Elementary students have just begun to grow into consistently managing their bodies. They delight in being active and often run, skip or jump just for the sake of movement. Middle schoolers also like to be active, but they are more likely to prefer organized sports or activities. This means that elementary students need a lot of wiggle time, but middle schoolers still need time to move.
Elementary playground games often involve a lot of seemingly aimless running and screaming. Children this age like to see who can jump farthest, climb highest or jump rope the most turns. Their games also might involve complex role playing, sometimes based on television shows they have seen or books they have read. Many middle school students are experiencing the onset of puberty. As they develop, they take an interest in the opposite gender. They might spend free time sitting and talking with their peers. Elementary students will enjoy assignments involving imagination, whereas middle school students like to explore personal and interpersonal issues.
Elementary students have a boundless amount of curiosity coupled with faith in the adults in their lives. They will engage in learning activities readily on the strength of praise and the joy of acquiring new skills. They are still in the concrete-operational phase of development, and most are not ready for complex reasoning. By comparison, middle school students have been in school long enough that they may have become disenchanted with the learning process. Engaging their interests and curiosity is much more of a challenge but can be very rewarding for both teacher and student when it is accomplished. Middle schoolers are ready to tackle moderately complex philosophical questions and are interested in the "why" behind the "how" and "what."
Praise, stickers and the occasional party are usually enough to motivate good behavior from elementary students. Sad disapproval is often sufficient to redirect inappropriate activities into more approved venues -- although sterner measures sometimes are required. Although middle school students require direction, they are more likely to respond positively to example than to rules. Their concerns are often complex, and their changing bodies engender emotions that are completely new to them. Assignments that allow them to explore this new complexity are beneficial.