Developing reading comprehension skills during middle school is critical. Students need reading materials that can grab and hold their attention. Biographies are a good choice for this age group. Choose books about notable teenagers, such as Anne Frank, sports figures or famous historical characters. Follow each required reading assignment with a list of questions to determine if the student read the book and comprehended the material. Add questions that will aid in developing critical thinking skills.
Introduce poetry reading during middle school. Start with simple Japanese haiku and then have students create a haiku and illustrate it with hand-drawn pictures or posters.
Middle school students need to develop writing skill basics taught in elementary school to prepare them for the essays, reports and research papers they will write in high school. Each reading assignment should be followed up with a book report. Introduce students to journal writing and require a minimum number of journal entries each week.
Incorporate grammar skills into writing assignments. Work with students to develop proper sentence structure. Assign new vocabulary words each week. Have students look up the meaning of each word, write its definition and use it in a writing assignment.
Today's students expect the integration of technology and teaching, and most schools are now equipped with the tools to achieve this. Develop research skills by assigning a topic along with a list of questions to be answered. Use the school media center to teach students how to search for books by title, author or subject. Study current events through online newspapers and magazines. Have students search online dictionaries for the definitions of vocabulary words.
The middle school student experiences rapid changes, both physically and emotionally. During these years, he becomes more social and is easily distracted by other students. Incorporate lesson plans in which students work with partners and in groups. This will be especially effective for research work and projects. Learning activities that allow students to be mobile work better than those that try to keep students seated and quiet for long periods of time.
Furthermore, middle school students are developing social awareness and beginning to question right and wrong. Assign projects for gathering information about current social issues and the ramifications of people's actions. Encourage students to form opinions on the issues and to defend their opinions.