Especially during the first few weeks, teachers and students will likely be prepared to help you find the way to your classes if you’re still unsure.
Learn how to open a combination lock for your locker. In sixth grade, you’ll likely have a locker that needs to be opened with a combination. However, there should be plenty of faculty or fellow students, especially during the first few weeks of the school year, who you can ask if you’re having trouble remembering how to work the locks. Remember to be nice. Common decency and politeness is the best way to go. Learn how to make friends. To survive middle school you need allies and people you can trust. Find a group you fit in with quickly and work at making friends with them. These should be people who connect with and enjoy spending time around. Know how to be mature. You’re turning from a child into a young adult, and you should learn how to act like it.
If you meet older bullies, don’t think that they are automatically “smarter” than you because of their age. It’s best to talk to a school administrator (such as the principal) about this, and also a parent or guardian. Try to make friends in older grade levels who can serve as mentors for you. You can meet older kids at clubs and school events.
You will learn many number-related math skills in sixth grade. This includes ratios, dividing fractions, and doing decimal arithmetic. You will also be learning about numbers beyond positive integers and positive fractions (negative numbers). You will probably learn negative number arithmetic too. You’ll also learn about exponents and how to solve easy exponent arithmetic. The teacher will also likely teach slopes and y-intercepts of lines, and how to graph them. You will learn some basic pre-algebra. You’ll solve basic equations with variables, such as x+5=9{\displaystyle x+5=9} or 2x=18{\displaystyle 2x=18}. In these equations, you would move all of the numbers to one side and the variables to one side. In the 1st equation, x=9−5{\displaystyle x=9-5}, which means that x=4{\displaystyle x=4}. In the second equation, divide both sides by 2 to make 2x{\displaystyle 2x} into only x{\displaystyle x}. x=9{\displaystyle x=9}. If you’re in an advanced class, a whole year of pre-algebra will be taught. At first, you’ll review how to graph lines, slopes, and y-intercepts. Then, it will progress to more complicated equation-solving (e. g. 0. 25x+1. 25=0. 5x{\displaystyle 0. 25x+1. 25=0. 5x}) and you’ll learn how to solve a system of equations. In the end, you may learn a bit of geometry (such as surface area and the volumes of cylinders and triangular prisms).
In grammar, you’ll likely learn types of verbs (transitive and intransitive). You’ll also master direct and indirect objects. New parts of speech like conjunctions will also be taught. Conjunctions connect related ideas together in a sentence. Writing out “FANBOYS” (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) will make it easier for you to memorize coordinating conjunctions. [2] X Research source In writing, you’ll probably write essays. As usual, you’ll write with more advanced vocabulary as each year goes on. You will write more structured narratives, with detailed descriptions of the events and characters in the story. Your informative/expository essays will also improve. By the end of the year, you’ll probably know to include an introduction, supporting details, and a conclusion in your essays. [3] X Research source
For reading, read books such as To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson, Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova, Holes by Louis Sachar, and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein. [4] X Research source Older books suitable for sixth graders include The Secret Garden by Frances Hodson Burnett, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, The Call of the Wild by Jack London, and The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
For biology, you may learn about cells and the human body. Plant life might also be taught. A bit of genetics might be covered. Review some of your knowledge on ecosystems and the environment, too. Remember terms like, “cytoplasm”, “ribosomes”, “cell wall”, “nucleus”, and “mitochondria” for the parts of a cell (also called “organelles”). For plant science, remember key words like “vascular”, “non-vascular”, “mosses”, “ferns”, and “roots”. Understand the terms for human body systems as well, such as the respiratory, circulatory, excretory, and the lymphatic systems. For earth science, the classification of rocks may be taught. Know some terms, such as “igneous”, “metamorphic”, and “sedimentary”. In physics, you may learn about energy transfers and energy transformations (e. g. from kinetic energy to mechanical energy). Heat transfer may also be taught.
You may get to learn about different revolutions, such as the American and French revolutions. You may get a taste of 19th century world history during the time of the Industrial Revolution, when people began mass-producing goods in factories. This caused many people to move to the cities to find factory jobs. The people owning the factories frequently mistreated their workers, resulting in strikes. Many famous people such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller owned companies that made them one of the wealthiest people in the world at the time.
For math, draw diagrams and do a few example problems in your math notebook. If your school tells you to buy your own school supplies, buy a graph paper notebook. This will make it easier to line up numbers and draw shapes on coordinate planes. Your bar and line graphs will also be neater. For history, write down key events that happened, who was involved, and when they happened. For example, you could write, “1793 – Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin”. Don’t write complete sentences for your notes! Unless you’re writing down example sentences for grammar, writing whole sentences will waste your time when you want to write down as many points as possible. It will also tire your hand out faster. Use abbreviations, semicolons, bullet points, and fragments of sentences to make your notes concise. Remember, you’re not copying down the whole textbook!
Another benefit of studying every day is that you are prepared for pop quizzes. If you only study when you have a test coming up, you may not be prepared if there is a pop quiz. If you already study with or without tests, it becomes a habit, and you’ll already know the information.
To keep track of important dates, you could write something like, “ACSL club - Fibonacci sequence project due” on the day that project is due, or “Math test (Lessons 61-65)” on the day that test is scheduled for. You can also keep separate planners; one for school assignments and one for fun events or extracurriculars. This makes your schedule organized, and you won’t get mixed up with what’s important and what’s not.
Take care of your personal hygiene by brushing your teeth after every meal, brushing your hair daily, washing yourself daily (or every other day), and washing your hair. Try to stay organized by throwing away unnecessary items and putting important papers (such as homework and classwork) in folders. Clean out your folder every few weeks or so to get rid of old assignments.
While every school is different, breaking the school dress code can lead to detention or suspension. At the very least, you’ll be asked to select more school-appropriate attire.
Get a training bra for developing breasts. One of the early signs of puberty in females is breast growth, so if you feel nickel-sized bumps on each of your breasts, it may be time to buy one. Deal with a period in middle school. If you get a period in sixth grade, you are not abnormal or strange. The average age of a sixth grader is 11-12, which is the average age of menarche (the first period). Deal with male puberty. Male puberty is another set of symptoms- genital enlargement, erections and wet dreams, a developing voice, and the growth of facial hair may be embarrassing. Remember to not back down or feel embarrassed, even when immature kids tease you. Everyone goes through puberty, so you aren’t alone. Many more kids will go through the process during the sixth grade school year, in seventh grade, in eighth grade, and in high school.
When you’ve got some free time, introduce yourself to someone in your class. Say something like, “Hi, I’m Ashley. What’s your name?” or “Hey! My name’s Bruno. How did you think history class went?”. Let the conversation naturally flow, and if you think you have things in common with the person, there’s a chance that that person could be one of your middle school friends! If the conversation is short and boring, consider that as a sign that you need to meet more people. The person may not be interested in making friends with you, so introduce yourself to others who may be interested.
Contrary to what some kids think, being a big bully/mean girl does not earn you friends. Do not do this, as you don’t want to ruin your reputation at the beginning of middle school! Sure, they may seem like friends to you on the outside, but on the inside, they may be as mean as you. They might make friends with you just to gain popularity, so they may fight with you to get the “most popular”.
Whispering or talking to your bestie during class or during an inappropriate time (e. g. during an assembly or during a trip to the principal’s office) may get you into trouble, so don’t do it often. If you do this too frequently, your reputation may downgrade, because you may be known as “too chatty” or “a distraction”.
Be careful not to join too many clubs, or you won’t be able to get any work done. Try and stick to 2 or 3 clubs you’re particularly interested in. During a club, you can talk to the people sitting next to you. If you’re rehearsing lines (say, for performing arts), rehearse with the people in the same scene and/or act as you. Rehearse your lines a couple of times, then talk a bit to get to know each other.
Firstly, check if you really have a crush. If you want to hug or hold hands with the person (physical affection) and feel overly nervous or excited around them, that’s a crush and not just a friend. Next, decide whether or not you want to tell them. Some people don’t want to let anyone know that they have feelings for the person, and that’s perfectly fine. Letting it out is more satisfying though, and you really get to know whether or not they like you romantically or not. Ultimately, it’s up to you whether or not you want to confess your feelings. Understand if your crush rejects you that it is not the end of the world! Don’t despair- you will meet many more romantic interests over the course of middle school, high school, and college. Take time to grieve and focus on yourself.
This will make you pretty unhappy, as you have to hide your own self to be with these people.
This will make you pretty unhappy, as you have to hide your own self to be with these people.
