The move from Grade 5 to Grade 6 is a big deal. Having said that, witnessing this transition for students for the past 20 years it is also fairly predictable. It is exciting and challenging for the average student. It is extremely difficult for kids who struggle with organization. It is a joy ride for students who thrive on multiple notebooks, organized pencil cases,and multi-colored highlighters. By and large, it is an opportunity that most kids embrace to experience growing privileges, added responsibilities, multiple workloads to balance, and a fast paced collage of social interactions that include complex friendship groups, online exposure and interactions, “by the lockers” gossip. Make no mistake, the social world of a Grade 6 student is a not so subtle challenge.
Add social challenges to the academic workload to the new found freedom to moving between classes to exposure to older students and older ideas and you have a stew that brews for weeks and months and leads to a myriad of challenges along the way. It is not easy being a grade 6 student.
But…..all is not lost! Good teachers who are sensitive to the needs of this age group, structured opportunities to interact, ongoing and specific attention to challenged students, and a general openness of grade 6 students to discuss and consider right and wrong choices provides a mix for supporting, guiding, and teaching.
I’ve always considered Grade 6 students as the “morality police”. They really do insist upon “fairness”. As they move through grade 6 at different paces, they are Continue reading