What Are YOU going to be next year?

What Are YOU going to be next year?  That is the way I am starting my middle school transition lessons this week as I furiously try to see all of my fifth grade students before we end school on Friday.  I will admit, being in charge of testing this year has truly cut into the meaningful "transition to middle school" groups, lessons, and individual conferencing that I used to be able to do with my  fifth graders. However, that is my reality, and I am not going to let my fifth graders graduate without having some discussion about middle school next year.

I am going into each fifth grade classroom for an hour lesson this week.  When I ask them what they are going to be next year, there are lots of things I am referencing. For fun, we are going to match the different mascots to the feeder middle schools my students attend on a Smartboard lesson I have prepared.  Most of them are going to be RAMS next year, as they make their way to the middle school next door. Some will be Eagles or Mustangs.  However, I also want to focus on what they are going to be in terms of their reputations and the types of students and friends they want to be in middle school.   I also want to impart some practical information like how to open combination locks and how they can make sure they get to class on time so they will be prepared.

I plan on showing the following YouTube video "How to Open A Combination Lock" to the whole class.  It is a short visual that will help all the students before we practice locks later in the lesson.
Next, students will divide up among three different Middle School Stations, spending 10-15 minutes at each one as we rotate through all the stations.

Station #1

Combination  Locks:  Students will have a chance to practice opening combination locks with adult assistance (ME!) in a small group.  I bought 9 of these basic combination locks from Walmart that were sold in packs of three.

Station #2

School Map/Survey:  I am doing a couple activities at this center because I need to use computers and there are not 9 computers in my fifth grade classrooms.  Students will alternate between going to a computer and answering survey questions on a Google Form that I made and doing a school map activity.  The Google Form is pretty straightforward (see the live form to the right).  My purpose is to get them thinking about some of their feelings about middle school so we can have discussion about steps they can take over summer to minimize nervous feelings and maximize excitement.  As students complete their surveys, they will return to the station and complete a school map activity with my co-counselor.

One of my lovely feeder middle schools gave me an electronic copy of their school map, as well as all the schedule information I would need to take my fifth graders through a typical day in sixth grade.  Each of my fifth graders will get a paper copy of the school map, and we will let them draw their route through the school as they change classes, go to lunch, attend specials, and dismiss.  Experience has taught me that two of the top fears fifth graders have are getting lost in school or being late when they switch classes. It seems to really help them relax when they see that three minutes really is enough time to go to the classroom next door when they have to move to second period. 

Station #3

My final station focuses on what students want to be in terms of their reputation and friendships.  I modified a Friendship Rating Scale that comes from the book Salvaging Sistehood, a wonderful resource I have used for years written by a fantastic Wake County counselor, Julia V. Taylor. The students rank the traits #1 to #15 that are most and least important to them in choosing friends.  Then, they reflect on if they want to change anything about the way they choose friends in middle school.  It is a great conversation starter in terms of what is really important in a friend and the material things that don't matter.

After all three of my rotations are complete, we will come back together as a whole class and give the highlights of each station.  I plan to show the electronic copy of the school map on the Smartboard to discuss any difficulties or suggestions students have for getting around.  We will also look at the Google survey results to see what students are most excited about and nervous about for next year, as well as the top traits students want in their friends. 

I can't wait to see how the kids like the lessons and am excited to try my kiddos these last few days.  Happy Counseling!

 Angela