GCU: Upwards and Onwards - Elementary to Middle School Comprehensive Transition

Curriculum for Small Groups

Devon Solomon
Catherine Rousseau

University of Connecticut

Updated April 2021

Lesson 1: Group Introduction (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M6 - Positive attitudes towards work and learning
Competency: B-SMS 1 - Demonstrate ability to assume responsibility, B-SS 2 - Create
positive and supportive relationships with other students
Learning Objective(s):
● Understand the purpose of a group in facilitating middle school transition
● Acquire responsibility as a supportive group member
● Demonstrate an awareness of and communicate thoughts and feelings about
middle school transition
Materials:
● Ice-breaker of leaders’ choice (Would You Rather?, Two Truths and a Lie, etc.)
● Poster paper and markers
● Materials to write letters to current sixth graders: pencils and paper or computers
to type letters out
Developmental Learning Activities: Dear 6th Graders
Introduction (15 min):
● Welcome students to the group, brief group and personal introduction leading into
ice-breaker activity.
● After the ice-breaker is finished - further explain the purpose of the group, what
the goals are, and what members might expect.
● Explain that groups have norms. Allow rising middle schoolers to work together
to decide the group norms. Come up with about five of them and write them on
the poster paper. Make sure that all members have some input.
Activity (20 min):
● Introduce the letter writing activity by explaining that students will get a chance
to ask questions to people who were in their shoes last year and are current 6th
graders. Explain that these letters can be about anything they’re worried, excited,
or have questions about.
● Have the group discuss basic letter writing etiquette (how to open and close a
letter, etc.). As a group, talk about some of their thoughts about starting middle
school. Brainstorm a few ideas of questions or topics they might want to address
in their letters.
● If needed, pass out letter writing materials. Allow students time (~10-15 minutes)
to write their letters and provide assistance as necessary. Towards the end of
group time, collect the letters or, if typed on the computer, have students email
 them to the group leader. After the session has ended, the group leader will either
mail or email the letters to their contact at the middle school.
Conclusion (10 min):
● Talk with students about how it felt to write these letters.
● Remind students that it’s normal to be unsure about a transition, but that the group
will allow them to learn what middle school will be like and to practice the skills
they’ll need.
● Go around the group and have everyone say one thing they’re looking forward to
about being in the group.
● Remind students of the time and place for future groups.
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Holistic post-test for the group provided after lesson six to assess the effectiveness
of the group across lesson content areas.
● Students will be informally evaluated on outlined learning objectives based on
their performance/engagement in group.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will maintain accountability by following-up on
group norms and goals, as well as reflections on letters received from sixth
graders, in lesson two.
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:
● Akos, P. (2002). Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle
School. Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 339-345.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732374
○ Abstract not presented
● Akos, P., & Martin, M. (2003). Transition groups for preparing students for middle
school. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 28(2), 139-154.
doi:10.1177/0193392203028002005
○ School counselors can use groups as an effective and efficient means of helping
students. Psychoeducational groups provide information and build skills to help
prepare students for developmental tasks. As students complete elementary
school, these preadolescents face the challenging tasks of moving to middle
school and beginning puberty. School counselors can capitalize on peer influence
and prepare students for the transition to middle school by using the group format.
This article describes a model of a psychoeducational group aimed at preparing
fifth graders for the transition to middle school. Implications and results of a pilot
group are also presented.
● Fite, P., Frazer, A., DiPierro, M., & Abel, M. (2018). Youth Perceptions of What Is
Helpful during the Middle School Transition and Correlates of Transition Difficulty.
Children & Schools, 41(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy029
○ The middle school transition has been identified as a difficult time for youths,
resulting in adjustment difficulties across a variety of domains. Although some
research has examined strategies that are useful for the adjustment outcomes
associated with the transition, more research understanding student perceptions of
what is helpful in the middle school transition and adjustment correlations of
perceived level of difficulty is needed. To this end, the current study surveyed 84
youths approximately 2.5 months after their transition to middle school. Parents
were perceived as helpful by almost all students (>90 percent), followed by
friends, then teachers. In addition, locker time before the start of school and a tour
of the middle school while still in fifth grade were endorsed as helpful by the
majority of the students. Approximately 29 percent of students reported that the
middle school transition was difficult, and high levels of transition difficulty were
associated with poorer adjustment for both boys and girls, specifically high levels
of depressive symptoms and schoolwork difficulty. The article concludes with
suggestions for transition strategies.
● Goldstein, S.E., Boxer, P. & Rudolph, E. Middle School Transition Stress: Links with
Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences. Contemp School Psychol
19, 21–29 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0044-4
○ The present study investigates links between early adolescents’ subjective
experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their
academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N = 774) were surveyed
about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students
answered questions about stress associated with the transition to middle school,
the extent to which their friendships had changed over the course of the transition,
and a variety of academic outcomes including academic performance, school
bonding, and academic motivation. Results indicate that higher amounts of middle
school transition stress predict lower grades, higher school anxiety, and lower
school bonding. Moreover, transition stress predicted academic outcomes
regardless of whether adolescents were in a stable friendship group across the
transition to middle school. Results are discussed in light of implications for
promoting positive social and academic development across the transition to
middle school.
Lesson 2: Middle School Exploration (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M2 - Self-confidence in ability to succeed
Competency: B-SS 6 - Use effective collaboration and cooperation skills, B-SS 7 - Use
leadership and teamwork skills to work effectively with diverse teams
Learning Objective(s):
● Understand the basic function and expectations of middle school
● Identify support resources at the middle school level
● Participate in practicing functional middle school skills
Materials:
● Group rules poster
● Letters from 6th graders
● One padlock for each student with the code written down, as well as a padlock for
the leader to demonstrate on
● Padlock instruction sheet
● Physical or electronic timer
Developmental Learning Activities: Locker Relay
Introduction (10 min):
● Greet students and welcome them back to the group for the second session. To
reorient everyone, go around the group with a short icebreaker, such as a “Would
You Rather” question. “Would You Rather” questions can be middle school
related: "Would you rather have art or gym?" "Would you rather have posters or
magnets in your locker?"
● Review the group rules that students came up with last week.
● Let everyone know that their 6th grade “pen pals” wrote letters back to them.
Distribute letters and give students a few minutes to read theirs. Ask students if
they would like to share any bits of advice they received. Have students connect
common worries and what the 6th graders wrote, as well as things that make them
excited about starting middle school (allocate 5 minutes).
Activity (20 min):
● Provide the example of switching classes in a short period of time and having to
use a locker for the first time as something that will get better with practice.
Explain that today, students will get a chance to practice with padlocks and will
have a “locker race.”
● Pass out padlocks with codes. Pass out sheets with padlock instructions.
Demonstrate how to open such a lock, then allow five minutes for students to
 practice. Encourage students to ask each other for help.
● Explain the rules of the game: one leader will act as the “lockers” and bring
several padlocks with them to a different area of the school. Students will have
four minutes to get to the “lockers,” open the padlocks, and come back to the
group.
● Play the game, timing students. Send students in groups of two to four at a time in
order to maximize time for the ending stage (allocate 15 minutes).
Conclusion (15 min):
● Have students share with each other how it felt to have to open the padlock and
get back to the group room with such a short time limit.
● Ask the group to share how it felt to work as a team and to ask for help. discuss
that upperclassmen, peers from this group or outside, teachers, counselors, nurses,
are all people who can help them with anything from lockers to friendships -
everyone was a sixth grader at some point.
● Go around the group and ask each member one thing that excites them about
starting middle school.
● Remind students when and where group will happen again and then say
goodbyes.
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Holistic post-test for the group provided after lesson six to assess the effectiveness
of the group across lesson content areas.
● Students will be informally evaluated on outlined learning objectives based on
their performance/engagement in group.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will maintain accountability by leading lesson
three with discussion/follow-up questions about middle school expectations.
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:
● Akos, P. (2002). Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle
School. Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 339-345.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732374
○ Abstract not presented
● Fite, P., Frazer, A., DiPierro, M., & Abel, M. (2018). Youth Perceptions of What Is
Helpful during the Middle School Transition and Correlates of Transition Difficulty.
Children & Schools, 41(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy029
○ The middle school transition has been identified as a difficult time for youths,
resulting in adjustment difficulties across a variety of domains. Although some
research has examined strategies that are useful for the adjustment outcomes
associated with the transition, more research understanding student perceptions of
 what is helpful in the middle school transition and adjustment correlations of
perceived level of difficulty is needed. To this end, the current study surveyed 84
youths approximately 2.5 months after their transition to middle school. Parents
were perceived as helpful by almost all students (>90 percent), followed by
friends, then teachers. In addition, locker time before the start of school and a tour
of the middle school while still in fifth grade were endorsed as helpful by the
majority of the students. Approximately 29 percent of students reported that the
middle school transition was difficult, and high levels of transition difficulty were
associated with poorer adjustment for both boys and girls, specifically high levels
of depressive symptoms and schoolwork difficulty. The article concludes with
suggestions for transition strategies.
● Martínez, R.S., Aricak, O.T., Graves, M.N. et al. Changes in Perceived Social Support
and Socioemotional Adjustment Across the Elementary to Junior High School Transition.
J Youth Adolescence 40, 519–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9572-z
○ One of the most fundamental factors related to psychological well being across
the lifespan is whether a person perceives social support from important others in
his or her life. The current study explored changes in and relationships among
perceived social support (SS) and socioemotional adjustment (SEA) across the
1-year transition from elementary to junior high school. Two cohorts of students
(N = 140) participated in the current study that took place across a 3-year time
span. Analyses of the transition data for boys and girls together reveal declines in
perceived total support and teacher support as well as an increase in self-reported
school problems. When considering the sexes separately, girls’ perceived total
support, close friend support and school support declined while boy’s
self-reported school problems increased across the transition. Although social
support did not emerge as a mediator or predictor for any of the socioemotional
variables in the current study, results reveal that, in general, perceived social
support and socioemotional functioning at the end of the last year of elementary
school predicts perceived social support and socioemotional functioning at the
end of the first year of junior high school. Study limitations and implications for
research and practice are discussed.
Lesson 3: Academic Adjustment (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M5 - Belief in using abilities to their fullest to achieve high quality results and
outcomes
Competency: B-LS 4 - Apply self motivation and self direction to learning, B LS 6 - Set
high standards of quality
Learning Objective(s):
● Learn about the differences between elementary and middle school academics
● Demonstrate an understanding of their self-regulation and responsibility
● Be able to generate practical solutions for various academic issues
Materials:
● Tool box hand out
● Scenarios cards
Developmental Learning Activities: Tool Time
Introduction (10 min):
● Greet students and welcome them back to the group for the third session.
● Talk about how everyone is feeling about the group so far. Present group norms
and ask if there’s anything we want to add.
● Ask students to share their thoughts coming out of last week’s locker exercise and
what else they want to know about middle school.
Activity (20 min):
● Ask: What do we think middle school work is like? What has everyone heard?
● Pass tool box worksheets out. Explain we all have a “tool box” that holds the
knowledge and skills they need to be successful in middle school classes. Give
some examples, then ask students for a few of their own ideas and to write them
on their tool box (and color in the tools to their liking) during the conversation.
(Allocate 10-15 minutes)
○ Organization skills
○ Checking grades online
○ Being able to ask for help
○ Getting work done early
○ Study habits
○ Taking breaks
● Go through 2-3 scenarios according to time. Let group members talk about which
tools from their toolbox they would use and discuss with others why. (Allocate
5-10 minutes)
 Conclusion (15 min):
● Ask group members to share post-activity thoughts. Will these tools be hard to
use? Do we feel like we can become comfortable using these tools?
● Group logistics reminder as well as a send off with the task of starting to use these
tools while they’re still in elementary school.
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Holistic post-test for the group provided after lesson six to assess the effectiveness
of the group across lesson content areas.
● Students will be informally evaluated on outlined learning objectives based on
their performance/engagement in group.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will maintain accountability by assigning group
members the task of thinking about how they can use their “tool kit” in the
present - prepared to talk about it for lesson four
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:

● Fite, P., Frazer, A., DiPierro, M., & Abel, M. (2018). Youth Perceptions of What Is
Helpful during the Middle School Transition and Correlates of Transition Difficulty.
Children & Schools, 41(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy029
○ The middle school transition has been identified as a difficult time for youths,
resulting in adjustment difficulties across a variety of domains. Although some
research has examined strategies that are useful for the adjustment outcomes
associated with the transition, more research understanding student perceptions of
what is helpful in the middle school transition and adjustment correlations of
perceived level of difficulty is needed. To this end, the current study surveyed 84
youths approximately 2.5 months after their transition to middle school. Parents
were perceived as helpful by almost all students (>90 percent), followed by
friends, then teachers. In addition, locker time before the start of school and a tour
of the middle school while still in fifth grade were endorsed as helpful by the
majority of the students. Approximately 29 percent of students reported that the
middle school transition was difficult, and high levels of transition difficulty were
associated with poorer adjustment for both boys and girls, specifically high levels
of depressive symptoms and schoolwork difficulty. The article concludes with
suggestions for transition strategies.
● Goldstein, S.E., Boxer, P. & Rudolph, E. Middle School Transition Stress: Links with
Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences. Contemp School Psychol
19, 21–29 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0044-4
○ The present study investigates links between early adolescents’ subjective
experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their
 academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N = 774) were surveyed
about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students
answered questions about stress associated with the transition to middle school,
the extent to which their friendships had changed over the course of the transition,
and a variety of academic outcomes including academic performance, school
bonding, and academic motivation. Results indicate that higher amounts of middle
school transition stress predict lower grades, higher school anxiety, and lower
school bonding. Moreover, transition stress predicted academic outcomes
regardless of whether adolescents were in a stable friendship group across the
transition to middle school. Results are discussed in light of implications for
promoting positive social and academic development across the transition to
middle school.
● Hadi, P., Nurul, A., Sihadi, D. W., Agus, W., Siti, N., & Sudarmaji. (2016). Group
guidance services with self-regulation technique to improve student learning motivation
in Junior High School (JHS). Educational Research and Reviews, 11(24), 2146–2154.
https://doi.org/10.5897/err2016.2955
○ This study aims at: determining students motivation before being given a group
guidance with self-regulation technique, determining students' motivation after
being given a group counseling with self-regulation technique, generating a model
of group counseling with self-regulation technique to improve motivation of
learning, determining the effectiveness of group counseling with self-regulation
techniques to improve students motivation at JHS of 13 Semarang State. This
study used research and development (R & D) method; Students’ motivation
increased after they follow the activities of the group with self-regulation
techniques. Therefore, it proves to be effective to increase students’ motivation,
which is indicated by changes in student motivation before and after being given a
treatment. The conclusions and recommendations of the study are: Students’
motivation after being given guidance service group with self-regulation
technique is categorized medium and high categories; it is found that a design of a
model of group guidance with self-regulation techniques are able to improve
students' motivation, the model is effective to improve students’ motivation.
Lesson 4: Social Adjustment (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M3 - Sense of belonging in the school environment
Competency: B-SMS 7 - Demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with a problem,
B SS 9 - Demonstrate social maturity and behaviors appropriate to the situation and
environment
Learning Objective(s):
● Understand social issues that are common in middle school
● Be able to identify socially appropriate responses to situations
● Demonstrate social and personal resilience
Materials:
● Poster with words and phrases with positive, negative, and neutral connotations
such as “bullying,” “making friends,” “fitting in,” etc.
● Role playing scenario cards (examples: meeting someone new, trying to find
friends. dealing with a bully, trying to find somewhere to sit in the cafeteria, etc.)
Developmental Learning Activities: What Would You Do?
Introduction (5 min):
● Greet students and welcome them back to the group. Start off by following-up on
working on the skills from the toolbox activity.
● Explain that today, they’ll be talking about the social side of middle school.
Activity (25 min):
● Display the poster with social words and phrases. Explain that these are all related
to things students might encounter in middle school. Give students space to talk
about worries and concerns, as well as what students are looking forward to on
this board (allocate 5 min).
● Explain that today’s activity will allow students to roleplay different social
scenarios. Before that, students will brainstorm ways to respond to them, and then
students will act them out.
● Select the first scenario card. Have a student read it aloud and ask the others how
the person in the scenario might be feeling and brainstorm some responses.
● After the group has come up with several responses, they will choose characters
to roleplay the scenario. The student who is the main character in the scenario will
choose which response they want to act out.
● Continue this with 2-3 scenario cards (to make up ~15-20 min). To add a twist,
students can also act out a perceived unhelpful way to respond to the different
scenarios and then discuss why it wasn’t helpful.
 Conclusion (15 min):
● Ask students how it felt when they were role playing. Did it help to brainstorm
good responses to the different scenarios?
● Explain that social skills are like a muscle. The more you practice them, the better
they get.
● Group logistics reminder (time and location) and send-off.
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Holistic post-test for the group provided after lesson six to assess the effectiveness
of the group across lesson content areas.
● Students will be informally evaluated on outlined learning objectives based on
their performance/engagement in group.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will maintain accountability by asking students to
reflect on feelings about successful social transition for the start of session five.
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:
● Akos, P. (2002). Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle
School. Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 339-345.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732374
○ Abstract not presented
● Kwon, K., Kim, E. M., & Sheridan, S. M. (2014). The Role of Beliefs About the
Importance of Social Skills in Elementary Children’s Social Behaviors and School
Attitudes. Child & Youth Care Forum, 43(4), 455–467.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9247-0
○ Background: Positive attitudes toward school have been suggested as a
meaningful indicator of school engagement among elementary children. The
current study was guided by a social cognitive developmental perspective which
suggests that social cognitions, including beliefs, play an important role in
children’s adjustment outcomes. Objective: The present study examined the
hypothesis that children’s beliefs about the importance of social skills contribute
to school attitudes through their effect on social behavior (i.e., social skills and
aggression). The effect of gender was also examined as related to the mean levels
of and associations among study constructs. Methods: Participants were third
through fifth-grade students (N = 342) and their teachers (N = 22) from
Midwestern rural communities of the United States. Child self-reports, peer
nominations, and teacher ratings were gathered. Results: Children’s beliefs about
the importance of social skills were positively associated with social skills and
positive school attitudes and were negatively associated with aggression. Beliefs
about the importance of social skills were indirectly related to positive school
attitudes via social behaviors (i.e., social skills, aggression). Gender differences
 were detected in the mean levels of study constructs but not in the associations
among them. Conclusions: Findings suggest that children’s beliefs about social
skills are an important aspect of social cognition that has significant implications
for children’s social behavior and school adjustment. Specific ways in which the
findings can inform educators and parents in supporting the development of
children’s beliefs about the importance of social skills are discussed.
● Martínez, R.S., Aricak, O.T., Graves, M.N. et al. Changes in Perceived Social Support
and Socioemotional Adjustment Across the Elementary to Junior High School Transition.
J Youth Adolescence 40, 519–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9572-z
○ One of the most fundamental factors related to psychological well being across
the lifespan is whether a person perceives social support from important others in
his or her life. The current study explored changes in and relationships among
perceived social support (SS) and socioemotional adjustment (SEA) across the
1-year transition from elementary to junior high school. Two cohorts of students
(N = 140) participated in the current study that took place across a 3-year time
span. Analyses of the transition data for boys and girls together reveal declines in
perceived total support and teacher support as well as an increase in self-reported
school problems. When considering the sexes separately, girls’ perceived total
support, close friend support and school support declined while boy’s
self-reported school problems increased across the transition. Although social
support did not emerge as a mediator or predictor for any of the socioemotional
variables in the current study, results reveal that, in general, perceived social
support and socioemotional functioning at the end of the last year of elementary
school predicts perceived social support and socioemotional functioning at the
end of the first year of junior high school. Study limitations and implications for
research and practice are discussed.
● Ryzin, M. J., & Roseth, C. J. (2019). Effects of cooperative learning on peer relations,
empathy, and bullying in middle school. Aggressive Behavior, 45(6), 643–651.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21858
○ Although researchers have developed prevention programs to reduce bullying, the
results are mixed, and this may be due to a degree of uncertainty in their
theoretical foundation. In particular, these programs share an emphasis on
empathy as a personal attribute that can be enhanced among students through the
application of specific curricula that will, in turn, contribute to a reduction in
bullying behavior. However, the link between empathy and bullying is unclear, as
is the ability of bullying prevention programs to actually impact student empathy.
In this study, we used a cluster randomized trial (N = 15 middle schools, 1,890
students, 47.1% female, 75.2% White) to evaluate the impact of cooperative
learning on bullying, and we evaluated whether these effects were mediated by
empathy and peer relatedness. Our results indicated that cooperative learning can
significantly reduce bullying, and that some of this effect is transmitted via
enhancements to affective empathy. Cooperative learning also demonstrated
significant positive effects on cognitive empathy, but this did not have an effect
on bullying. We also found that the effects of cooperative learning on cognitive
and affective empathy were mediated by improvements in peer relatedness. These
findings add a degree of clarity to the literature, and also represent the first time,
as far as we are aware, that an antibullying program has been found to have
significant effects on both cognitive and affective empathy.
Lesson 5: Identity (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M3 - Sense of belonging in the school environment
Competency: B-SMS 5 - Demonstrate perseverance to achieve long and short term goals,
B SS 8 - Demonstrate advocacy skills and ability to assert self when necessary
Learning Objective(s):
● Understand how understanding self can help with adjustment
● Recognize personal strengths and areas for growth
● Understand the academic, social, and emotional experiences they want in middle
school
Materials:
● Pens, markers, and crayons
● Fill-in person cut-outs
Developmental Learning Activities: Me, Myself, and I
Introduction (10 min):
● Greet students and check in. Remind them that next week will be the last group
meeting. Ask how everyone is feeling about termination.
Activity (20 min):
● Intro to activity - Talk about what makes you you.
○ Have a brief discussion--what makes you “you?” What are the different
ways you can describe yourself (examples: daughter, good at soccer, short,
caring, wants to be a doctor)? (Allocate 5 minutes)
● Pass out Person cut-outs. Explain that students will be filling the outlines with
words and symbols that represent themselves. (Allocate 5 minutes)
● Regroup and share pictures and facilitate discussion around our feelings about
who we are and how we can express who we are in middle school through friends,
community, extracurriculars, etc. (Allocate 10 minutes)
Conclusion (15 min):
● Discuss feelings after the activity and conversation about self.
● Termination coming up - How can we set ourselves up for success in being our
best selves after group?
● Say goodbye--reminder that next week is the last week of the group.
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Holistic post-test for the group provided after lesson six to assess the effectiveness
of the group across lesson content areas.
 ● Students will be informally evaluated on outlined learning objectives based on
their performance/engagement in group.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will maintain accountability by discussing how
group members should be prepared to talk about their “Me, Myself, and I” as the
group approaches termination goals in lesson six.
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:
● Akos, P. (2006). Extracurricular Participation and the Transition to Middle School. RMLE
Online, 29(9), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2006.11462032
○ Research demonstrates a host of negative student outcomes associated with the
transition to middle school. As school personnel seek to connect students to the
new school, extracurricular participation, in particular, has the potential to
influence student belonging and promote positive academic and psychosocial
outcomes. Data from this investigation reveals that participation in multiple
extracurricular activities relates to academic achievement and school
connectedness. Implications for transition and extracurricular programming are
included.
● Brown, C. S. (2017). School context influences the ethnic identity development of
immigrant children in middle childhood. Social Development, 26(4), 797–812.
https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12240
○ The present paper describes a study investigating the ethnic identity development
of Latino immigrant children (n = 155) in middle childhood (ages 8–11) in a
predominantly White community. The study examined how ethnic identity was
related to children's school context. School context was operationalized at the
structural level, as the ethnic composition of the teachers and peers, as well as the
schools' implicit messages about their valuing of multiculturalism; and the
proximal interpersonal level, as children's perceptions of peer discrimination and
teacher fairness. Results indicated that both the structural and proximal context
predicted children's ethnic label choices, the importance placed on their ethnic
identity, the positivity of their ethnic identity, and their American identity.
● Carlone, H. B., Scott, C. M., & Lowder, C. (2014). Becoming (less) scientific: A
longitudinal study of students' identity work from elementary to middle school science.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(7), 836–869.
https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21150
○ Students' declining science interest in middle school is often attributed to
psychological factors like shifts of motivational values, decrease in self‐efficacy,
or doubts about the utility of schooling in general. This paper adds to accounts of
the middle school science problem through an ethnographic, longitudinal case
study of three diverse students' identity work from fourth‐ to sixth‐grade school
science. Classroom observations and interviews are used as primary data sources
to examine: (1) the cultural and structural aspects of the fourth‐ and sixth‐grade
classrooms, including the celebrated subject positions, that enabled and
constrained students' identity work as science learners; (2) the nature of students'
identity work, including their positioning related to the celebrated subject
positions within and across fourth‐ and sixth‐grade science; and (3) the ways
race, class, and gender figured into students' identity work and positioning. In
fourth‐grade, all experienced excellent science pedagogy and performed
themselves as scientifically competent and engaged learners who recognized
themselves and got recognized by others as scientific. By sixth‐grade, their
identity work in school science became dramatically less scientific. Celebrated
subject positions did not demand scientific thinking or robust engagement in
scientific practices and were heavily mediated by race, class, and gender. Our
results highlight three insights related to the middle school problem: (1) when
students' social identity work was leveraged in service of robust science learning,
their affiliation increased; (2) academic success in school science did not equate
to affiliation or deep engagement with science; and (3) race, class, and gender
figured into students' successes in, threats to, and identity work related to
becoming scientific. We end the article by providing a framework and questions
that teachers, teacher educators, and researchers might use to design and evaluate
the equity of science education learning spaces.
Lesson 6: Termination (45 min)
Group Topic: Middle School Transition
Grade Level: 5th
Standard: M2 - Self confidence in ability to succeed
Competency: B-SMS 10 - Demonstrate ability to manage transition and ability to adapt to
changing situations and responsibilities, B-LS 7 - Identify long and short term academic,
career, and social/emotional goals
Learning Objective(s):
● Reflect on personal growth in group and demonstrate the understanding of how to
continue growth outside of a group setting
● Be able to create comprehensive personal, social, and academic goals for middle
school transition
● Independently recall sources of support
Materials:
● Pens and paper
Developmental Learning Activities: Dear 6th Graders
Introduction (10 min):
● Welcome group members back
● Reminder this is the last session - Have group label their feelings around
termination
● Have group recap highlights and areas of future growth after group
Activity (20 min):
● Letters to our sixth grade selves (Allocate 10 minutes)
○ Explain that students already wrote letters to current sixth graders. Now
they’re going to write letters to their future sixth grade selves!
○ As a group, brainstorm what students might write to their future selves.
○ Pass out materials and allow students time to write their letters, providing
support as needed.
● Invite students to share parts of their letters if they feel comfortable doing so
(Allocate 10 minutes).
○ Discuss the letters and encourage discussion incorporating previous
lessons (academic adjustment, resilience, supportive people) as factors in
transition
Conclusion (15 min):
● Announce that it is time to wrap the group up. Thank students for being such
awesome group members and for the great conversations.
 ● Give students the space to talk about takeaways from the group.
● Tell students the group leader will be doing individual check-ins with each
member toward the end of the year and remind them of the support staff at the
middle school.
● Finally, assure students that they are fully capable of having a successful
transition to middle school. They have practiced and prepared. Tell them, “You
got this!”
Assessment/Evaluation:
● Students will receive the attached post-test within one week of the group’s
termination.
● Students will be informally evaluated on how their discussions surrounding
termination reflect the outlined learning objectives for the lesson.
Follow-up:
● Group members and facilitators will be held accountable as counselors will
schedule an individual check-in with each student towards the end of the year.
Counselors will ask how students are feeling about graduating and starting middle
school. Counselors will remind students of the knowledge and skills they have
gained from the group and the resources/people available for support.
References and Peer-Review Journal Support:
● Goldstein, S.E., Boxer, P. & Rudolph, E. Middle School Transition Stress: Links with
Academic Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences. Contemp School Psychol
19, 21–29 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0044-4
○ The present study investigates links between early adolescents’ subjective
experiences of stress associated with the middle school transition and their
academic outcomes. Seventh and eighth grade students (N = 774) were surveyed
about their experiences during their transition to middle school. Students
answered questions about stress associated with the transition to middle school,
the extent to which their friendships had changed over the course of the transition,
and a variety of academic outcomes including academic performance, school
bonding, and academic motivation. Results indicate that higher amounts of middle
school transition stress predict lower grades, higher school anxiety, and lower
school bonding. Moreover, transition stress predicted academic outcomes
regardless of whether adolescents were in a stable friendship group across the
transition to middle school. Results are discussed in light of implications for
promoting positive social and academic development across the transition to
middle school.
● Hadi, P., Nurul, A., Sihadi, D. W., Agus, W., Siti, N., & Sudarmaji. (2016). Group
guidance services with self-regulation technique to improve student learning motivation
in Junior High School (JHS). Educational Research and Reviews, 11(24), 2146–2154.
 https://doi.org/10.5897/err2016.2955
○ This study aims at: determining students motivation before being given a group
guidance with self-regulation technique, determining students' motivation after
being given a group counseling with self-regulation technique, generating a model
of group counseling with self-regulation technique to improve motivation of
learning, determining the effectiveness of group counseling with self-regulation
techniques to improve students motivation at JHS of 13 Semarang State. This
study used research and development (R & D) method; Students’ motivation
increased after they follow the activities of the group with self-regulation
techniques. Therefore, it proves to be effective to increase students’ motivation,
which is indicated by changes in student motivation before and after being given a
treatment. The conclusions and recommendations of the study are: Students’
motivation after being given guidance service group with self-regulation
technique is categorized medium and high categories; it is found that a design of a
model of group guidance with self-regulation techniques are able to improve
students' motivation, the model is effective to improve students’ motivation.
● Martínez, R.S., Aricak, O.T., Graves, M.N. et al. Changes in Perceived Social Support
and Socioemotional Adjustment Across the Elementary to Junior High School Transition.
J Youth Adolescence 40, 519–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9572-z
○ One of the most fundamental factors related to psychological well being across
the lifespan is whether a person perceives social support from important others in
his or her life. The current study explored changes in and relationships among
perceived social support (SS) and socioemotional adjustment (SEA) across the
1-year transition from elementary to junior high school. Two cohorts of students
(N = 140) participated in the current study that took place across a 3-year time
span. Analyses of the transition data for boys and girls together reveal declines in
perceived total support and teacher support as well as an increase in self-reported
school problems. When considering the sexes separately, girls’ perceived total
support, close friend support and school support declined while boy’s
self-reported school problems increased across the transition. Although social
support did not emerge as a mediator or predictor for any of the socioemotional
variables in the current study, results reveal that, in general, perceived social
support and socioemotional functioning at the end of the last year of elementary
school predicts perceived social support and socioemotional functioning at the
end of the first year of junior high school. Study limitations and implications for
research and practice are discussed.
 References

Akos, P. (2002). Student Perceptions of the Transition from Elementary to Middle School.

Professional School Counseling, 5(5), 339-345. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42732374

Akos, P. (2006). Extracurricular Participation and the Transition to Middle School. RMLE

Online, 29(9), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/19404476.2006.11462032

Akos, P., & Martin, M. (2003). Transition groups for preparing students for middle school. The

Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 28(2), 139-154.

doi:10.1177/0193392203028002005

Brown, C. S. (2017). School context influences the ethnic identity development of immigrant

children in middle childhood. Social Development, 26(4), 797–812.

https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12240

Carlone, H. B., Scott, C. M., & Lowder, C. (2014). Becoming (less) scientific: A longitudinal

study of students' identity work from elementary to middle school science. Journal of

Research in Science Teaching, 51(7), 836–869. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21150

Fite, P., Frazer, A., DiPierro, M., & Abel, M. (2018). Youth Perceptions of What Is Helpful

during the Middle School Transition and Correlates of Transition Difficulty. Children &

Schools, 41(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy029

Goldstein, S.E., Boxer, P. & Rudolph, E. Middle School Transition Stress: Links with Academic

Performance, Motivation, and School Experiences. Contemp School Psychol 19, 21–29

(2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0044-4

Hadi, P., Nurul, A., Sihadi, D. W., Agus, W., Siti, N., & Sudarmaji. (2016). Group guidance

services with self-regulation technique to improve student learning motivation in Junior

High School (JHS). Educational Research and Reviews, 11(24), 2146–2154.

 https://doi.org/10.5897/err2016.2955

Kwon, K., Kim, E. M., & Sheridan, S. M. (2014). The Role of Beliefs About the Importance of

Social Skills in Elementary Children’s Social Behaviors and School Attitudes. Child &

Youth Care Forum, 43(4), 455–467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9247-0

Martínez, R.S., Aricak, O.T., Graves, M.N. et al. Changes in Perceived Social Support and

Socioemotional Adjustment Across the Elementary to Junior High School Transition. J

Youth Adolescence 40, 519–530 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9572-z

Ryzin, M. J., & Roseth, C. J. (2019). Effects of cooperative learning on peer relations, empathy,

and bullying in middle school. Aggressive Behavior, 45(6), 643–651.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21858
 Materials

Pre-test:

Middle School Transition Group Pre-Test

Please rate how much you agree with the following statements using a scale of 1 through 5
(1=Completely disagree, 2=Somewhat disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Somewhat
agree, 5=Completely agree)

1. I have anxiety about starting middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I believe that I am capable of being successful in middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I can identify people who can support me when I start middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I feel confident in my social skills. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I feel confident that I can handle middle school academics. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I believe that I am capable of handling challenges in middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

Lesson 2:

(Locker instruction sheet; Source: Scott Memorial Middle School,

https://smms.wythe.k12.va.us/cms/One.aspx?portalId=440230&pageId=2270414)
Lesson 3:

(Tool Box worksheet; Source: https://twistynoodle.com/tool-box-coloring-page/)

(Tool Box scenarios)

Lesson 4:

(Words and Phrases poster)

(Social scenarios)
Lesson 5:

(Person Cutout; Source: University of Nottingham,

https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/primaryeducationnetwork/2020/01/17/making-a-play-for-d
rama-in-the-primary-classroom/outline-person/ )
Post-test:

Middle School Transition Group Post-Test

Please rate how much you agree with the following statements using a scale of 1-5
(1=Completely disagree, 2=Somewhat disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Somewhat
agree, 5=Completely agree)

1. I have anxiety about starting middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

2. I believe that I am capable of being successful in middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

3. I can identify people who can support me when I start middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

4. I feel confident in my social skills. 1 2 3 4 5

5. I feel confident that I can handle middle school academics. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I believe that I am capable of handling challenges in middle school. 1 2 3 4 5

Name two people who you can turn to for help when you start middle school:

List two ways you can be academically successful in middle school:

Name two ways you can make friends in middle school:

Overall, on a scale of 1-5, how much did you learn from this group? (1=I learned nothing and

5=I learned a ton) 1 2 3 4 5

Overall, how much did you enjoy this group? (1=I didn’t enjoy it at all and 5=I enjoyed it a ton)

1 2 3 4 5

Do you have any suggestions for how this group could be better?