choice of subject or book. We also spend time learning new skills, like cooking, art, music, etc.

 

For me, I loosen the reins and let them take on more responsibility for their education.

[Mommy22alyns]

For those who have mentioned Christian education, what resources have you used for apologetics, doctrine, etc?  Are you having your kids read through the whole Bible yet?

[...................]

Oddly, I remember absolutely nothing that I learned in public PS middle school...even though I was in hte gifted and talented program there...all I remember is my social life.

 

Then we moved and I went back to a small Catholic school and I remember so much of what I learned there about grammar, composition, spelling...I had an extremely special sister teach the 8th grade class ....she had already had 45 years teaching by the time I got to her, so there you have it.

 

Anyway, as far as my kids, they are SO DIFFERENT I really can't say what my plans are in general...

 

So for ds 1 Type A-B, focused, more able to get things done, very deep and methodical

6th grade- learn to study, take notes, very serious writing

7th grade- keep up 6th grade skills

8th grade- ready for HS, use Calvert for very solid accountability and critcism from someone other than mom. Keep improving with math until ready for AOPS algebra online class...

 

Basically overall my goals are just to keep him in the direction he is headed and FOCUS on MATH

 

For dd2 - Type C, energetic, trouble sitting still, social, very fast paced, likes things in bite sized pieces...

6th grade- Join a once a week homeschool class, and other social outlets, improve spelling, keep doing well in math, try to ignite more of a fire in Writing, keep going with piano

7th grade- 

8th grade- 

 

Basically for her, I think it's going to be to cram as much skills as I can without making her have anxiety over too much sitting/workbooks/busywork....I think I will be amazed if she even can or wants to sit much in high school let alone middle school.

 

OH, and we might be late, but we started using Accountable Kids and both my kids love it and are in charge of their own destiny, and are really rising to the challenge.  They love it.  Clear rewards, clear expectations, clear discipline, everything is very clear!!! 

[ScoutTN]

For those who have mentioned Christian education, what resources have you used for apologetics, doctrine, etc?  Are you having your kids read through the whole Bible yet?

 

 

DD will begin with the Victor Journey Through the Bible this year. Her Sunday school class will study the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 

 

Not sure about apologetics resources, other than lots of conversation.