If you don’t have enough time to make breakfast because you overslept, try to eat a piece of fruit and a handful of nuts on your way out the door.
Try turning your phone off or on “do not disturb” when you go to bed so you aren’t interrupted by incoming notifications or texts.
Exercising gives you endorphins, which can also help you deal with stress.
A fun and inexpensive way to update your style is to visit thrift stores. Go with a few friends and find some new pieces to add to your wardrobe.
If you already have a hobby you love, you could try to pursue it more passionately. For example, if you taught yourself how to play an instrument, maybe you could take lessons. Or if you like to do crafts, choose a more complicated project to work on. wikiHow has great tutorials, as do sites like Skillshare and YouTube.
Don’t worry- there will still be review of things you learned in 7th grade, as with every year of school. At the beginning of 8th grade, you will review things you have learned in 7th grade, so the first month of school will be easy if you have understood and remembered all of the concepts. After the review, however, you will learn a multitude of unfamiliar concepts.
You will need to study more often to retain the information learned for tests. You should review what you have learned for at least 15 minutes daily in case you forgot a concept or are unsure of how to do it.
Even though you may be the oldest, you do not have more rights than the younger kids. You still need to obey the school rules, or you may get in trouble. Don’t bully kids from lower grade levels. They likely want someone to help them, and bullying them is mean. Remember the time when you were new to middle school, in 5th, 6th, or 7th grade. You were probably shy, lost, scared, and not used to middle school. You would not want someone older (the 8th and 9th graders) to bully you, right?
Talk to them about your concerns, like homework and peer pressure. Ask your older sibling to share some funny experiences that they had in their last years of middle school. Look at some photos of your older sibling’s 8th grade graduation to get some knowledge of the experience.
For those in regular public school math class, you’re going to be starting pre-algebra. [3] X Research source Practice graphing lines onto coordinate planes. You should also practice calculating the slopes and y-intercepts of different lines. Find out how to solve systems of equations by substitution, graphing, or elimination. You should also work on solving proportions. For public school eighth grade geometry, you may learn transformations. These include the rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations of shapes. For those in a slightly more challenging math course, you will learn algebra 1. [4] X Research source Review things you learned in pre-algebra (solving systems of equations and proportions). Next, learn how to graph quadratic equations and absolute value equations. You may learn additional equations, such as equations with square roots and cubes. Then, understand and memorize the quadratic formula. You’ll use this to find the answers to more complicated quadratic equations which you can’t find the answers to using factoring. For those in an even more challenging math course, you will learn geometry. [5] X Research source Review things you learned in algebra, such as quadratic equations and solving systems of equations. Next, get to know some basic terms (which you may have touched upon in elementary school) such as lines, segments, points, and rays. Then, memorize important theorems and postulates. These will be important when you learn how to write proofs. You will learn how to prove many things. At the beginning, you may prove how lines are parallel using the Converse of the Alternate Interior Angles Theorem. Next, you may learn important triangle congruence theorems, such as SSS, SAS, ASA, AAS, and HL (for right triangles). Then, you may get to proving that a quadrilateral is a parallelogram, rhombus, rectangle, or square.
In grammar, you may learn about different verb tenses. You might learn about dash, hyphen, and comma usage too. Parts of speech such as possessive nouns and clauses may be taught. In writing, you will probably polish your persuasive essay skills. You’ll write multiple essays over the course of eighth grade containing a thesis, multiple claims, lots of evidence to support the claims, and explanations detailing why the evidence supports the claim. You’ll end the essay with a strong and concise conclusion. [6] X Research source
For reading, read books with multiple main ideas and motifs. These types of books include The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly, Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech, and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. [7] X Research source Older books for eighth graders include The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, Animal Farm by George Orwell, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Those are good 8th grade reads since they are books with depth and complexity in them.
For biology, you may learn about genetics and heredity. Review terms like “Punnett squares”, “acquired”, “traits”, “alleles”, “dominant”, and “recessive”. 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. In chemistry, you may learn different types of elements and chemical bonds. Remember how to identify reactants and products and different chemical reactions. Some schools teach beginner astronomy. Review the Solar System, constellations, and different kinds of eclipses.
You may learn about the 18th century in American history. This is the time period when the American Revolution happened. You’ll get to see who the important founders of the U. S. A. were (such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson). Some schools teach geography. Get to know where certain countries are on a map. Other schools teach modern world history. This starts from after World War I and extends to the Cold War. Learn about the causes of World War II, the Holocaust, the factors that led to the Cold War, and important historical figures in each of these events.
If you know you tend to run late, try setting your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than you normally do to give yourself a little extra buffer. If you can’t resist hitting that snooze button in the morning, put your alarm clock on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Ignore people who try to distract you. Your best friends or the class clown may try to distract you by making funny faces, passing notes, tapping your shoulder, or whispering to you. Ignore them, and after class, tell them to stop talking during class, since it distracts you. Avoid talking during class. Sure, it may be really challenging in class to not share a cool story to your friends, laugh at a funny joke, or talk about a dank meme with your friends. But those can wait until after class. Whenever you’re about to start a conversation during class, think to yourself, “I need to pay attention to get a good participation grade. " Try to pay attention even though people around you are talking. You should tell the teacher about the noisy classmates if they are disrupting your concentration or disrupt your ability to hear the teacher.
To earn an excellent score on a test, study. Don’t study for four hours or the whole night though. That’s not useful, since studying for long periods of time will be boring, and your brain will lose concentration easier. Don’t try to stuff a ton of information into your short-term memory at once, as this can also make you very nervous and stressed. [10] X Research source Study smarter, not harder, so it’s best to study for 15-30 minutes at least a week before the test instead of cramming four hours of content into 2 nights of studying.
Use bullet points for important details, highlight key terms, and jot down 2-4 examples of the concepts that you have learned. Ask the teacher to repeat a concept or to slow down if you aren’t done taking notes yet.
If your school posts all assignments (even ones where you turn in a hard copy) online, check the website your school uses for all of the assignments daily. Check each teacher’s classroom’s whiteboard for any assignments and tests written on there. Write them down in a planner or notebook. Create binders or folders for each class you will be taking. Get new binders and folders from the store once you know what classes you’ll be taking, and set aside an afternoon to organize and decorate them. Create three different sections for each class: assignments, tests, and notes. This will help you stay organized throughout the school year. Get in the habit of cleaning out your binder and filing new papers on a daily basis to help keep you organized.
If your school doesn’t give out assignment books, you can buy one or use a notebook to write out the dates and schedule your homework.
Don’t spend 10 minutes or even 5 minutes chatting with your friends. You might get carried away and waste all of your time in class talking instead of doing classwork. If you have extra time left over, do other assigned homework from school, read a book, or relax.
If you’re attending a private high school, do extra by participating more in class and asking questions. Your teacher will know you more if you do this, and subsequently write a longer, more detailed recommendation letter. The high school admissions teams will then look at this letter and decide whether or not to recruit you based on your personality, grades, and character. If you don’t do anything special and don’t participate, your teacher won’t know what to write about you. As a result, the high schools you want to apply to may not accept you in.
Manage your period. Females will need to change their sanitary products every 2-4 hours. Try to change them during breaks or longer class transitions. Bring some pain medication approved by the school if you have cramps. Cite “female issues” or drinking too much water if the teacher asks why you’re going to the bathroom very often. Get a sports bra. If your breasts are large enough, you may want a sports bra for gym class/PE. They may bounce around and move a lot, so you’ll need this item of clothing for them to stay still. For times where you aren’t exercising, getting a regular cup bra is fine (if your breasts have developed enough). Hide erections. Males may be shy and embarrassed about this, since these appear during random times, like during PE class, in the classroom, or in the hallways where everyone can see. Use a large bag to cover it or think of boring things like a test that’s coming up or what 314 x 42 is.
Try reading over your notes from class each evening to help yourself retain the information better. [13] X Expert Source Ashley Pritchard, MASchool Counselor Expert Interview. 4 November 2019. If the test is really long, you may want to start studying 2 weeks ahead of time, or perhaps give yourself more time per day to study. If you get test anxiety, try this: breathe in for 4 seconds, then breathe out for 8 seconds. Do this 2-3 times to calm yourself down whenever you’re feeling anxious about a test. [14] X Expert Source Jai FlickerAcademic Tutor Expert Interview. 20 May 2020. Find a study buddy or a contact for each class you have. In each class, find someone you can exchange numbers with so if you have questions or have to miss a class, you will have someone you can get information from. You could also plan study sessions with this person to help quiz each other before big tests.
Disrupt class Bully other classmates Steal others’ things Drink underage Have underage sex Vandalize the school building Gossip about classmates Break school rules
Common electives in middle school include a computer science, graphic arts, visual arts, performing arts, cooking, journalism, Spanish, Chinese, and crafts electives.
Some clubs your school may have include a book, newspaper, writing, journalism, student council, synopsis, environmental, math, ACSL, robotics, coding, history, art, music, speech and debate, drama, and a choir club. If there isn’t a club suited to your interests, ask a teacher or head of your school (usually the principal or headmaster) if you can make a club.
Say hi to some lonely kids sitting alone. The ends of elementary, middle, and high school are the hardest to make friends, as everyone else has their old friends they’ve met many years ago. The 5th graders have their old buddies from early elementary school (4th grade-kindergarten), and the 8th graders have companions from early middle school and elementary school. So, it can be challenging to make friends if everyone else is sticking with their old friends. So, go outside of your comfort zone and talk to some new or lonely kids. This makes their day and lets them feel comfortable at the new school. Try to join in conversations and share your ideas with others. Brush up on your small talk to practice for meeting new people in high school, and try to speak up in class when you know the answer or have ideas of your own. This will help you gain confidence, which is important to having a happy social life because others are drawn to people with confidence. Sit next to some new people at lunch. Talk about what went on during your day. Say something like, “Algebra class was pretty challenging for me. How was math for you?” or “Are you in algebra class or geometry class? I got into geometry class. " or “I enjoy playing basketball. I actually play on a competitive team outside of school. What do you enjoy doing?”
If you have a friend who gossips, either about you or about someone else, you may want to consider distancing yourself from them or explaining to them that they’re hurting your feelings. If your old friends are starting to get into trouble by going to teen parties or experimenting with drugs or alcohol, it may be time to find some new friends to hang out with. You don’t want to get in trouble, risk getting suspended or grounded, or put yourself into harmful situations. You could also try to talk to a friend who is participating in dangerous activities and tell them you’re concerned for them. Or, tell a trusted adult, like a parent or guidance counselor, if you’re worried about your friend’s safety.
Understand that younger people in your class who are just turning 13 will be more immature than people who are older (turning 14). Also, boys go through puberty at later ages than girls, so there will be many boys in your class that are immature compared to girls. When puberty starts, you start mentally maturing, and males are usually slower in doing that. Boys that are early bloomers may go through puberty at ages 10-11 when that may be considered the normal age for puberty in girls. Late bloomers that are boys might start at 14 or 15 when that is considered very late or abnormal in girls. If you’re one of the mature kids in your class, you may not understand the silly humor that they talk about, like weird memes, potty humor, and being disruptive in class. Accept some of the jokes they make sometimes, and try not to be too serious (some jokes diffuse the mood in a classroom, especially if there’s an awkward silence). Understand that younger students or ones that like attention will make more immature jokes and disrupt the class more often. If they really hinder your focus in class, talk to a teacher about it.
If you notice ongoing bullying at your school, report it to a school official and to a trusted adult.
If you are trying to make new friends, inviting others to a fun event is a nice way to get to know people. Spending time with your friends in eighth grade helps strengthen your friendship as you begin to think about heading to high school. At break, record funny jokes or something really interesting your friends said. Take note of important moments in middle school, like when your best friend helped you with regaining your self-confidence or your best friends giving you an amazing gift for your 14th birthday.
You could also talk to your school or your parents about getting a tutor for a specific subject you’re having trouble with. Even adults often have to ask for help, so it’s nothing to be embarrassed about! Go to a teacher’s office hours to ask for homework help. Middle school teachers usually have office hours or help sessions for students who need help. Go to those sessions to get individualized help if you are shy about raising your hand in front of the whole class. [18] X Research source If you have anxiety, depression, or another mental disorder, you may need to see a counselor or therapist. Start with talking to your school counselor. If your school doesn’t have one, talk with your homeroom or advisory teacher. These teachers help with basic mental health problems or issues relating to school. Then, you can seek a therapist with the help of a trusted adult.
