There are so many things to love about teaching middle school. Middle schoolers are old enough to work independently – at least some of the time! Plus, it’s great to watch students in middle school starting to come into “their own” – developing their own hobbies, interests, and goals for the future. However, there’s a downside to teaching this age group, too. Middle schoolers are, well, in the “middle”! This means that it can sometimes be challenging to help them take ownership of their learning.

As middle school teachers, it’s our job to help students bridge the gap between the highly guided world of elementary school and the growing expectation of independence as they approach high school. But what is the best way to help students take ownership of their learning? Over the years, I’ve come up with a few tried-and-tested strategies to help pre-teens and teenagers take greater accountability at school.

Help Students Understand Their Role as Learners

Many middle schoolers – especially in the younger grades – don’t yet understand the process of learning. They may not even view themselves as learners yet! One way I like to support students’ understanding of their role in the learning process is by teaching Bloom’s Taxonomy. Guiding your class through the progressive stages of cognitive development might sound like an unusual thing to do in middle school, but I promise, it can help!

When students understand the process of learning, and their current stage on the journey, it helps to create a sense of purpose and a culture of inquiry in your classroom. I think about this process as empowering student learning. After all, the more they understand about themselves as learners, the more likely they will be to take accountability for their learning!

I like to begin by explaining the stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. This lesson can be reinforced with a poster featuring a triangular visual representation of all six stages. 

From here, students might want to put their understanding into practice! One way to do this is by providing them with a series of critical thinking and comprehension question cards aligned with the six stages of Bloom’s Taxonomy. These questions are flexible enough to be used with any ELA text (including novels, short stories, and films) and work well as a station-based activity! Alternatively, you can encourage students to build their analytical thinking skills with a multi-level readers’ response task.

Check In Regularly

Middle schoolers, especially those who struggle to get started with learning activities or remain on task, may not yet be ready to work independently. Luckily, through careful planning, this is a skill you can help them build! 

One of my favorite strategies for supporting students with independence and stamina is regular check-ins. Bell-ringer activities, for example, provide a structured, consistent, and low-pressure way for students to practice essential ELA skills. Regularly checking over a student’s bell-ringer folder can help you quickly and easily measure their progress and identify areas of strength and growth. Best of all, this approach doesn’t single out individual students. If you make accountability checks part of your daily or weekly routine, students will clearly understand your expectations. 

If the check reveals that the student is not completing tasks in a timely way, or indicates they may be struggling with a particular skill or concept, you have a number of options. First, you might want to connect individually with the student to determine what might be causing the challenge. Sometimes this conversation is enough to help students take more ownership of their learning! If your chat doesn’t help you get to the root of the issue, or you have further questions, the next steps could involve meeting with the student’s parents or offering additional in-school support.

Hold Regular Conferences

Another thing I love about bell-ringers is that they provide a structured routine for your entire class. This can give you a few extra moments to organize your desk, take attendance, sip your coffee, or – my favorite – conference with students! I find it very effective to carve out time to meet one-on-one with each student every couple of weeks. In this conversation, you can check in directly with your students about how they are doing in your current unit of study. It’s the perfect opportunity to identify and troubleshoot any minor issues before they escalate!

I find conferencing is most useful when it is predictable (ideally at the same time, agreed in advance) and positive. In my experience, students are most receptive to feedback when they have a strong working relationship with their teacher. Begin by keeping things light and relevant to the student’s interests. For example, if you know they are on the basketball team, ask them how the morning practice was, or congratulate them on their recent win! From here, move into a discussion about their most recent work. Keep things efficient! The idea is to invest small amounts of time on a regular basis to help students take ownership of their learning. Ideally, this should hopefully help you avoid larger issues later on!

Encourage a Growth Mindset

One of the most useful tricks I’ve learned to help students take ownership of their learning is encouraging a growth mindset in the classroom. The concept of growth mindset, popularized by Carol Dweck, suggests that all people can improve their abilities through purposeful development, persistence, and effort.

Right from the beginning of the year, I like to infuse the “language” of growth mindset into classroom culture through posters, lessons, and references. Growth mindset is a natural fit for ELA class, but the theory can apply to all subjects! 

Providing students with regular opportunities to explore, identify, and practice the principles of growth mindset can encourage them to take greater ownership of their learning. Throughout the year, I return to the topic of growth mindset through team-building activities, writing prompts, task cards, and even ELA activities related to music and famous quotes! I find it especially useful to revisit the concept of growth mindset around times of transition, including the beginning of a new semester, or returning to school after an extended break.

There you go! I hope these ideas give you some new strategies to help students take greater ownership of their learning! You can check out the ready-to-use resources for some of the ideas mentioned in this post below!

Looking for more ways to bring a positive culture to your classroom? Check out my post Build Classroom Community with the Classroom Challenge Activity.