Nina Ciatto - How to Survive Middle School: English: A Do-It-Yourself Study Guide

Middle school is a special age. You enter your teens at this time, get some new privileges, and gain independence. Sure, it comes with some bonus features, such as sudden growth spurts and pimples. But dont let these nuisances get in the way of the great stuff happening for you. Your brain is growing super-fast and is capable of new things every day. These changes set you up to do amazing things as a reader and writer. You are going to see stories in exciting new ways. Middle school and adolescence are going to come together to create a whole new literary you!

Lets get you ready. You need to take care of your middle school self so youre in a position to make the most of all that middle school English has to offer.

What do you need? A few good habits will help you to be your strongest.

Taking care of your body and relationships gives you a foundation upon which you can manage your days.

One of the big shifts in middle school and high school is that you are more independent. Woo hoo! However, independence can be a double-edged sword. This means that independence has two sides. It is great. Youre on your own. People have faith in you. You have privileges you havent had before. But as school becomes more your responsibility, it, well, becomes more your responsibility. The icing on this cake is that you are old enough and wise enough to manage this well.

When middle school hits, you must be armed with a calendar or planner! Choose one you like, and follow these tips for keeping yourself organized and prepared for all that is to come.

• Write in your planner every day. Have it close at hand so you can easily jot down homework and reminders at the end of each period. Record homework and due dates as soon as you hear of them.

• Check your planner when you get home from school every day. Use it to set priorities about your homework time.

• Before you go to sleep, check your planner to make sure your backpack is organized and ready for the following day.

• Keep information such as teachers email addresses, office hours, and homework help options right inside your planner.

Now that you know what assignments are coming up and when things are due, how can you best get it done? Consider where you can do homework.

Your workspace is where all the ELA magic happens at home!

Set up a good workspace. It should be quiet. It might be a desk in your room or the kitchen table. If you are using a shared space, you can organize your supplies into a box that you pull out at homework time. Make sure your workspace is comfortablea place you can spend some time in.

Consider what tools you will need. For ELA, you will need a dictionary and thesaurus, which can either be old-fashioned paper books or online versions. Paper and pens, online access, and a good computer are helpful.

The most important thing about this space is that it works for you. Some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you work best when others are around?