The abundance of papers. The lockers that are bursting at the seams. The "I don't know where it is, I lost it" phrase that echos the hallways. If you work in any sort of middle school setting, I guarantee that at all of these situations happen at least on a daily basis. If it doesn't, then I would love to hear how you are being successful with your students! The reality is that middle school is already a tough for most students, and then we attempt to overload them with responsibility of staying organized and changing their schedule without properly showing them HOW to do this. In the last seven years, I have seen lots of unorganized students. In fact, sometimes I have been convinced that they are performing magic, because I have witnessed students lose a piece of paper in ten minutes, and literally have no idea where it went. To me, it is unreal; to these students, this is real life! As a counselor, I am constantly challenged to put aside my Type A personality and really delve into the lives of the students who are struggling with staying organized. So, how do we do this? How do we reach the students who are struggling every day to stay on top of things, while still holding high expectations for them? I may not have the magical answer, but I do have a list of resources that may be able to help: 1. Homework, Organization, and Planning Skills Intervention (HOPS) by Joshua M. Langberg This intervention book has a great step-by-step system to help students with their organizational woes. A colleague and I are currently implementing this intervention during a 50 minute time frame. We have a total of six students in the group, and the goal is to help students with the program components the first 25 minutes, and the last 25 minutes is geared towards homework help or study hall time. The intervention has wonderful components, but can seem overwhelming if you are trying to implement it during a small time frame. The first three sessions were broken up into almost a week for us, so that may be helpful. Overall, it really does break down into detailed skills what we would like to see from our students. 2. How To Do Homework Without Losing It by Janet S. Fox This is a great short-read to introduce the transition from elementary to middle school homework load. I have had great experience with reading the key points to my fifth graders at the end of their school year before they are about to go into middle school. Since the actual size of the book is small, I would recommend ordering a few copies and using it in a small group setting. This will help keeping students focused and with the conversation as you read it. 3. The Organized Student by Donna Goldberg
4. Smart But Scattered by Peg Dawson This book focuses on the the executive functioning skills and how to adapt the learning environment to help student succeed with them. This book is parent focused, but provides some very insightful questions for educators and counselors. There are many useful handouts and template available within the text, as well as questionnaires and reflection questions. 5. Small Group Settings No matter what, there is nothing that helps middle school students more than a daily (or at least weekly) meeting to discuss organizational skills and academic goals. All the resources above can be used in a small group setting, but it is imperative to make sure you are visiting with these students (and their backpacks) at least on a weekly basis. Habits take at least 20 days to develop, so if we are wanting these student to develop good academic skills, we need to make helping them a priority for at least 6 weeks of the school year. My home state has some great resources for academic small groups, click here to see a middle school small group solution. Middle school can be a challenging time for students, but I feel it is our responsibility to help them navigate the way and help them develop successful habits. What are some ways you help students academically? Comment below to share your ideas or questions! Happy Monday!!
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