Most middle schools (not all) have you move from class to class, so I would look at your schedule, and find your school map if you have one  (on your school website) and find the shortest routes. If there are fights or drama, you can just avoid it. There's probably more but that's all I have for now.

Hey there! I'm going into 8th grade and would love to inform you of the joys/horrors of middle school!!

Though I am homeschooled, that doesn't mean I can't give tips on the education experiance (I also have been to a school-like youth group and have some friends in the public school community, lol). SO!!!

1. Education in general: It will get a LOT harder, you will be thrown the cursed "X's" and  "Y's" usually by the end of 6th grade. History gets pretty complex and all the other subjects are just slightly more complicated than in Elementary.

2. Social: This is the "weird" stage in kids life, I think. They will most likely think of every new person as a threat to their popularity (that's what my friends told me) but you will either have a friend with you or meet new ones. :)

3. You: Don't change your interests if you're only doing it to be similar to someone else, do it if yo actually WANT to pursue it. Stay true to yourself and love it!!!

I really hope this helps, and that you have a great time learning!  

I just graduated middle school! Here's what I think is most important to know:

- It's not as scary as it's portrayed in the media. Most media shows middle school to be the worst place ever and can be very dramatic about it, but it's really fine. It's a sort of awkward, confusing time, and it can be hard, but you'll be fine.

- While the curriculum does get harder, you'll be okay as long as you know when to ask for help. Ask questions in class and seek extra guidance from your teachers when you're struggling! You can also often find videos explaining what you're doing online if you're struggling with homework. Just search something like "how to do point-slope form" or "how to use a semicolon." It's helped me many times.

- Socially it can be awkward and difficult. Try to keep a steady friend group, but also don't be afraid to reach out and make new friends. And don't be upset if you feel you're drifting apart from your friends; while it's sad, it's a super common experience, especially during middle school, and probably has nothing to do with you. Just keep being yourself, and try to be a friendly, positive person. Something I often saw was that people would often be negative or downright rude to seem cool, but that actually made everyone feel bad around them. It's usually better to just be nice. I always found the people who would just smile and be kind to others would have no trouble making (and keeping) friends.

- The beginning of middle school is a great time to try new things! Join clubs and/or sports because it's a good way to meet new friends and find new interests. Even if you don't have any experience with something, if you want to try it, you should try it! The only way to get experience is to do it. I knew a couple people who didn't bother trying any clubs or anything until the end of middle school, and they regretted not joining earlier.

- …But don't overwhelm yourself. While it's awesome to have a couple of clubs or teams to participate in, I've had friends who tried to do EVERYTHING and became too stressed. Try to find a good balance.

That's all I have! Good luck! 

I agree with Moon Wolf's advice. Um I'm not really sure there's as much of a "popular" circle in middle school, but then again, I'm not the most extroverted, socially-connected person, and I feel like at my old school, my classmates sheltered me a bit... but I think don't worry too much about it! Just the schoolwork DOES (ofc) get harder, and you have to juggle schedules, but middle school is actually lots of fun, so enjoy it!! :D

Okay and also now that Peri's post has showed up, I agree with EVERYTHING Peri said, too; wow that's good advice... well, I mean, duh, ofc it is, but wow :D yess please don't be afraid to ask for help!! I'm horrible at doing that, and definitely suffer bc of it... I'm hoping to be better next year, but idk. Usually my friends are around to help, but this time I have to do it by myself... but yes, please ask for help if you need it!!!

Well...I spent most of middle school on zoom so I'm unsure what it's like in person, but I'll try to explain what my experience was like.

It was a step up from elementary school, that's for sure. Every grade is. There's something called  Bloom's Taxonomy I learned about in 9th grade that describes different levels of learning. Remembering comes first, followed by understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and finally, creating with all of these things in mind. I think that the analyzation and evaluation really starts to kick in starting in middle school. 

The texts and comprehension/writing questions in ELA got harder to read and write and understand, partly because of symbolism, figurative language, and themes. I learned how to make arguments, write them, defend them, etc. 

Math was more complex and abstract. And variables came, like zoba_tea was saying. Personally, I think they're pretty fun tho :)

History was more about themes than memorizing dates and events. Science was increasingly detailed, and in 7th grade I started writing CERs (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) :/ I don't really like them much...

Basically...the academics are harder, but you'll adjust :) I can't tell you anything about socializing (because on zoom 90% of people had their video cameras and microphones off permanently) or being on a middle school campus itself though...

I just finished 6th grade. So, as Moon Wolf said, in middle school you usually have to change classrooms to get to your next class. I’d advise that if you have a watch, or come other way of keeping track of time, that you get ready to pack up your stuff a few minutes before the transition, so you don’t have to scramble. Frankly, there was little to no drama at my school. Media definitely makes it seem worse than it really is. The only actually crazy thing at my school was the morning rampage to buy pizzette and other breads downstairs. 

okay okay, i know a lot of ppl already said things, but here's what i would say:

do your homework, get good grades! it might not seem like it matters in 6th grade, but falling into a pattern of actually doing your work is a good habit for later on.

join extracurriculars, it's a great way to make friends in a community you enjoy :)

don't engage in the drama..speaking from someone who has dealt with this firsthand, it's much better to disengage, especially bc anything you say can usually be used against you later lol. 

Thabk you all soo much! This was all so hepful, and I feel relived. I should have this info screen printed onto my brain.

Rising tenth grader here-- I'm sure this has been said already, but find your crew!! In seventh grade I floated around from club to club, only ever staying for a couple of weeks and never feeling really immersed in anything or like I was truly a part of something. Fast forward to December 2022 when my former Latin teacher recommended I join the certamen team-- now I've never looked back! It's so awesome having a group of people that share your extremely niche interest, and an experience that will shape your middle and highschool experience forever.

I’d also say use the years up until ninth grade to experiment with your study, homework, and extracurricular strategies and find something that really works for you: as sort of "practice years" if that makes sense (although you should of course still be working just as hard!). You don’t want to still be figuring out time management once your grades start to count for college